“She took my sword,” Thomas said solemnly. When Annaleigh looked at him, he turned to her with great seriousness. “She took my sword. She said she wanted to fight whoever was coming to Castle Questing.”
“Why?”
“Because she said it was her castle and she didn’t invite them.”
Annaleigh sighed heavily, looking at the child still sobbing in the dirt. “’Tis not yer castle, Penny,” she said. “This is yer father’s castle and those people are his guests. Would ye embarrass him so?”
“What happened?”
Annaleigh looked up to see Jordan coming up behind her, but the woman was looking at her daughter with some concern.
“Why is she crying?” Jordan asked.
Annaleigh knew how Penelope was treated around Castle Questing so she hoped she wasn’t about to become Public Enemy Number One. “I saw her going out tae the bailey with a sword,” she said. “Thomas said she stole it from him and she was planning on challenging Lord William’s guest.”
Jordan frowned. “Challenge him?” she repeated, looking at her daughter. “Why in the world would ye do that, lass?”
“Annie hit me!” Penelope wailed, pointing a finger at Annaleigh.
Annaleigh quickly found herself on the defensive. “When I picked her up tae bring her tae the kitchen yard, she bit me,” she explained, holding up her hand to show Jordan the welt. “I spanked her.”
Penelope was on her feet, rushing to her mother and throwing her arms around the woman’s legs. “Annie hit me, Mama,” she said. “She hurt me.”
Jordan may have been a soft touch for her daughter, but she was better than her husband was. She knew when she was being manipulated. Reaching down, she grasped the little girl by the arms.
“Is that true?” she demanded. “Did ye bite her?”
Penelope wasn’t expecting her mother not to blindly believe her. “I… I… shehitme!”
“Afterye bit her,” Jordan said accusingly. “Dunna lie tae me, lass. If ye do, it’ll go worse for ye.”
Penelope simply began crying again, loudly, because she knew she’d done something wrong. It was as good as a confession as far as Jordan was concerned. She swatted her naughty daughter on the behind for good measure and she cried louder. But just as quickly, Jordan picked the child up, hugged her, and turned for the keep.
“Tell William I’ve had tae tend Penny,” she said. “Annie, greet his visitors in my place and make sure they have everything they need. Go, now. They’ve arrived.”
As Jordan disappeared into the keep with Penelope and Thomas, Annaleigh brushed the dust from the front of her dress and quickly headed out into the bailey where William’s visitors had just dismounted their steeds. She could see men gathered around, including William, and she quickly made her way over to them.
“Annie!”
Edward de Wolfe came running up beside her. Dark and handsome, even at his young age, he was quite articulate and well-spoken. He’d seen eleven summers but he had the maturity of someone older. Annaleigh reached out and grasped his hand.
“Come with me,” she said. “I’m tae greet yer father’s guests in yer mother’s stead.”
“Where’s Mother?”
“She took Penny away.”
Edward lifted a disapproving eyebrow. “What’s she done this time?”
“Hush,” Annaleigh squeezed his hand and let it go. “We’ve guests tae greet, so no talk. Be polite and listen.”
She came to a halt behind Kieran, standing a few feet away, as the men chatted amiably. She could hear several voices but because they were so tall, and she so petite, she could only stand back and listen. But soon enough, the crowd backed away and William appeared, heading towards the keep.
His gaze fell on Annaleigh and she could see the puzzlement.
“Jordan had something tae tend tae in the keep,” she said quickly. “She asked me tae help ye with yer guests.”
William didn’t seem too happy, probably because it occurred to him, finally, that this might be a ploy for Annaleigh to meet War. At least, he thought so. If he knew his wife well, and he did, she wasn’t beyond such things if she truly believed she was in the right.
