Page 20 of The Son of a Highland Witch
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Erica was starting to think she should ask more questions about the actual laird of the castle, especially since she had been there two days already and was yet to meet the man. More than a little concerned and still somewhat put off from the walk she’d enjoyed the night before in the company of Jamie, she broached the subject with Trudy, looking for advice.
“I dinnae ken the right of things,” Trudy responded with a frown when she was asked. “While I be trying to fit in here, the other servants…” She faltered, though her unhappy expression made clear how little she’d been accepted by those who worked within the castle. It seemed Trudy was as isolated as she was.
Finn might know.
The thought was a startling one, for what could a man who was a soldier, almost a glorified errand boy, know regarding the inner workings of the Buchanan clan? She wasn’t altogether sure he was even staying in the castle itself, probably choosing to sleep upon the moors or somesuch as a means of further proving his bravery. Men did such ridiculous things, did they not?
At the same time, there was something canny about Finn. He was not one to be unaware of his surroundings. In fact, she would hazard a guess he understood far more of what was going on here than most. Had he not been right about Jamie?
Erica winced. She was not altogether sure she was ready to admit that particular fact to herself as yet.
Trudy was watching her, expectant and wary. It occurred to her that the poor girl likely thought she was about to be thrust into the lion’s den, sent to ascertain the status of the old laird whom no one talked about at all, it seemed.
“Trudy, methinks there is something ye can do for me after all.”
The poor girl blanched. Indeed, she was rattled, looking less than thrilled, though the lass was obedient enough to hold her tongue and await her mistress’s command, a fact which did not escape Erica’s notice.
“’Tis not as tiresome a task as all that,” she said with false cheerfulness. “I was thinking ye could find Finn, could ye not? He may ken what we do not.”
Trudy’s smile lit up the room, so pleased was she by this turn of events. “Aye, my lady. Right away, my lady!”
With a faltering spirit, Erica watched Trudy whirl around the room, retrieving her cloak and finding her woolen bonnet. There was something amiss in the excitement of the lass, which left Erica with a new problem to puzzle through once the door had banged shut behind the maid. Was it possible that Trudy had…feelingsfor Finn? It would not be amiss, a lady’s maid with a soldier of an unknown clan of origin.
In the meantime, while she waited to find out what Finn knew, she was not entirely without means. Erica had met several ladies, even if only in passing, last night at dinner. Perhaps she could strike an acquaintance with one of the ladies to perhaps learn a bit more about the household. Besides, she would need allies if she were to marry Jamie. Better to start now rather than later.
Wait. ‘If’?
When.Whenshe married Jamie.
Distracted, Erica left her rooms, looking for the ladies’ solarium, thinking to find some of the wives there. Surely some would be about, absorbed in needlework or other such small tasks. In fact, she should have brought some of her own embroidery so that she might sew with them.
I truly am not thinking today.
She had not gotten far from her room and turned to go back only to find her way blocked by a man lurking behind her. Startled, she gave a small shriek, which she tried to cover with an awkward laugh, when she recognized the colors the man wore. His kilt was clearly that of Clan Buchanan, making him part of Jamie’s household.
“I do beg yer pardon. I did not ken I was being followed,” she said with a bright smile, hoping he had not noticed the scream which had preceded her rather awkward laugh.
The man did not seem inclined to be friendly. If anything, the lines upon his craggy face deepened around his eyes and along his forehead, giving him a rather frightening look. He might even have been said to be glowering.
Of middle age, the stranger showed the traces of former muscle on his stooped shoulders and wizened torso. His hair had gone gray, shot through with darker brown. His gaze, though, was intense enough as to scald her with little more than a look.
“Perhaps,” he said with an assessing look that left her feeling stripped bare and vulnerable, “ye would be less startled were ye properly escorted when wandering about the castle, Lady Erica.”
Erica flushed, for she hadn’t thought she’d needed an escort to travel the distance from her room to the solarium. “I beg yer pardon? Ye seem to have me at a disadvantage, for while ye ken my name, I have not had the pleasure of knowing yers.”
She had spoken too boldly. This much was clear in the startled look he gave her before narrowing his eyes consideringly. His smile took on something of a sinister curl, lips parted as he hungered for something he could not have.
Erica shivered, suddenly feeling chill. “I beg yer pardon, good sir, I was only going to my room…”
The words chosen were a mistake, spoken in haste. Fire flashed in the man’s eyes as he stepped toward her, almost as if…
As if he thought she’dinvitedhim to her room with her.
Lord in heaven.How did she get into these messes?
At that moment, the entire matter was resolved when she saw the laird’s nephew, the acting laird of the castle, appear in the corridor.
