Chapter Ten
Alex collapsed on her bed, burying her face in her pillow. “I do not ken what to do,” she groaned, her voice muffled.
“To me, the choice is clear,” Mary said.
Alex sat up and looked at her cousin, who was sitting on the end of the bed in a white, silk nightdress.
“Sir Adam Lennox is the one.” Mary leaned closer, her brown eyes sparkling.
“I had the fine pleasure of conversing with him during dinner, and he was everything a gentleman should be—intelligent, well-mannered, solicitous. He spoke well of his family. His elder sister sounds enchanting.” Mary clasped her hands together.
“Not to mention, he is handsome, with the most beautiful green eyes I’ve ever seen. ”
Alex pursed her lips together before pointing out, “Aye, but he was so clean, even after journeying a fair distance.”
Mary threw up her hands. “Is that really so awful?”
“I’m not filling my day with dressing for meals when I could be caring for my people,” Alex declared, crossing her arms over her chest.
“If ye want to know, I think Robert is the one,” Rosie said, chiming in from her perch on the other side of the bed.
“He’s right handsome and cheerful.” Rosie stared off dreamily while she finished plaiting her waist-length black hair.
Like Alex, she was still clad in the same tunic she’d worn that day.
Nightclothes were a luxury beyond Rosie’s reach.
As for Alex, she simply deemed them unnecessary.
Brows drawn, Alex considered Rosie’s judgment. “I suppose ye’re right, although I believe he is rather strange.”
“’Tis too soon to judge any of these men,” Mary cautioned. “Robert might be amiable when conditions are right, but what happens when he is provoked? He could be quick to temper.”
“The abbot did say that all three men had even temperaments,” Alex recalled.
“Robert’s a lamb,” Rosie gushed. “Ye can tell he’d be gentle in bed by the way he speaks of his horses.”
“Rosie,” Mary exclaimed, her cheeks turning red.
Alex wrinkled her nose. “Ye don’t think he was just a little too excited about his horses?”
“Perhaps his dinner conversation was odd, but do we not all possess a wee dash of strangeness?” Rosie gestured pointedly to Alex’s grubby feet.
“If we are going to look honestly at my own oddities, then mayhap Timothy is the best man after all. I believe he would be the most accepting of who I really am,” Alex said.
Mary and Rosie exchanged glances.
“What is it?” Alex demanded. “Why not Timothy?”
Both ladies held their silence until at last Rosie sighed. “Och, I’ll be the one to say it. Bless Timothy’s heart, but he’s too soft to be laird.”
Mary nodded. “I agree with Rosie.”
Alex couldn’t dismiss their concern. Timothy was certainly no warrior. She sighed. “Then Mary, ye’re right. Clearly, Rory is the one.”
Mary and Rosie’s brows shot up. “Rory?” they both exclaimed together.
Alex’s hand flew to cover her mouth. Then she pulled a blanket over her head.
“Alexandria MacKenzie, come out from under that blanket at once,” Mary demanded while yanking on Alex’s woolen defense.
“Nay,” Alex groaned. “Go away.”
“What is all this fuss for?” Alex heard Rosie say. “Rory’s devilish good looks are fine, to be sure, but ye read the abbot’s letter. He’s not one of yer options.”
“Alex, ye’re hiding something,” Mary said, tugging harder on the blanket.
Then Alex heard Mary suck in a sharp breath. “Black hair, the most beautiful sky-blue eyes ever to be seen, wickedly handsome, one of Scotland’s agents.” Mary gasped.
Alex cringed, burrowing deeper beneath her covers.
“Rory is the agent from the woods,” Mary blurted. “The one who undressed ye!”
It was Rosie’s turn to gasp. “Alex, is this true?”
Alex sighed and pushed the blanket down. “He is the same.”
“Well, it doesn’t matter,” Mary announced, straightening her spine.
Rosie nodded in agreement. “She’s right, Alex. Ye must forget that night.”
Alex sat up. “Ye’re both right. I ken ye’re right.” She covered her face with her hands. “’Tis just easier said than done.”
At length, she felt a gentle tug on her fingers. Dropping her hands in her lap, she looked into Mary’s kind, brown eyes.
“Remember, Alex,” Mary said softly. “Remember yer mother’s wisdom. The wellbeing of the clan comes first.” Then she pressed a kiss to Alex’s cheek and scooted off the bed, pulling Rosie by the hand.
“We will leave ye now so that ye might consider the true weight of yer decision,” Mary said with Rosie in tow.
“Saints above, what am I to do?” Alex groaned, falling back onto her pillow and once more burying herself beneath her blankets.
ALEX SAT ON A BENCH, gazing out the solar casement at the stretch of village and crops below. The sun hung just above the horizon, painting the world in soft gold.
“Good morrow, cousin.”
She turned to see Mary standing in the doorway.
She wore a cream-colored fitted wimple, which framed her heart-shaped face.
Draped over her head cascaded layers of matching lace veils.
Her deep green tunic complimented her lovely brown eyes.
Alex stood and crossed the room. “Good morrow,” she said, pressing a kiss to Mary’s cheek. “Ye look beautiful, cousin.”
“As do ye,” Mary said, smiling with approval as she eyed Alex’s finely embroidered surcote.
Alex spun in a circle. “I thought ye might approve.”
“I do, indeed,” Mary said, reaching out to smooth the one veil Alex wore to cover her unbound, pale blond hair. “Ye can wear my new silk wimple. The blue would bring out the violet of yer—”
Alex put up her hand. “Ye can stop right there. Yer reminder last night informed my choice of surcote this morning.” Alex ran her hands down her waist, skimming the lavender fabric.
“’Tis my best as ye well know. And Rosie spent an hour brushing out my hair.
But ye’ll never get one of those prison cells around my head. ”
Mary laughed. “I think ye exaggerate, dear cousin. But I’ll not push ye. I ken ye’re liable to retreat like cornered prey back into one of yer filthy, worn tunics.”
“Ye know me so well,” Alex said, smiling. “Shall we head down?”
Mary nodded, and together, they descended the stairs into the great hall. Stepping around the screen, they spotted Adam, Timothy, Robert, Michael, and William waiting near the courtyard entrance.
“Behold, yer three suitors,” Mary said, under her breath. “Just think how scandalized they would be if they knew we were, at this very moment, judging their stock.”
“Nay, they would be offended if they knew that,” Alex whispered. “They would be scandalized if they discovered it was Abbot Matthew who sent them to me as studs.”
Mary coughed demurely into her handkerchief to conceal her amusement. Then she squeezed Alex’s hand. “I still say the competition is over—Adam is the one. Look at how strong and handsome he is,” she whispered.
Alex scanned the men, her gaze slowly passing over Adam. “Aye, but what of his heart?” she said quietly. “To us, he has been kind, but we are his equals in station. What I must know is will he be compassionate to those he might view as beneath him.”
Mary leaned closer. “One month is hardly time to judge the true character of a man.”
“I agree, which is why I’ve arranged a test.”
“What sort of test?” Mary whispered hurriedly, but it was too late. They were almost upon the men.
“Wheest,” Alex breathed. “Ye’ll see.”
“Good morrow, ladies,” Michael said, his stare fixed on Alex. “Ye both look especially lovely today.”
Alex resisted the urge to roll her eyes. Dressed in her finest attire, she looked every part the proper lady Michael had always nagged her to be.
“Ye’re so clean,” Will said, eyeing her suspiciously. “I’m almost afraid to hug ye.”
She opened her arms wide. “My dear brother, I’m never too dirty or too clean to hug.”
He squeezed the breath from her, then wiped his freckled nose on his sleeve. “Do ye mind if I run ahead? I’m meeting wee Calum.”
“For Mass?”
“Aye.”
She smiled. “Then run along. Mind ye listen to the good father, and ye don’t stand there whispering the whole time.”
“I promise,” Will said before darting from the hall.
Adam stepped forward then, offering both Mary and Alex an arm. “Ye both do, indeed, look lovely.”
Alex smiled and placed her hand on Adam’s bicep.
Hard, muscled contours flexed beneath her fingertips.
Clearly, he was a man of action. She gazed up at his profile.
His skin, smooth and tan, stretched tautly over high, wide cheekbones.
His nose was straight, not misshapen like so many knights she had encountered, and his full lips begged to be kissed.
In particular, she admired his chestnut brown hair that gleamed with flecks of gold and red.
He turned and looked down at her and smiled, revealing even, white teeth.
Certainly, his looks and intelligence were indisputable, but was he truly kind?
Alex eyed the kitchen entrance into the great hall and smiled when Rosie appeared carrying a basket teeming with dirty linens.
She was about to find out.
“Good morrow,” Rosie said as she passed in front of Alex and her guests, but then Rosie stumbled and her basket tumbled to the floor, scattering its contents.
Straightaway, Adam released Alex and Mary’s arms and bent to help Rosie to her feet.
Likewise, Timothy and Robert knelt to the ground alongside Michael to help gather laundry.
Alex backed away, smiling at the men. One mark for them all.
A moment later, Mary joined her, also observing the attentive men and their favorite maid.
Alex hid her smile behind her hand when she noticed Rosie thanking Robert overly long, but Robert did not let his greatest admirer down.
He bowed at the waist after handing Rosie back her basket, causing Alex’s maid to turn as red as a ripe apple.
“That was not like Rosie at all. She’s always so efficient and—Wait!” Mary hissed under her breath, turning to face Alex. “That was yer doing, wasn’t it?”