Chapter 10
In the days following the meal, Kirsten made sure to seek out Caitriona to thank her once again for her help in preparing the meal.
“It is my duty tae serve ye,” Caitriona said with a slight bow. “I’m just glad that he enjoyed it. I hae tae admit that when he first came in, I thought he was gaeing tae explode with anger.”
“Aye, sae did I,” Kirsten confided in her with a smile. “But he soon settled down.”
“I’m glad tae hear it. It’s given people pause for thought. Some of them are willin’ tae wait tae see if Marcas does change his mood.”
“Good, I hope they dae. I want this place tae be filled with happiness and joy. I want people tae enjoy their time here and feel proud that they get tae serve the Monroe clan.”
Kirsten felt good that she was doing something worthwhile in dispelling the sense of despair that lingered over the entire place.
She made sure to greet the servants with a smile whenever she encountered them and to let them know that she appreciated their work and presence.
She made time to speak to each of them and try to learn their names.
At first, they were skittish around her, unsure of how to act.
Perhaps they presumed that any woman who would accept Marcas as her husband must be as hard as him, but they soon came to see that Kirsten was as kindhearted as Moira and the servants took to her well.
While Kirsten had hoped her dinner with Marcas would lead to a sense of intimacy between them, he had been busy for a few days training with his men and among other duties.
She assumed the news of an intruder had spooked him and that he was taking matters into his own hands to ensure the clan was secure and protected.
While she appreciated his diligence and the way he clung to his duty, she thought there was room for some balance in his life.
She was wandering around outside, chatting with Moira, while Max bounded around them.
She had finally taken Moira up on her offer of being shown the grounds.
They were currently walking around the perimeter of the house and exploring the fields beyond.
Kirsten noticed the guards that were posted at regular intervals along the perimeter.
Max was happy to be outside, yelping and barking as he stretched his fluffy limbs.
Moira and Kirsten took turns throwing a stick through the air.
Max chased after it. Sometimes he managed to be quick enough to leap and pluck it out of the air.
Kirsten cringed at the way he jumped, for it seemed as though he rose without any thought of how to land.
She was always certain that he would come crashing down to the ground, but somehow he managed to land adeptly on his paws, and then he would come running back to them, offering them the stick to continue the game.
“How dae ye tell him that ye are ready tae stop playing the game?” Kirsten asked.
Moira chuckled. “Ye dinnae; he lets ye know when he is ready tae stop playing.”
“Dinnae take this the wrong way because I dae enjoy yer company, but I was hoping tae spend some more time with Marcas. All he’s done the past few days is train with his men. He leaves before I rise, and comes in sae late that he falls asleep immediately.”
“That’s Marcas,” Moira said with a sigh. “When he gets focused on something, he’s like Max with a bone; he cannae be torn away.”
“Does he hae a right tae be? I mean, is this intruder really something tae be worried about?” Kirsten asked with a slight tremor in her voice.
Moira shook her head casually. “I wouldnae worry about it at all. These things are always happening between different clans. The only time we hae tae worry is when an army is standing outside our home. Marcas always thinks that anything is a prelude tae an attack. His life would be much better if he relaxed a wee bit.”
“I agree,” Kirsten said. They continued chatting about various things as they walked around the grounds.
Moira pointed out various parts of the grounds that were of interest, along with a few funny stories.
Kirsten confided in her that some of the staff were having misgivings about the way they were being treated.
Moira nodded and had a pensive look on her face.
“I feared as much. Uncle Roderick and I hae been daeing our best, but there’s only sae much we can dae. We are nae the laird. But even I hae noticed how their mood haes been lifted since yer arrival. I hope ye know how much of an impact ye hae had already.”
Kirsten expressed her gratitude at the compliment, though she wondered how well she was truly doing.
Marcas was still distant from her and more interested in training his men than in getting to know her.
Was this to be the pattern of her life, always to be less of a priority than the strength of the clan?
“I just hope that Marcas and I can be close. I want our marriage tae succeed.”
“And that is why we are lucky tae hae ye here. I daresay there is nary another woman who would hae the patience and the strength tae put up with Marcas and try tae tame him. Ye are one of a kind, and I’m glad that ye hae settled in.
I know it is still early, but I hope that ye will soon come tae think of this as home. ”
“I’m sure I will,” Kirsten said. Indeed, she was beginning to feel more settled in this place, especially after becoming more familiar with the grounds thanks to Moira’s efforts to give her a tour.
The grounds and the keep itself were far bigger than what she had been used to.
They stretched out across endless fields, with small settlements adjoining them.
It would have been a mighty task to patrol them all and keep everything safe because they were so spread out.
When the Monroe clan arrived in these parts, they had the pick of the land and could place their settlements wherever they wanted, claiming much of the land for themselves.
This was a source of envy for some of the surrounding clans, who didn’t think the Monroe clan was entitled to this land just because they had arrived first. In their eyes, their needs were greater, so over the years, neighboring clans had tried to take the land they wanted by any means necessary, sometimes succeeding, sometimes not, but always ending in bloodshed.
“Sometimes when I walk along these paths, I try and think about the people that came here before me, my ancestors who haed no idea that one day I would be born,” Moira said.
“I think of the ones who first built this house and settled here, and the ones who followed, always building something bigger and wider, adding to the grounds. I wish that I could speak with them and know what it was like tae see this place. I wish that I could bring them here and show them what the clan has grown intae over the years. I hope they would be proud.”
“I’m sure they would be,” Kirsten said. She couldn’t say that she had ever given much thought to her family history, but then again, the Gallach name wasn’t as prestigious or as long-lived as the Monroe name.
Still, now that she was a Monroe, she thought she should perhaps begin to learn about the family history because it was another thing she had been given through her marriage to Marcas.
She hadn’t just been given his hand, but also the weight of his name.
Eventually, they settled outside the kitchens, where they fetched some leftover meat for Max and fed him.
He seemed settled and was happy to let his food digest rather than bound around and play with the stick any longer, which was a relief for the young women since their arms were aching and they were quite tired of playing with the sticks.
Kirsten fell silent as she saw the towering form of Marcas approaching.
His footsteps were heavy, and she felt a flicker of emotion.
There was still a sense of uncertainty whenever he appeared.
When she thought of him, her mind was conflicted.
On the one hand, there was the moment when he berated the soldier and revealed the depths of his anger, while on the other, there had been the night they shared together, where their bodies had been pressed tightly together.
Sometimes it seemed impossible that the same emotions could be held within the same body.
“Ah, there ye are!” Marcas exclaimed. Kirsten smiled, expecting that he was talking about her, but he bet down and met Max, who rose at the sight of his master, and his mouth widened in what could only be described as a smile.
Marcas rubbed the dog’s neck and nuzzled his face against Max’s.
Kirsten sighed quietly. Not only was she less important than the clan, but she was also below Max as well.
Still, she knew it was silly to be jealous of a dog, so she shook the errant thought from her mind.
“Would ye like tae gae for a riding lesson now?” Marcas asked, without even turning to Kirsten.
Her heart leaped and she readily agreed, not willing to let this opportunity pass her by.
Marcas rose and walked towards the stables.
Kirsten flashed an excited smile to Moira as she left her sister-in-law to spend time with her husband.
Since their moments together were so fleeting and so few and far between, she was determined to make the most of them.
“How is the training gaeing?” she asked as they walked the short distance to the stables.
She had learned from Moira that the stables had expanded over the years, just as the main house had.
In the beginning, it would have been little more than a hut, but now it spanned a wide area, housing dozens of horses.
As they approached, she could hear them whinnying and braying as they were fed and washed by the servants.
“Aye, they’re learning,” Marcas said in reply. He led her to a gray and white mare and placed his hand on the horse’s rump. The horse had a gray mane, and her head was dipped as it chewed on hay.