Chapter 14
Chapter Fourteen
Achill ran down Katherine’s spine as she walked through the corridors. The solemn way that the servant had summoned her replayed over and over in her mind. No one had spoken to her so seriously since she arrived. Whatever was coming, she didn’t think it could be good.
I daenae ken why Lady Agnes would wish to see me. Perhaps I’ve done somethin’ wrong.
By the time she reached the door, she had identified two potential slights that might have caused her to be summoned.
Although she wasn’t entirely sure that dropping her plate in the great hall would deserve a conversation.
She had even helped clean it up, despite the maids’ insisting she didn’t need to.
The other involved her volume which was much harder for her to control.
But if she asks it of me, I’ll do me absolute best.
She knocked twice on the doorframe, waiting for the older woman to look her way. Although the door was open, she didn’t walk in. It was best to keep her offenses to a minimum. She desperately wanted the older woman’s approval in a way she couldn’t quite explain.
“Lady Agnes,” she said, bowing her head respectfully, staying at the threshold as she waited for an invitation inside. “I was told ye wanted to see me.”
“Aye,” Lady Agnes confirmed, motioning for Katherine to step inside. She let her frail hand fall beside her on the mattress once more. It seemed that the effort of the movement was nearly too much for her exhausted body. “Close the door behind ye, will ye?”
Katherine nodded, entered the room, and pulled the door shut as she had been instructed. She hovered nearby, unsure of what to do with herself. Nervously, she clasped her hands in front of her and waited. She didn’t want to overstep any boundaries.
“Ye daenae have to look as if ye’re worried I’ll strike ye,” Lady Agnes said, an amused smile settling on her lips.
Her dry humor seemed to be intact, though Katherine had never seen her look quite so tired.
“I have nae desire to, and even if I did, I daenae think I have the strength to make it count any longer.”
“Of course,” Katherine said, some of the anxiety leaving her body as she settled in the armchair next to Lady Agnes’s bed. The frame creaked under her weight, announcing each shift of her body. She smiled trepidatiously. “Then I’m nae here to be scolded?”
“It’s the opposite,” Lady Agnes said as she adjusted her posture, facing Katherine fully. “I owe ye great thanks, and I have little time left to give it. That is why I called ye here today.”
The words weighed heavily on her shoulders. There wasn’t anything she could say to deny the woman’s words. Denying the statement would be disingenuous, and she was not the kind of woman who would accept empty platitudes.
“The fall at the auction...” Lady Agnes began, not looking away from Katherine, the words spoken plainly. “It has worsened things for me. Even before it, me body was failin’, and I was losin’ me strength. I must thank ye for bein’ there, but I willnae be here to see Agnes grow”
“Ye daenae have to thank me,” Katherine said. “It isnae as if I were able to stop ye from hittin’ the ground.”
“I daenae think I would still be here today if it werenae for ye comin’ to slow me fall.
It could have been so much worse than it was, but ye kept me from breakin’ any of me bones,” Lady Agnes countered.
“But I didnae call ye here for that. I see the way that ye take care of me great-granddaughter. I can tell she responds well to ye, much better than she does to me grandson’s teachin’. ”
“I’m honored to be allowed to teach her,” Katherine said. She meant every word. The girl was without a doubt the reason she’d been allowed to escape her old, awful life. “And I will continue to do so. I didnae have a mother or a grandmother to teach me anythin’. I will continue to do me best.”
“I ken ye will. I can tell that ye care as much about the lass as Liam and I do,” Lady Agnes said, smiling softly. “And I am so pleased that ye are the woman that Liam brought home. I ken that Agnes is in good hands and that Liam is as well.”
“It is me duty to care for both of them,” Katherine said, even though Liam confused her endlessly.
It didn’t mean that she would not do her best for him in whatever way she could.
She leaned forward, taking hold of the older woman’s hand.
“I will be everythin’ that she needs of me, I promise ye.
And I will do me best for the clan, includin’ providin’ Liam an heir if it’s required of me.
It is the least I can do for all of ye.”
Lady Agnes shook her head, the motion not unkind. “Nay,” she said softly though not accusatory. “Ye willnae.”
“But I will,” Katherine said, unable to hide her confusion.
To her, it was the least that she could do.
Even with his distance, Liam was still giving her a safe place to live, warm meals, and everything that she could possibly need.
But she felt a shiver run down her spine, and a part of her was terrified when she added, “If he asks it of me, I will. It’s me duty. ”
“I daenae doubt that,” Lady Agnes replied, turning her palm against Katherine’s and squeezing. “But he willnae touch ye. Ye daenae need to fear him touchin’ ye.”
Understanding landed oddly. Katherine couldn’t tell if it was meant to comfort her or serve as a subtle warning. It twisted her mind in the same way Liam’s behavior had. She couldn’t make sense of anyone in this family.
“Thank ye,” Katherine said finally, taking her hand back when Lady Agnes released it. She placed it in her lap and smiled down at them. “For acceptin’ me into yer home.”
“I’m glad to have had the chance to meet ye,” Lady Agnes said, her voice carrying more emotion than she’d ever heard before.
Then, putting a definitive end to the conversation, she said, “When ye leave, close me door behind ye. I’d like a wee bit of rest before I take me dinner.
I daenae have the same energy I used to. ”
“Of course, Me Lady,” Katherine said as she rose, giving Lady Agnes another polite bob of her head before she walked as quickly as she dared into the corridor. “I hope yer rest is restorative.”
As soon as she was alone, Lady Agnes securely in her chambers, Katherine stopped moving. She shoved the heels of her palms against her eyelids, trying to make sense of what had transpired, what those last words really meant.
Does she mean Liam doesnae desire me? Then why did he kiss me? And why is he bein’ so cagey around me?
Her mind felt frazzled, like it was about to break at the seams. She didn’t know if she should place blame on Liam or her father or herself for it all. Ever since she’d been taken to the auction, it had been as though the ground beneath her feet was constantly shifting.
Taking a long, deliberate breath, she lowered her hands. As Katherine rolled her shoulders back, she put on her most convincing smile. She didn’t know if she’d ever figure out Liam, but there was a little girl who needed someone to teach her how to be a lady.
And that girl didn’t need to know just how confused Katherine was. She needed to believe that Katherine would always be a solid presence in her life.
* * *
Men marched through the camp, some heading to their watch positions, others making their way to the makeshift kitchen in the center. Liam nodded at a guard as he passed and headed to meet his scouts.
“Laird MacDougal,” Cillian said when he stepped inside, rising from his seat along with the other scouts.
“Cillian,” Liam said in greeting, giving his friend a sharp nod of his head. As he took his place at the table, he said, “Ye may be seated, all of ye.”
He looked at each of them, trying to ascertain what they’d found without words. All of them were seasoned, their faces blank. Truthfully, he’d be irritated if they wore their findings so plainly.
“Status report,” he said, looking directly at his man-at-arms. “Tell me anythin’ of interest that ye found while ye were out.”
“There wasnae anythin’ in the lands me and me crew searched,” Cillian replied. “Nay signs of any rival clans encroachin’. We didnae come across another soul outside of the village on the edge of the northern border.”
Liam’s jaw tightened. This was good news, yet it didn’t feel that way. Instead, a sense of foreboding seemed to settle upon the room. It had been quiet around their lands for far too long.
“The lands ye searched are completely secure then,” Liam said, steepling his hands on the table.
He paused for a moment, a plan starting to take shape in his mind.
“We will continue further west tomorrow. I will coordinate the packin’ and route.
” His eyes swept the men who were gathered, all of them listening intently.
“And were there any reports of pirate sightings?”
“Nay,” Cillian said, his voice carrying the same sick anticipation that Liam felt building in his chest. “Nay, the last sightin’ was nearly four years ago.”
The gathering inside the tent fell silent. It was unlikely they had simply vanished. With the sea at their doorstep, they could be anywhere, even nearby. It wasn’t as if they were more than a few hours from the coast at any point.
“They arenae completely self-sufficient,” Liam said before the quiet completely engulfed them. He thought of Agnes. Of Katherine. “We will need to contact our allies on the coastline. Surely, someone has seen the ship or heard of its whereabouts.”
“I will prepare several missives and send them along with a messenger,” Cillian said, shifting on his stool, already anticipating what Liam would ask of him.
“But I’m inclined to believe that they arenae concerned about comin’ to land at the moment.
Our allies ken to inform ye of any activity, even if it’s only suspected. ”
“Ye say that,” Liam said, his voice grave, refusing to allow anyone to downplay the threat, “but just because they arenae seen, that doesnae mean that the threat is gone.”
The Pirate Laird has already taken so much from this land. I willnae allow us to become complacent.
Cillian’s jaw tightened, and a few of the other men shifted in their seats. “I understand,” he said, meeting Liam’s gaze once more. He was the only one brave enough to face him. “And I am nae takin’ this situation lightly.”
“I expect ye to act like it from now on,” Liam replied, looking over the gathering.
“We will continue our mission, then. We must be prepared. So, we will secure the land from here to the sea. Cillian, ye will send the messages. If any of ye see signs of the pirates bein’ nearby, ye will report to me immediately. Is that understood?”
“Aye, Me Laird,” they said in unison once more.
“That will do,” Liam said. He narrowed his eyes, taking in the rest of his scouts. “Is there anythin’ else that needs reported?”
“I found evidence of bandits at the edge of me search perimeter,” Matthew, the man sitting next to Cillian, said. “An old camp with a few broken utensils that were left behind.” He pulled a rusted fork from his pocket. “It’s old. I’m plannin’ on followin’ the trail when we move again.”
Liam picked up the fork, his thumb tracing over the rusted spots. It did look old, as if it had been left in the forest for years. Something so small could have easily been overlooked in other searches, though.
“How much more did ye find?” Liam asked, looking back at Matthew. “And where was this? Would we have missed this on our last journey?”
“There was a fairly large pile of things that had been discarded,” Matthew reported.
He held himself taller under Liam’s scrutiny.
“And I daenae think that anythin’ had been there for an incredibly long time.
It wasnae along the road, but I wasnae more than a few meters into the forest. It could have been seen on horseback. ”
Liam grunted, turning his attention back to the fork. He scrubbed his thumbnail over the rust, knocking loose the red dust. It fell to the table, collecting in a small pile below the silver. Even if they had missed this, they hadn’t had any reports of bandits through the area.
Salt air ruins silver.
“I’d like to see the rest of yer findings,” Liam said, rising to his feet. “If there is anyone we didnae authorize to be on these lands, I want them found and driven out.”