Surrender to the Highlander

  She'd wait until he'd finished and eaten his apple and then suggest they go back to work with the others, Edith decided. In the meantime, she'd just close her eyes for a minute and enjoy the sun warming her skin, and the breeze cooling it.

  It was the trundle of the cart's wheels that woke her. Blinking her eyes open, Edith peered at the furs in front of her face and then lifted her head and peered about. Her eyes widened incredulously as she saw the maids and children following the overflowing cart of rushes out of the clearing. They'd finished while she slept, she realized with dismay. Good Lord, how long had she slept?

  Her gaze shifted to the sky to see that the sun was high overhead. It looked to be about noon to her. Sighing, Edith sat up, her eyes returning to the departing party again, just in time to see Moibeal look back and note that she was awake. The maid smiled and gave her a wave and then continued to usher the children away.

  An excited bark caught her ear then and Edith looked toward the river where Niels, Ronson and Laddie were. The dog was leaping around excitedly on the shore, looking like he wanted to chase after whatever it was Niels and Ronson were throwing into the water. It took a moment before she realized Niels was showing Ronson how to skip stones on the river's placid surface. The realization made her smile faintly. It was something she and her brothers had done as children. This was the only spot on the river where the water slowed enough to allow it.

  She watched briefly, marveling again at how good he was with the boy, and then glanced down. All evidence of their picnic was gone, just the furs left for her to sleep on. Edith got up and quickly gathered and stacked them in a small pile. She then headed down toward the water's edge to join the men, smiling and giving Laddie a pet when he rushed excitedly to her side in greeting.

  "Laddie!" Niels barked when the dog tried to jump on her. The deerhound obeyed the sound at once and kept his feet on the ground as Edith petted him.

  "How do ye feel?" Niels asked softly as she continued forward, the dog now at her side.

  "Like I slept while everyone else worked," she said with self-disgust.

  "Aye, ye did," Niels agreed easily. "Which means yer ready fer the second part o' yer day."

  Edith eyed him suspiciously. "Why am I quite sure ye do no' mean weaving mats?"

  "Because yer an exceptionally intelligent woman," he said solemnly, and then glanced to Ronson and Laddie who had moved farther down the shoreline. "Come on, lad, 'tis time to go."

  "Aye, m'lord. Come on, Laddie," Ronson said and ran toward them.

  "Ye still have no' told me where we are going," Edith said when Niels took her arm and turned to walk her toward his horse.

  "What would be on yer list o' things to accomplish? After weaving the mats that the women will have done in no time even without yer help," he added quickly.

  Edith reached down to scratch Laddie behind the ear when he moved up to her side and nudged her leg. But her mind was on anything that might need doing at the keep. She'd need to talk to Jaimie about the menu for the next little while, although he'd apparently done well enough without her input these past weeks. She did need to find out what he needed her to buy for him on market day in the village though. But she could do that tomorrow or the next day. Market day was held in the village every week on Saturday. It was now only Monday.

  Other than that, things seemed to have progressed nicely in the keep despite her illness. The servants were well trained and knew what to do. They'd also apparently been good about doing the day-to-day tasks without supervision, although she suspected Tormod had something to do with that. She didn't doubt for a minute that he had run herd on them in her absence, which she appreciated. So while she was sure there were other things to do, she wouldn't know what needed doing until she had a good look around. Really, the rushes had been the only thing that had needed urgent attention. The smell of them was unbearable.

  Mind you that had made bathing Laddie a rather urgent issue . . . and Ronson . . . as well as finding the boy a clean tartan. Niels could use a bath and fresh tartan too after his night on the moldy rushes, but she could hardly order him to bathe. And then Edith would like to bathe herself. She'd wanted a bath since waking but hadn't ordered one because she refused to bathe in front of the Buchanan brothers and they had seemed to have taken root permanently in her bedchamber. At least Niels had. Rory had spent as much time in Effie's room as her own. And Geordie and Alick had left to ride to MacDonnell, but Niels still insisted she needed his protection and refused to leave her alone, even in her chamber.

  "I'd like to bathe and see to it that Ronson and Laddie do as well," she admitted as she watched him quickly roll up the furs and secure them to the side of the horse in a rope sling. He then quickly mounted.

  "Perfect," Niels pronounced and Edith gasped as he suddenly leaned down, caught her under the arms and lifted her onto his mount before him.

  "Why is that perfect?" Edith asked as she settled sideways in his lap.

  "Because we are all going to the loch for a bath," he announced, and then turned and held a hand out to Ronson. "Take me hand, lad."

  Ronson hesitated, but then held his hand up and Niels swung him up and around behind his back on the horse. "There's no' a lot o' room with all three o' us on here. Wrap yer arms around me, lad, so ye do no' slide off the horse's arse."

  "Ai, yi, yi," Edith breathed. She would never get Ronson to stop swearing as long as Niels kept using such words in front of the boy. His grandmother would surely blame her for this.

  "That's right, lad. Hold on tight," Niels instructed, reaching around Edith to grab the reins.

  "Mayhap ye should put him in me lap," Edith suggested, shifting to try to look around him at the boy.

  "He'll be fine," Niels said soothingly. "'Tis no' far."

  Edith nodded, but she also slid her hands around his waist to clasp Ronson's arms and make sure he stayed in place. For some reason that made Niels chuckle. At least that's what she thought he was doing. She felt his stomach move and his breath brush the top of her head, though there was no sound behind the laugh.

  "What is so funny?" she asked, lifting her head to peer up at him.

  "Nothing." Niels smiled faintly and shrugged. "I was just thinking ye will make a fine mother."

  Edith smiled sadly. "I'd like to think ye're right, but I fear I'll ne'er get the chance to find out."

  When Niels frowned at her words, Edith lowered her head and rested it against his chest.

  "Ronson, make sure Laddie follows us," Niels instructed, urging his horse to move forward.

  As Ronson called out to the dog, Edith closed her eyes and tried to clear her mind of the worrisome issue of her future. There was enough on her plate at the moment without thinking about that. They still had to figure out who had killed her father and brothers and tried to kill her. She suspected if Brodie found out they'd been poisoned, he'd find some excuse or other to not return to the keep until the culprit was found. Which meant she had to stay and run the castle in his absence.

  Edith couldn't in good conscience leave Tormod to run things alone. He was a fine first, and knew what he was about, but he was getting on in years, and she knew it had been a burden on him to run both the soldiers and the household servants while she was ill. Unfortunately, Brodie was just selfish enough to spend all of his time at court, sending home only for coin if the culprit was never found. He'd drain Drummond of all of its wealth, and leave his people miserable and starving without a second thought. Which left her in a bit of a precarious position. She needed to resolve the matter of who was behind the poisoning so that it was safe enough that Brodie wouldn't have an excuse not to return. But she also needed to be gone before he returned if she wanted to avoid being sent to the Abbey to live out the rest of her days.

  Today, in truth, had been a bit of an indulgence. Changing the rush mats in the castle had been a way to briefly escape the keep and delay dealing with the real problem. Edith had felt she deserved the time out after being ill for so long. But
tonight she would have to sit down with Rory, Niels and Tormod and try to come up with a plan to sort out the matter. She'd also pack a bag with what she would need for her visit with Saidh, so that she could leave at a moment's notice should the matter be resolved quickly.

  That was the other reason she'd put off tackling the matter right away. She'd sent a letter with Geordie and Alick for Saidh, outlining her problem and her hopes of visiting with Saidh and the other two women who made up her friends to try to find a way to avoid life as a nun. She wouldn't just show up on the woman's door, begging admittance.

  But Geordie and Alick needed time to ride to MacDonnell and back with Saidh's answer. If they weren't back before the issue was resolved, she wasn't sure what she'd do. Perhaps trade in her fine dresses for the plain garb of a servant and go in search of a position in another castle under another name. Surely she'd have a better chance at happiness as a housemaid or lady's maid than as a nun?

  Edith grimaced at the thought. She wasn't a fool and knew the dangers inherent in such an undertaking, but she had few options available to her.

  "Here we are."

  Edith lifted her head and glanced around as Niels drew his mount to a halt. They'd entered a small clearing by the loch that she knew well. It was on the edge of the loch, and where she often came with Laddie when she wished to swim in private. Most of the castle used a larger stretch farther down the shore and closer to the castle, but here the land curved sharply inward and then back out, creating a tiny cove that offered privacy.

  "Down ye go, Ronson," Niels said, and Edith released the hold she'd kept on the boy's arms as Niels reached back to grab him by the back of his shirt and tartan and swing him down to the ground. Laddie was immediately there to greet the boy, licking his face excitedly.

  Edith sat upright then, retrieving her arms from around Niels and shifting her bottom so that she slid forward and began to slide off the mount. The moment that happened, she twisted her upper body and caught at his leg to ease her drop. As her bottom cleared the horse, it followed in the turn and she landed on the ground facing the horse and clasping Niels's leg. Edith was rather proud of herself for disembarking on her own without the need to be lifted down like a child . . . until she noted Niels's odd stillness and the unreadable expression on his face.

  Realizing she was still clasping his leg, she released it at once and stepped back, then turned and moved around the horse to where Ronson and Laddie were as Niels started to disembark. Laddie immediately moved toward her and Edith petted him, using the action to keep him from jumping up on her.

  "Good boy," she murmured. Running her hands along the dog's side, she glanced back to see what Niels was doing. He'd removed the rolled-up furs from the sling he'd made to hang from his saddle, as well as the sack that had held the cherry pastries and apples and a much larger sack too, and was now moving to the center of the clearing with Ronson trailing him.

  "What can I do to help?" Edith asked, following now as well.

  "Ye can take this and go bathe in the loch while Ronson and I set up a little picnic," he answered and dug around in his bag before producing a small square of Aleppo soap. Handing it to her he added, "I was hoping to find ye some with lavender oils in it or such, but this smells nice too."

  Edith smiled faintly. "Ye'll find no lavender at Drummond."

  Niels's eyebrows rose. "I thought women liked lavender?"

  "Most do," she admitted with a smile. "And I think 'tis fine, but it was never allowed in the keep at Drummond."

  "Why?"

  "Father refused to have it," she said simply.

  "Did it give him the sneezes or something?" Niels asked with amusement.

  "Nay." Edith shook her head. "He had an aversion to it. I remember a visitor coming who smelled o' it once when I was a child and me da got all quiet and glum. When I asked Mother why, she said that lavender reminded him o' his mother and his sisters Ealasaid and Glynis and made him sad and gloomy. They all three favored the scent," she said, and explained, "They died when he was young. From the sweating sickness I think mother said. All three died quickly and 'twas a shock to him." Realizing she was babbling nervously, Edith shut her mouth and took the precious hard bar of laurel soap he held out, but then just stood there uncertainly. She had brought Ronson down to swim on occasion and had no problem stripping down to her shift in front of him, but Niels was not a five-year-old boy.

  "Ronson'll make sure I do no' look," he assured her gently, and then smiled at the boy and said, "Will ye no' lad?"

  "Aye," Ronson said at once, and then frowned and asked, "But why can ye no' watch Lady Edith swim? I swim with her all the time."

  "Lucky you," Niels said under his breath, but didn't explain. Instead, he assured Edith, "I'll be right here setting up. And when I finish I'll sit with me back to the water. Once ye're done ye can dry off and dress." He produced a clean, dry folded strip of linen and a fresh gown from the larger sack he'd brought and held them out to her. Once she'd accepted the offerings, he added, "And then ye can sit and have some lunch while Ronson and I bathe Laddie and ourselves."

  Edith stared down at the dress he'd pulled from the sack. It was one of hers, and he'd rolled it to help keep it from wrinkling, but of course it hadn't completely prevented them. "Where did ye--?"

  "Moibeal fetched it fer me," he admitted with a wry smile. "I originally intended to fetch it meself, but then it occurred to me ye might keep things in yer chest ye'd no' like me seeing, so I hunted her down and she helped."

  "Oh." Edith nodded slowly. Moibeal had chosen her finest gown, one Edith had never even worn yet except during fittings. A deep forest green, it was Moibeal's favorite. The maid swore it brought Edith's eyes and hair to life, showing her off to perfection and would make any man fall in love with her. Her choosing the gown for Niels told Edith the maid saw him as a prospective husband for Edith, and approved. That was not something that she'd even considered before this.

  "Go on. I promise we'll no' look," Niels said gently.

  Swallowing, Edith nodded and turned to move to one of the trees at the edge of the clearing. Half of its branches stretched out over the water, but half were over dry land. Edith hung the gown and strip of linen from one over land that was low enough to reach, but high enough that the clean gown did not reach the ground. Then she turned to glance back to the boys, finding both Niels and Ronson chattering quietly as they unrolled and laid out the furs.

  Turning her back to them, she set down the bar of soap and quickly undid and stripped off her gown, then snatched up the soap again and hurried into the water in just her shift. The water was cold at first, and she had to bite her lip to keep from squealing as she hurried out until it was waist deep. Edith then dove under the water and swam for a bit until her body adjusted to the temperature.

  The setting was beautiful and Edith usually took her time and enjoyed the peace of the cove and the cool water when she came here. Today she did not. Edith was quick and businesslike as she washed herself and her hair, but the whole time her mind was poking and prodding around the idea of Niels as a husband.

  Now that she was thinking about it, the idea was an interesting one. It would certainly solve her worry of ending up in the Abbey. As for Niels himself . . . well, she quite liked him. He was handsome, and seemed clever, and competent. More importantly to her, he was also extremely good with Ronson, showing both kindness and patience. Edith felt sure he would make a good father.

  From Saidh's letters, she knew that Niels had taken over as his older brother Aulay's first at Buchanan when Dougall had left with Murine. Which made her curious about how he was able to be away so long. But she supposed with so many brothers, another was filling in for him at Buchanan while he was here. At any rate, she knew that Niels would never have a keep of his own, but that didn't matter to her. She would be quite content to live in a little cottage in the village, bearing and rearing bairns.

  That last thought made her glance toward Niels again as she considered the p
racticalities of getting those bairns. Edith's mother had been a skilled healer and had taught her a good deal. She'd also taken her along to help as she'd sewn up wounds and helped birth babies. Edith knew the basics of how those babies got into the woman, and now considered having to do that with Niels.

  It was hard to imagine what led to the man planting his seed, and how unpleasant it might be. Her mother had told her it was painful the first time, but her friend Jo had shared a bit of her own experience with them and assured them there was a lot of pleasure to be had too. Edith found that hard to believe. Really, it sounded like such an odd act.

  Her hand slid under the water and between her legs, finding the spot where the man "plowed the field with his fiddle" as Jo had called it. She poked around curiously, but then shook her head. Nope, she couldn't imagine wanting a man to do that to her, even Niels, handsome as he was. Still, if it was necessary to get bairns . . .

  Realizing that in her mind she already had the two of them marrying and making babies, Edith gave her head a shake. Niels might not be the least interested in her in such a way. She might have to resign herself to marrying some nasty old baron with bad breath or something.

  Sighing, Edith ducked under the water to rinse the soap from her hair and body and then straightened and glanced toward the boys. Niels sat facing away from the water, leaning back on his arms with his legs out in front of him and crossed at the ankles. Ronson was sitting the exact same way, obviously copying him. The sight made her smile as she hurried out and snatched the linen from the tree to quickly dry herself.

  It was only then that she realized that while Moibeal had given Niels a fresh gown, she hadn't thought to send a new, dry shift too. Which meant she either had to pull her gown on over the now soaking shift, or go without. The decision was an easy one. She was not sitting around in a soaking wet shift and gown.