| |
––––––––
KADICK WAS STARTING to like this man and hoped she could find a husband with his temperament. “Shall I tell you about the one time William yelled at Millin?”
“Please do,” said Donnahail.
“Well, Millin got it into her head that she was going to reproach another woman. William never forbid her anything, but that time he said nay, she was to stay out of it. Millin wouldn’t listen and went out the door before he could stop her. Furious that she would disobey him, he chased after her, picked her up and carried her back inside. ‘You will never disobey me again!’ he yelled. Can you guess what happened next?”
“What?”
“She slapped him...hard.”
“Did he hit her back?”
Kadick’s eyes grew wide. “Nay, he loved her, he would never hit her. Instead, he kissed her and he would not stop kissing her until her anger left and she gave in.”
“I would not have thought to do that.”
“That is what I mean. William honored his wife. He filled her life with love, not arguments or orders, or unpleasant remarks, just love and the many forms love takes in a person’s life. I was a part of his love for her too.”
“In what way?” he asked.
“It was William who rescued me. He never said, but I think my first mother was about to kill me. Instead, he took me home to please a wife who had not conceived.”
“And pleasing her pleased him,” Donnahail said.
“Aye. Therefore I pleased them and the two of them pleased me very, very much.”
“Not all marriages are like that, you know.”
“Why not?”
He chuckled. “There are many reasons but mostly ‘tis because lads choose a wife for the wrong reason.”
“Which is?”
“Her beauty, her stature and sometimes even just the way she looks at him.”
“Looks at him how?”
Donnahail was suddenly sorry he brought up the subject, and worried he would have to explain in more detail. “Well...she looks at him with...lust in her eyes.”
“Oh. Millin has explained lust to me. But lust is not just a lad’s problem, ‘tis a lass’s as well.”
“True and if they marry for lust alone, they cannot expect a happy marriage.”
Kadick smiled. “I agree, although I do not yet know how to tell if a lad wants to marry me because of lust alone. Perhaps you will have to help me with that.”
“I will be honored.” He returned her smile, but turned away before she could see too much in his eyes. Sometime in the last few days, the feeling he had for her changed from a protective older brother, to a man growing fond of a woman in his company. He liked talking to her and enjoyed her way of thinking. She was not piteous as she had every right to be, or resentful as some others might have become in her position. More importantly, she was not vain. Considering his last romance, a lack of undue vanity was high on his list of wife requirements. Wife requirements? Was he really considering Kadick’s qualities as a possible wife?
Both of them were being unusually quiet, each lost in their own thoughts. Finally, Kadick spoke up. “I’ll not find a husband like William, will I?”
“I doubt I will find a wife like Millin either and certainly not in England. The ways of the English are not like ours.”
“I have an idea.”
“What?”
“I will find a good wife for you if you find a good husband for me.”
Donnahail sat up a little straighter. “It might work. How will you know if she is a good lass?”
“When there are no lads around, a lass always shows her true nature. I will know if she complains too much, or cries or spits. I hate it when a lass spits. How will you know?”
“First, I must make certain he will not hurt you.”
“How will you know that?”
“I am not sure. Perhaps I might say unkind things to see the look in his eyes and how quickly he challenges me.”
“Would that work, do you think?”
“I hope so, although finding the right lad in a single afternoon might not be easy. By the way, I prefer a lass who will not commit adultery. How would you go about learning the truth on that subject?”
Kadick leaned back on her hands and thoughtfully studied a cloud in the sky. “Perhaps I will know in the way she looks at lads. If she prefers most...or too many of them, then I will know.”
“That sounds reasonable.”
“Then we have an agreement?”
Donnahail got to his feet and smiled down at her. “Aye, at the festival, I will seek a husband for you and you can find a wife for me.” He nodded and then walked away.
*
WHEN DARKNESS FINALLY fell, Greer walked out of their hiding place to the farm gate, to wait for the dairy maids. She waited and waited and waited.
When Greer did not come right back, Neil motioned for the men to tie up their horses and follow. He cautiously led them through the foliage toward the gate and then stopped. A campfire on the inside of the fence made it easy to see Greer was not waiting by the gate and neither were the dairy maids.
He ran his fingers through his dark hair and studied the length of the fence from north to south. More campfires dotted the land and he could see men posted near them. However, the fires were not close together and there was ample darkness between. Bright candle light shone through the glass windows of the manor, and the warmth of the night air demanded the opening of all the windows and the doors. He listened, but could not hear any noises coming from inside.
Neil motioned for his men to come closer, whispered his orders and waited for their nods. Then he watched while they made their way down the length of the fence, found a dark place to climb over and then disappeared.
Several minutes later, he heard an Englishman shouting, “The cows are getting out!”
The cows began to bellow and Neil smiled. He knew his men were herding them and just as he hoped, the English guards left their posts to chase the cows. Then a man, dressed much better than the others, rushed out of the manor, followed by two older boys. No doubt it was the lord and his sons.
It was just the break he needed and as soon as they were out of sight, Neil opened the gate, hurried up the steps and went inside the large sitting room. At six foot five, he was so big the Lady and her servants could do little more than drop their mouths. “Where is Greer?”
The lady stammered. “You...”
“Where is she?”
Clearly terrified, the lady pointed to the next room. Neil yanked the door to a dining room open and went in. Greer and the four dairy maids were tied to chairs with their mouths gagged. He quickly pulled out his dagger, cut Greer loose and then began to free the others.
He noticed the terror in their eyes and tried to calm them with a soft voice. “We are MacGreagors. We do not force lasses to marry us nor do we bed them without benefit of marriage. You will choose your own husbands and you may take as long as you like to decide. You may also leave us at any time, and we will bring you back. I give you my pledge.”
He had the last one cut free when he stopped to face them. “If you still wish MacGreagor husbands, follow me.” He intentionally left first and wondered how many would come, but he didn’t want them to be frightened and did not turn around. Instead, he peeked out the front door, darted across the courtyard and held open the gate. To his relief, Greer and all four women were behind him.
Still taking the lead, he hurried up the road and then cut into the foliage toward the trees. One by one, his men fell in beside the women in case they needed help. As soon as they reached the horses, each helped a woman mount, got on his own horse and escorted them back toward the encampment.
*
NO ONE WAS QUITE SURE what to do when Neil brought the women back. The men stood in the small clearing with their legs apart and their hands behind their backs, while the ones sent to get the women helped them dismount. Soon even they moved away and stood with the others facing the women. This time it was Neil’s turn to interpret.
The women were shy, uncertain and obviously fearful. “They are very big,” one whispered.
“Are we to choose now?” whispered another.
As soon as Luag helped Greer off her horse, she walked to the women and gave them a comforting smile. “I am Greer. I escaped from an English manor a few months ago and will soon marry, if the lad of my choice is still speaking to me. He was not pleased when I left Scotland to come find wives for our lads.” Already the women looked as though they were calming down.
“I am Dora,” said the woman with red hair and green eyes. Then she took the arm of the blond, woman standing next to her.” “This is Carol. Glorie has red hair like mine. She hates her name, but what can she do? The one with brown hair is Maggie.” The four of them curtsied at the same time.
“You do not need to curtsy when you are with us,” Greer said. “We are like family. The lad who cut you free is Laird Neil MacGreagor. He is the only one who is married.” She smiled at the hint of disappointment in the women and then introduced all the men. “There is another lass among us. She was born with a mark on her face, but she is beloved to us and should any of you object to her, I will happily take you back where we found you.” Greer waited until she was certain they understood.
Kadick did not understand the English words, but when they all looked at her, it wasn’t hard to know Greer was telling them about her mark. She learned something from Donnahail and wanted to see if it worked with others. She took down her hood, walked to Dora and took the stranger’s hand. The woman did not seem nervous or reluctant, which was a good thing. Gently, Kadick put Dora’s finger on the mark. Instead of being horrified, Dora seemed as fascinated as Donnahail had been.
Kadick did the same with the other women and when she was finished, she deemed her experiment a success, turned and smiled at Donnahail.
Although she touched Kadick’s mark like the others, it was not Glorie’s first concern. She was hungry and stared at the meat cooking over the fire. Then she looked around for the pottage that was normally set out for the field hands and the milkmaids. A large kettle of vegetables, with just a few chunks of meat constantly hung in hearths and more vegetables were added to it for the next meal, but the portions of meat were always small.
Maon, the shortest of all the men with light hair and brown eyes couldn’t seem to stop looking at Glorie and nudged Neil. “They are hungry.”
