Page 9 of The Eagle
At the site of Stuart Ross heading toward her with the lanky lad beside him, she blew out a breath. So much for avoiding the man.
Past him she noticed that the visiting laird’s son narrowed his eyes and watched them as they made their way toward her.
Stuart pulled out a purse of coin and dug into it. “Go by the tavern and get plenty of ale for last meal.” Stuart handed the coins to the lad who bobbed his head enthusiastically. “Nothing else. Not even an onion pie.”
“Cait, will ye please see that Anton does not linger past his task?” He gave Anton a pat on the shoulder. “Enjoy yer pie.”
She couldn’t help but smile at the young man’s cheeks coloring. Obviously, it was a joke between him and Stuart. “I will try my best.”
His gaze hesitated on her face and after a beat, he gave her a firm nod and walked away.
“Do I have something on my face?” Cait asked Anton who gave her a knowing look.
“Nay, I think he likes ye,” the lad replied. “We must make haste,” he added and hurried away to fetch the cart.
Cait looked over her shoulder and noted that Stuart was watching her walk away. Hurriedly she turned away.
Despite her silly heart skipping beats at seeing him and the persistent butterflies in her belly, it was not a good thing to catch the eye of a man of status. Men like Stuart Ross considered women in her position to be easy prey. To be taken and then discarded when someone else catches their eye. She’d not been there long enough to notice if the Ross men were the kind that took many lovers.
Although she’d heard rumblings among the maids about Gideon, the youngest. Most of the time, the whispers were accompanied by giggles and a great deal of fanning their faces.
Why was she spending so much time thinking about it? Cait shook her head and walked closer to the well to wait for Anton.
Across the courtyard, guards worked diligently to set up for whatever festivity was to happen. The familiar tall figure paced from a target to a specific spot and pointed to the ground. Cait sighed and then blew out an annoyed breath. The sooner she accepted that men like Stuart Ross would only marry someone of an elevated social status, the better.
Cait turned to walk away and ran into a maid carrying two buckets of water. “Watch where ye go!” the maid cried out. But it was too late. Cait had bumped into the woman and knocked one bucket to the ground, the water spilling onto the dirt.
“Oh no,” Cait said grabbing the now empty bucket. “I will refill it and bring it in.”
The maid huffed and hurried off with the remaining one.
It was so much faster to travel with a horse and cart. They arrived at her humble home soon after leaving the keep.
Her brother, Brice, was outside the cottage cleaning a rabbit. His wide grin made her heart squeeze with love. Despite the circumstance, he was always in a good mood.
She climbed down from the cart. “Ye snared a hare.”
“Yesterday I caught five fish. Ye missed a good meal,” Brice declared with a proud grin.
Cait studied him for a moment. “I am so relieved to see that ye can provide for ye and Mother when I am away. But ye mustn’t be gone too long from here during the day and leave her alone.”
Brice nodded. “I make certain not to be.”
“Fishing?” She gave him a look. “And just how long did it take ye to catch five fish?”
“It didn’t matter. I went with him.” Her mother appeared at the doorway looking amazingly refreshed. “I have felt much better these last few days.”
Her mother studied her for a long moment. “I was horribly worried. But Brice reminded me that there are times ye are required to remain at the keep.”
“Aye, there are visitors. So, I must remain another night or two. Ye look well Mother.”
“I have been boiling the herbs that Greer sent and drinking the liquid every day as she instructed. It has helped so very much.”
Cait hugged her mother. “It makes me so very happy then.”
When Anton cleared his throat, Cait turned to give him a pleading look. But he shook his head.
“I must go. I wanted to bring by this bread and sausage that Greer sent. There is a visiting laird…”
