Page 17 of At the Highlander's Mercy
‘She is not to be left alone. Someone on guard at all times.’ Siusan waved her hands in a sweeping motion, urging him out, so Dougal turned and left.
‘So, what can you do in a kitchen?’ Siusan asked as she pointed to a stool next to the table.
Grateful to sit after so long on her feet, Lilidh walked slowly to it, held on to the edge of the table and lowered herself on the wooden surface. Looking up, she noticed that Siusan stared at her as she moved. Lilidh was about to answer her question, when the woman spoke first.
‘Has Beathas seen to you, lass?’ she whispered.
Siusan, like the others, thought Rob had beaten her. Since most had not seen her when she arrived in the hall, wrapped and filthy, it was a natural assumption to make, she supposed. Deciding not to say much about it, Lilidh nodded and looked away.
‘My mother made certain I can do most kitchen tasks,though I have little skill at cooking,’ she answered the first question instead. ‘I was expected to oversee my husband’s household,’ Lilidh said into the surprised woman’s face.
Siusan called one of the rushing-by girls over and took a basket from her. Reaching into her own belt, she pulled out a small paring knife and held it out to Lilidh.
‘Clean and chop these,’ she directed, as Lilidh took both of them. ‘And I’ll be having that knife back before you leave here.’
Lilidh smiled and when Siusan did as well, she knew she had not misunderstood the woman’s attempt at humour. Oh, there were many things she could do with that knife, but she would not risk it—yet.
* * *
She’d cleaned several baskets of vegetables when her stomach reminded her she had not eaten that day. Or even the last one, for all she’d had was Beathas’s concoctions. Siusan heard the rumblings as she moved around the table.
‘Have you eaten today?’ she asked.
‘No,’ Lilidh replied.
‘When last did you eat?’ The woman walked closer.
Lilidh shrugged, for she really did not know. If she’d slept through most of one day and into another, and had been on the road for another one with Symon, had it been three days? ‘A while.’
Within moments, a large bowl of broth and a chunk of bread were placed before her. A mug at the plate’s side. ‘Go ahead,’ Siusan said.
Though plain, Lilidh thought she’d never tastedanything so good before. She tore the bread into pieces and dipped them in the broth to soften them. Within minutes, she’d eaten every bit and drank down the remaining broth, too. She had not realised how hungry she had been until the first taste of food in her mouth. Smiling at how her brother would tease her over eating so quickly, she looked up to find Siusan studying her.
‘My thanks,’ she said, gathering the bowl and mug together and pushing herself to stand. If she did not move around, her leg would stiffen beyond measure on her.
‘You have her look,’ Siusan said as Lilidh carried the bowl over to a large tub used to wash dishes and such.
‘Her look?’ she asked, not understanding.
‘Your mother. I visited a cousin who lives in Lairig Dubh and saw her. The laird’s wife.’
‘Jocelyn MacCallum?’ Lilidh asked.
‘Aye, you have her eyes and the shape of her face, though your hair is the colour of your father’s.’ Siusan smiled then. ‘The Beast, they called him...but that was so long ago.’
The woman still stared at her and Lilidh wondered why.
‘They still call him that, though not loud enough for him to hear,’ Lilidh answered.
‘I did not think Rob the kind of man to do that,’ she said softly, changing the topic with a quick glance at her neck and face. Lilidh touched the sensitive areas and knew her skin showed every place that had been roughly touched by Symon or one of his men during the kidnapping. This time, she knew it wrong to let Rob take the blame.
‘Much of it was during my capture,’ she said. And she left it at that, not wanting to say more. ‘I fought back,’ she could not help but add.
Siusan nodded and then they both became busy with chores. But the woman kept a watch on her, allowing no one to get too close and permitting short rest times throughout the day. By the time the evening meal had been made and served and the pots cleaned, exhaustion claimed her. And the thought of climbing those stairs terrified her.
* * *
Lilidh was sitting in the corner as the kitchen emptied, all the tasks of the day completed and the morrow’s begun, when two guards entered and walked to where she waited. Siusan had left, as well, and if Lilidh had possessed the strength, she would have stood. She couldn’t, so she watched their approach.
