“Does he know that we’re pretending?” Cairstine kept her voice hushed.
“He does. Cairrie, I have told no one what happened to you, but my father has been laird for a long time. He’s had to dole out punishment to more than one mon and comfort more than one woman. I think he guessed.”
Cairstine nodded. “I expected as much.”
Eoin took Cairstine’s arm and guided her toward the kitchens. The tension hadn’t evaporated between them, but talking abated the heated frustration. Eoin pushed the door open to the kitchen, but they both stopped as a woman’s voice floated to them.
“They’ve been up there doing it like rabbits, I tell ye. Who would have thunk Lady All High and Mighty would be nay better than a whore getting her skirts tossed?” a woman kneading bread with her back to the couple spoke.
“Aye, that one’s run screeching from marriage, and the vera first day, she’s nay where to be seen as her mon plows her.”
Cairstine felt Eoin go rigid as they listened. A couple of women noticed them and elbowed each other, jutting their chins in Cairstine’s and Eoin’s direction. But not all saw the hint.
“What I dinna understand is how a braw mon like him even wanted such a prude. He has appetites she canna fill. He needs a real woman the likes of me to ride.”
“Enough!” Eoin slammed his fist on a table, making all the women, even the ones who saw them, jump. “The only thing I need from any of ye is for ye to shut the bluidy hell up and cease this clishmaclaver. Ye will never speak of yer lady like that again. Ye will make a line and apologize. I dinna give a fig if ye said aught or nae. Those who remained silent are just as guilty for nae doing the right thing. I will bring this up toboththe laird and lady. I hope ye dinna need yer employment in the keep that badly.”
Eoin’s disgust was obvious as he stood livid, his brogue in full force as he seethed. Cairstine would have preferred to slip out of the kitchen unnoticed, but it was too late for that. She raised her chin and straightened her spine, adopting her haughtiest courtly expression as one woman after another dipped a curtsy and mumbled an apology.
Cairstine asked the head cook to prepare a basket for them and whispered her own apologies for the food they left untouched. The woman offered her a knowing smile and nodded her head. She set women to work packing a picnic basket while Cairstine went back to Eoin’s side. His temper still high, Eoin narrowed his eyes as he swept them across women who varied from defiant to cowering. He’d stood behind Cairstine with his hands on her shoulders while the women humbled themselves, but now he wrapped his arm around her waist and pulled her against his side.
“Did any of ye nae hear of how I arrived, demanding to marry Lady Cairstine? If ye didna, ask around. Keep yer rude comments and speculations aboot what I do or dinna need or want to yerself. I amnae interested in any woman other than ma wife. Dinna bother being coy with me, or I will be rude to ye. Dinna bother goading Lady Cairstine by flirting with me. And dinna, for God’s sake, pretend like ye dinna ken what I mean. I recognize all of ye from yer various trips in and out of our chamber. Why on God’s green earth would I want any woman when I have Lady Cairstine?”
Eoin took the basket a maid brought to them and guided Cairstine through the kitchens and out the side door. They passed the bailey as people smiled and waved to the supposedly newly married couple. Despite the debacle in their chamber, Cairstine felt like a bride. The congratulations and warm wishes made her blush, and they made her remember how special her clan was to her and how Freuchie would always be home after all. Eoin’s vigorous defense surprised her. He’d been irate on her behalf, and she didn’t doubt that had they been men, he would have pummeled them all. But she’d felt proud of him, and it felt like she had a doting husband. As they passed through the postern gate, Cairstine expected Eoin would drop his arm from around her waist, the pretense no longer needed, but it remained in place. If anything, he pulled her closer. She leaned her head against his shoulder.
“Cairrie, I’m sorry I overreacted. It’s rare that I get that angry, but there’s something aboot people mistreating you that makes me the devil come to rain down hell’s fury.” Calmer, his burr flavored his accent once more, but no longer commanded his words.
Cairstine nodded, and they remained quiet until they made their way to the spot where Ailis’s house once stood. They spread out their picnic and chatted about Eoin’s home. Cairstine had told him stories the day before, so she was eager to hear his. When they finished eating, they laid back and watched the clouds pass overhead. At times, they enjoyed companionable silence, not touching but near one another. When they accepted that they couldn’t linger any longer, they returned through the primary gate, taking the longer way around. They enjoyed the walk, and Eoin promised to take her on a longer one the next morning. As they walked to the keep, they passed the lists. Cairstine stopped and watched the men for a moment before she turned to Eoin.
“I want you to teach me to fight.” Cairstine announced. “I don’t mean with a sword, but maybe with dirks. How to defend myself, so I’m never vulnerable again.”
Eoin’s chest burned thinking there would be a time when he would no longer be Cairstine’s protector and her misguided belief that learning to fight would never make her vulnerable. “All warriors, regardless of size or experience, are vulnerable. Remembering that keeps you alive because it keeps you alert. I’ll teach you, Cairrie. But I need you to understand and agree that what I teach you is to defend yourself long enough to get away. You won’t be able to put up an equal fight against a mon larger than you. Not in skirts and not without a sword. I’ll make sure you can get free and run.”
Cairstine nodded. “When can we start?”
“Tomorrow. We’ll go for that walk, and while we’re out, I will teach you. But I have one condition.”
“Oh?”
“We bring Bram.”
“What? Why?” Cairstine didn’t like having a chaperone. She’d been eager for more time with Eoin like they’d shared that day. And despite her fondness for Bram, she thought she was finished having a nursemaid watching over her, at least while Eoin was there.
“For two reasons. I want you to see me demonstrate moves. And I want someone guarding us, so I can focus on you. I want you to learn, and I don’t want to accidentally injure you because I’m splitting my attention between you and keeping watch.” Eoin’s expression showed he wouldn’t budge, and Cairstine had to admit he had valid points. She nodded, and they carried on to the keep.
Eoin handed the basket off to a maid he shot a warning glare. The woman skittered away just as Lady Davina approached.
“Cook tells me there was an incident in the kitchens today,” Davina’s soft tone took the edge off the blunt greeting.
“Aye, Eoin and I heard some unfavorable things,” Cairstine looked at the floor, but before Davina could reply, Eoin leaned in to whisper in her ear.
“Don’t ever be ashamed of what they accused us of. As far as anyone knows, we are married. It’s our right as husband and wife to spend as much or as little together as we want, doing whatever we want. Keep your chin up,mo leannan, or I’ll chew them up and spit them out all over again. I won’t have you cowed. Understood?”
Cairstine looked up at Eoin and nodded. She met her mother’s eyes; the woman scrutinizing the couple’s interaction. Cairstine feared her mother would guess at any moment that the handfast wasn’t real. She also worried that her mother would object to Eoin’s reaction in the kitchen.
“Cairstine, your father is aware of what happened, and I addressed the issue. We are shorthanded now by a few, but I think they took Eoin’s warning to heart far more than they did mine. I’d say more than one of those women was jealous of you, but for a different reason than how it sounded. I think they wished they had a mon so devoted to them.” Davina smiled, but Cairstine caught the speculation in the older woman’s eyes.
The evening meal passed uneventfully, with Fingal on patrol and everyone else interested in other topics. Eoin arranged for Bram to meet them in the morning. A broad smile, along with an emphatic nod, was his only response. Since Cairstine bathed that morning and Eoin didn’t visit the lists, there was no need to endure the agony of another bath time. The day fatigued Cairstine, who fell into an undisturbed sleep. Eoin dozed more than slept, fearful Cairstine would have nightmares again. When morning came, Eoin slipped out of the chamber as Cairstine woke, telling her he would wait in the passageway as she got ready for the day.
