Page 6 of Kidnapped by a Rogue
“Aye.” She came to the village often to visit the former stable master of Drumlanrig Castle. “Is your mother unwell again?”
Brian nodded. His poor mother was married to a man who drank away what little they had, and she would never escape. Only rich and powerful men like Margaret’s former husband could rid themselves of an unwanted spouse with the church’s blessing.
“How is your precious sister today?” Margaret asked when she saw the little girl hiding behind him.
Ella was a shy child of three with large blue eyes and tangled fair hair. Margaret’s heart melted when the girl peeked around her brother and gave her a small smile. What she would not give to have a child like this. She pushed aside the old, familiar ache. There was no use in wishing for what she could never have.
What good is a woman who cannot give her husband heirs? You’re useless! Worse than useless!Margaret pressed her fingertips to her temples. Would she never get William’s voice out of her head?
“This one will make a lovely addition to my collection,” Margaret said, picking up one of the rag dolls at random and handing Brian a coin.
Margaret started to leave, but then she paused, uncertain whether to make an offer that might embarrass the lad or seem like an empty promise.
“If there is ever anything I can do to help you,” she said, “please ask me.”
She continued through the tiny village until she reached the last whitewashed cottage.
“Thomas!” she called, and rapped on the door.
The old stable master’s wrinkled face broke into a wide smile when he opened his door. “Lady Margaret, ye shouldn’t trouble yourself coming to see an old man.”
This old man had saved her life. After she’d been mistress of Drumlanrig Castle for seven years, Thomas was the only member of the household who volunteered to accompany her the night her husband threw her out.
“I enjoy visiting you,” she said, “and it will be my last chance for weeks.”
Thomas was leaving today to visit his niece and her family, and they chatted about the visit while she helped him pack.
“I’d best be off while I have plenty of daylight,” Thomas said.
Margaret’s stomach felt queasy as she helped him load his things into the same wagon that had carried her from Drumlanrig. She shivered as she remembered the rain that pelted her face, the cold that penetrated the wet blanket and seeped into her bones, and the despair that nearly destroyed her.
Thomas touched her shoulder. “Are ye all right, lass?”
“It’s just that I’ll miss you.” She gave him a bright smile and kissed him farewell on his weathered cheek. “Have a safe journey.”
She sat on the bench by Thomas’s door to wait for Alison.
“I’m sorry I’m late and missed Thomas,” Alison said when she arrived, breathless and smiling. “I had to change my gown after my younger two got sticky fingers all over it.”
Her sister was a month from giving birth—again—and radiated good health.
“When you’re with child, you’re like a flower that’s come into full bloom,” Margaret said, then she took Alison’s arm and led her to stand in front of the empty field next to Thomas’s cottage. “I asked ye to meet me here because I want ye to see where my cottage will be built.”
The thought of having a home of her own made Margaret’s heart swell.
“I don’t understand why ye want to live here in the village rather than in the castle with us,” Alison said. “Won’t ye be lonely?”
“The village is but a short walk from the castle.” Margaret squeezed her sister’s hand, willing her to understand. “We’ll see each other almost every day.”
It had taken her months to build up the courage to ask for this for herself. To persuade her sister’s husband David, she had to agree to let him build a larger house than she needed and to accept a married couple of his choosing as live-in servants. She was unsure of the wife’s skills, but the husband had the arms of a blacksmith and carried an axe in his belt.
Persuading her sister was a more delicate matter. She struggled to find a way to explain it without hurting her feelings.
“We love having ye live with us,” Alison said. “Our home is yours.”
“You’ve been nothing but kind to me,” Margaret said. “I am so grateful.”
But living in the midst of their happy, boisterous family was a constant reminder of the family Margaret could never have for herself. She needed something of her own, a place she could make into a home.
