“Ye mean yer mon carrying his caterwauling sister from the morning meal? Aye, I heard.”
“Kieran’s plans changed because of Madeline’s behavior. Rather than moving forward with the marriage to the Matheson’s son, he’s set off to take her to Inchcailleoch Priory.”
Hamish’s face blanched as he looked at his daughter. “The Isle of Auld Women?”
“That would be the place.”
“I canna imagine much worse than that abbey. They dinna allow anyone to speak except for when they’re in prayer. They make the women wear hair shirts under their robes. He must truly want to do away with her.”
“Da, he’s nae trying to kill her. He needs her to distance herself from the MacLeods before she says the wrong thing to the wrong person. If ye arrived here and didna learn that Kieran and I had developed a fondness for one another, and if ye didna realize how different he is from his sister, what would have happened when ye learned of Madeline’s treatment of me?”
Hamish ran his hand over his beard. He let it grow out when he was away from her mother. Lady Sutherland didn’t gainsay her husband about much, but she despised Hamish’s beard. She declared many times over the years that she didn’t want to look at a mountain man but rather the handsome and braw man she married. He tried to argue that the beard made for easier grooming, to which his wife responded by offering to shave him. Lachlan, Blair, and Maude had learned better than to interrupt their parents’ morning ablutions. They’d learned at a young age that far more than washing their faces went on.
“I admit ma temper might get the better of me. I believe I’ve grown wiser and more judicious with age, but I’m an angry bear if I believe someone is harming ma bairns. While I wouldnae have picked a fight, it might have come to that if Kieran defended his sister.”
“Aye, and what would Uncle Liam do if he learned of it?”
“He’d take our side. Our fight is his fight.”
“And his fight is who else’s fight?”
“Aye, lass. I ken. The Mackays.”
“Kieran understands that such a disagreement might never come to swords. He also knows he doesnae need more hostility and animosity directed toward the MacLeods. I’m sure he feared the Mackenzies would side with us, which would leave Assynt vulnerable. If the Mackenzies joined and Madeline married into the Mathesons, that would put her new clan squarely in the middle, since they’d be allied with both the Mackenzies and the MacLeods. Part of me feels a little bad for Madeline, but I also understand feuds have started over less.”
“True enough.” Hamish watched his daughter for a moment before rubbing his hand over his beard again. “What else did he say?”
“Kieran didna have the chance to say any of this,” Maude admitted. “He sent me a note. He’s declared he willna wait to court me in the open any longer.”
“He’s convinced the two of ye are well matched. I want to ken if ye see beyond just his good looks. Looks fade with age,” Hamish grinned. “Nae yer mother but every other woman I ken her age. What will ye have once the physical attraction wanes?”
“I hope we grow to love each other like you and Mama, but I canna know for sure. I respect him and am at ease, safe, with him. Kieran can be high-handed, but it’s only when he worries aboot me. He’s compassionate and he’s astute. I admire his loyalty to his clan even in matters that set him against his family. I suspect we’ll find we have much in common once we spend more than a few minutes together at a time.” Maude gifted her father with one of her brightest smiles. “And nay, he isnae hard on the eyes.”
“Lass,” Hamish playfully warned, but grew serious as he took Maude’s hand. “I would have ye find someone who can cherish ye and bring that same smile to yer bonnie face every day for the rest of yer lives.”
Maude looked toward the garden as she considered whether to share her next thought. She returned her gaze to the weathered and familiar face. “He makes me feel confident aboot myself, like I’m good enough. I ken you and Mama, and Blair and Lachlan, even Arabella now, try to make me feel that way, but it’s different with Kieran. And before you scowl, it’s nae aboot the kissing. Da, dinna fash.” Maude rested her hand on her father’s arm as he pretended to reach for his sword. “I ken you ken he’s kissed me. You’ve said as much. But it’s not aboot that. Kieran makes me feel that way even when we’re nae touching. He doesnae look down on me for ma insecurities, nor does he offer hollow platitudes. He knows they’re very real to me, but he accepts me nonetheless.”
“Lass, I’d say ye have the foundation for a good friendship. It will take time to ken if it will develop into more, and to ken if that more is enough to build a life upon together. Being the laird’s wife isnae easy. Ye’ll be tested often. It helps when ye have a partner that ye can rely upon, lean upon. I have that with yer mama. She is ma greatest ally, and I trust her always. I wish the same for ye and Kieran because I ken in ma heart that it’s possible.”
“Thank ye, Da. I love ye.” Maude didn’t hide her burr as she hugged her father. She remained in his embrace as she absorbed the comfort she still found there, and she realized her father missed being able to do it more often.
“I love ye, lass. Nae matter what.”
* * *
Kieran was dirty, tired, and annoyed, but at least he could see the gates of Stirling Castle as he galloped closer. While arrangements for Madeline didn’t take as long as he expected, the abbess was a master negotiator, making it clear within minutes that she had experience haggling over dowries for the brides of Christ. It cost him more coin than he planned, but the settlement was on its way from Lewis. It would come to him at Stirling, where he would sign the deeds to the dower lands over to the Priory on the condition that the nuns on Iona could use them if they so chose, but they reverted to the MacLeods upon Madeline’s death or her release from servitude. It would take five years for Madeline to move from being a novice to a postulate to a nun. During those five years before taking her final vows, Kieran was willing to reconsider his decision to commit her to the nunnery, but only if she proved true remorse and a real desire to make amends. If the abbess doubted her sincerity, she would remain, spending her life in prayer with the hopes of redemption upon her death. He’d also arranged for two of his guards to deliver his regrets, along with a small chest of coins, to the Mathesons with an explanation that Madeline had been called to a life of service. He didn’t mention that it wasn’t God who’d called, but Kieran himself. He hoped that the money would be enough to smooth things over. It wasn’t as substantial as her dowry, but it was a generous settlement nonetheless.
Kieran reined in Peat alongside the stables. As he unfastened his satchel, he considered using the trough again to refresh himself as he did the last time he reunited with Maude. Despite the journey being shorter and faster than returning from Lewis, he somehow felt grimier this time. He pushed aside the idea of going to his chamber and summoning a bath and followed his guards to the barracks where he could wash and change clothes. He was ready within a quarter of an hour. It was early afternoon, so Kieran was aware that the ladies were probably in the queen’s solar. Short of pounding on the door and being skewered by the queen’s guards, he needed to find another way to reach Maude. He wound his way to the spense and found it unlocked but empty. Kieran looked around outside to see if anyone was working nearby, but there was no one. He lit a candle and looked for a scrap of parchment or even bark upon which he could write. He found a piece of discarded parchment, surprised that anyone would waste so much, and a charcoal pencil. Kieran prayed she understood his note’s meaning and trusted that she would. Kieran crossed the bailey to the castle and found a page before returning to the spense where he had already extinguished the candle. He waited in the dark.
Maude looked up when a young page came to stand beside her in the queen’s solar. She’d been reading and was unprepared for the boy to appear at her shoulder. She noticed the missive was unsealed and the parchment seemed to have crossed out writing. Maude glanced at the page, but he shrugged before leaving. She held her breath, hoping it might be from Kieran.
The spense.
Td
It was from Kieran. She recognized the handwriting, but more than that, she understood Td stood for turtledove. She looked around, thankful that the queen had stepped out to use the garderobe and that the Mistress of the Bedchamber went with her. Maude seized upon the lack of supervision to slip out of the solar. She didn’t care who might have noticed. She still had her cloak with her, since she hadn’t returned to her chamber since her morning walk. Maude pulled the hood over her hair and held it in place, hiding her face as she hurried through the passageways. She entered the courtyard through a side entrance near the storerooms that included where they stored the herbs and medicinals. She crept to the door from the side that was least visible to the rest of the bailey. She pressed the door open and waited, but when no one moved, she pulled her dirk from her waist and stepped inside.
“Keir-”
