“Siùsan’s father handfasted with her mother against his father’s wishes. They were traveling to be wed by a priest when approaching riders spooked her horse. The riders were from the Gunns and included the woman Siùsan’s father was supposed to marry, the one Siùsan’s grandfather arranged. Siùsan’s mother was thrown, and she went into labor, delivering Siùsan before dying. Her father took her mother’s body home on his own horse but refused to look at his newborn daughter. He even suggested they leave her in the woods. One of the guardsmen brought Siùsan back to Mackenzie land, and they placed her in the care of a village woman where she spent the first ten years of her life living with this other family. She was aware of her position as the laird’s daughter but didn’t understand what that meant until he summoned her to live in the keep. Her father still refused to have aught to do with her, and her stepmother—for her father married his Gunn bride—used Siùsan as a servant. She made Siùsan clean and serve in the keep and gave her a servant’s chamber rather than one that befitted the laird’s daughter. Her stepmother gave her the responsibility of being governess to her two younger brothers.”
“That’s reprehensible. I suppose Siùsan’s grandfather wasn’t any better if he allowed his son to abandon Siùsan to a villager.”
Kieran’s shocked expression was a replica of her own when she learned of Siùsan’s past. She was a gentle woman who was too forgiving in Maude’s opinion. But she had a backbone of steel and made Callum come to heel. He was a better man and better tánaiste for it. They loved each other beyond measure. That was the way of all her Sinclair cousins and their spouses.
“It turns out that Siùsan’s mother was best friends with my aunt Kyla. My father’s sister didn’t have much of a better upbringing that Siùsan. From what I’ve been told, my grandfather was a tyrant who abused all his children. Kyla would visit Siùsan’s mother, Rose, whenever possible. When my Uncle Liam discovered how Siùsan lived, his conscience wouldn’t allow the daughter of his wife’s best friend to continue suffering. The Mackenzie laird led him and Aunt Kyla to believe Siùsan died at birth alongside her mother. Uncle Liam investigated and learned what he could with members of his own clan going to live amongst the Mackenzies to report back to him. When he decided the timing was right, he arranged a betrothal between Siùsan and Callum. A much longer story short, after a rocky start, Siùsan and Callum are in love with their own growing family. Siùsan is the model of a perfect mother, and Callum dotes on his bairn. There’s another on the way already. I suspect all of my cousins shall follow their parents lead and have large broods. Uncle Liam and Aunt Kyla were an arranged marriage but fell in love before they wed. Theirs is a love story well known throughout the northern Highlands.”
“Aye. The story’s made its way to even the Hebrides. What of your parents?”
Maude’s smile softened and reflected her deep affection for her parents. She pictured her mother, who she hadn’t seen in months. She’d last breathed in her mother’s familiar lavender scent and experienced the embrace of her soft body pressed against her several moons earlier when her parents brought her to court to begin her service. Maude’s eyes threatened to water as she pictured her and her own parents’ love story.
“My parents were a love match from the start. My father was never meant to be laird. He was the third son, but Rosses killed his father and two older brothers during a hot-trot. They’d regained their rustled cattle and even won a skirmish against the Rosses, but they counted their victory too soon. The Rosses ambushed them within sight of Dunrobin. By the time my father and our warriors joined the fight, my uncles and grandfather had already fallen. Da and his own uncle beat back the Rosses and kept the keep from being attacked. Both of my uncles married but had no bairns. Their wives returned to their own clans after they buried their husbands. My father rode into the Sinclair keep asking for help on the day of Uncle Liam and Aunt Kyla’s wedding. He and my aunt had been close, but their relationship became strained because of their father’s abuse and their brothers’ animosity. My father struggled, out of his depths and all of a sudden responsible for the clan. Aunt Kyla and Uncle Liam returned with Da and stayed a moon while they assisted with getting the clan back on their feet now that they had a caring and wise laird. Shortly after my aunt and uncle left, the king summoned Da to court to recount what happened with the Rosses. The story the Rosses spun differed from the one he’d detailed in his missive to the king.”
“It was a powerful enmity; the Earl of Sutherland and the Earl of Ross edging toward a blood feud,” Kieran ruminated aloud. He’d been told of the battle and how Hamish came to be laird, but it interested him to listen to it from the Sutherland’s daughter rather than a rehashed story from his father. “What happened when your father arrived at court? From what I remember, the dispute ended before a feud took root.”
“It did. At the time, politics were too fraught with the threat of the English invasion. Balliol had just ascended to the throne and was in the midst of submitting Scotland to English rule. Arguing over cattle seemed petty with our county’s independence at stake. My clan and the Rosses didn’t reconcile or even agree to a truce. They put the disagreement aside because, while they disliked one another, they disliked Balliol far more. They both supported King Robert and always have. My father met Lady Amelia Ross, the earl’s daughter and lady-in-waiting to Isabella de Warrene, while at court. He wasn’t aware of who my mother was when he first saw her, just as she didn’t know who he was either. He asked her to dance that night, and they struck up a conversation. Somehow their clan names didn’t come up despite discussing politics. It was dangerous ground to tread, speaking of supporting Robert the Bruce while dancing in King John’s great hall. My mother’s intelligence struck my father, and my mother appreciated that he respected her and listened to her opinions. She’d never experienced it before.”
“It’s hard to conceive that neither revealed their clan name. I can’t imagine how the Earl of Sutherland danced with the Earl of Ross’s daughter, and neither was aware of its significance. Didn’t people stare? Didn’t they catch the whispers that must have been buzzing?”
“They did, but my parents are both strikingly good looking. They each assumed people spoke of their partner. It wasn’t until the next morning when Da and the Ross accompanied the king on a walk much like this one. Da grew excited to see Mama and offered to walk with her until my grandfather lunged at Da and got his hands around Da’s throat. It took six guardsmen to pull them apart. Da didn’t understand why Grandfather attacked, and he said he was halfway through the brawl before he realized who he fought. He wasn’t prepared to lose to anyone, let alone the mon responsible for the deaths of his father and brothers. That was a matter of honor. But what enraged him most was that whoever attacked him did it while he stood close to Mama. It made him livid that someone would risk injuring her. It wasn’t until the guards restrained them that Grandfather accused Da of being too forward with Mama, who was in tears watching her father and the mon she’d hoped would become a suitor fight one another. Da ignored Grandfather and hurried to Mama to make sure they hadn’t injured her. When she reassured him that she hadn’t been hurt, he unleashed on Grandfather for being so selfish, arrogant, and vengeful that he risked his own daughter’s safety. The very daughter he was huffing and puffing aboot protecting. That brought Grandfather to a spluttering stop from what I’ve heard.”
“I’d be livid too if someone attempted to draw me into a fight with you too nearby. I can’t imagine coming to blows with your father, even though I worry we might meet on the battlefield. He is a very different mon than your grandfather. He took me to task when he discovered my interest, but rather than beat me senseless, or at least try to, he talked to me. He’s given me a chance to prove myself.” Kieran realized how fortunate he was as he listened to the story about the couple he wished would soon be his parents-by-marriage. “Obviously something went right. Your father and grandfather lived, and your parents married.”
“Aye, my father refused to put Mama in the middle. He escorted Mama back to the keep, then demanded an audience with my grandfather. He made a case for being allowed to court Mama. Grandfather gave Mama one moon to decide whether she wanted to marry Da. They became inseparable the entire time. They walked together, danced every evening, attended chapel together even though they sat apart. Da brought Mama along on a hunt when he learned she enjoyed it and bragged to anyone willing to listen when Mama brought down the largest stag that day. Within the moon, they’d told each other everything they could think of from their past. The good and the bad.”
“It sounds like a love match. It’s sounds as though they had an idyllic courtship once your grandfather stepped aside.”
“If only it had been. While Da had eyes for Mama, Lady Fraser, who’s Mama’s cousin, also wanted Da. Grandfather latched onto that and tried to navigate his niece into disrupting Mama and Da’s courtship. She spread rumors that Da secretly courted her. Lady Fraser tried to make Mama jealous. She even tried to seduce him, but Da never looked in her direction. The rumors never took hold because it was obvious to anyone with eyes that Da devoted himself to Mama. Mama’s cousin already interested Laird Fraser and is now his wife. He swooped in and drew her into a courtship while arranging a marriage through her father. Lady Fraser never forgave Mama for what she claimed was stealing Da from her, and she never forgave Da for spurning her. She’s held that grudge to this day. The Sinclairs are our neighbors and our friends; after all, my aunt married into the clan. Lady Fraser assumed she got her revenge when she separated her daughter, Deirdre, from my cousin Magnus. She and Laird Fraser hid Deirdre here at court, intercepting every missive for seven years until Magnus discovered her here when Uncle Liam sent him to resolve some conflicts with other clans. While there isn’t a rift between us and the Rosses, we aren’t warm to one another. Laurel is a cousin, but she has never been a friend.”
“That’s incredible. Are your parents still happy together?”
“Aye. They say they love each other more than they did when they wed. Their bond is unbreakable. They show affection regardless of whether they are alone or around the clan. They’re devoted to one another.”
Kieran considered that for a long time. While he hoped for a love match and a happy marriage with Maude, the realization that it might be possible remained foreign to him. His parents’ marriage couldn’t have been more different.
“I’d like the same for us, buttercup. But if it takes more than a moon for you to be sure you want to wed me, I won’t rush you.”
“But you can’t remain here indefinitely. You have your own clan to lead and responsibilities at home.”
“You’re right, that I do. I will have to return within the next few sennights, but we can send missives back and forth. It’s not ideal, but we communicate well enough that way.”
“Your poor messengers will grow weary of shuttling back and forth between Stornoway and Stirling.”
“It’s a good thing I have several able riders to take turns.”
Maude inched closer to Kieran, and he slid his hand down to hold hers among the folds of her skirt. The group returned to the castle before he had the chance share a story about his own family. He would have to save it for the next morning, since he expected little privacy that afternoon in the queen’s solar.
Chapter Fourteen
Maude shared the midday meal with the other ladies, who were unafraid to pepper her with questions about her relationship with Kieran. When she kept her answers succinct and evasive, they turned to Arabella and Blair for details. She’d told everything to Blair and nearly everything to Arabella, but they remained loyal to her. They ate more at that meal than they had in a moon. They kept their mouths full, so no one could expect them to respond.
After the meal, she decided on another walk, but this time with her father and Blair. It was one of the few times they had to catch up in private. She and Blair learned of the bairns who’d joined their clan, a few elders who’d passed away, and that Mama grew lonely without them but had accepted they would both leave home, whether it was in service to the queen or to marry. Hamish readily admitted that he despised being away from his wife, but he was too happy to be with Maude and Blair to let it overcome him. He told them he sent missives to their mother every three days. They each wrote most of their response before the messenger arrived, then added to it if they had anything to say about the contents in the one just received. They’d done it for years, and their system kept them both content and assured of one another’s well-being.
Neither Blair nor Hamish broached the topic of Kieran, sensing Maude needed a reprieve from the constant examination of her relationship with him. They appreciated the changes they saw in Maude since meeting Kieran. She appeared more confident and self-assured. She wore her hair down with intricate braids and ribbons woven through them. And she smiled more. Seeing Maude come out of her shell was priceless to her father and sister.
Kieran returned to his chamber after the nooning to respond to correspondence that included reviewing an expense report. He rubbed his eyes and leaned back in his chair as he read the list for at least the fifth time. It astonished him how much his mother and other sister, Abigail, had spent on gowns. They’d ordered bolts of costly material along with the frippery they would argue were necessities. They’d done this before. When he travelled, they ventured on spending sprees. Part of why he rarely left home for extended periods of time was because he didn’t trust them not to make paupers of them.
Kieran rubbed his temples, dreading the idea that he may need to return to Lewis sooner than he wanted. He’d been correct that he and Maude might exchange their own correspondence, but it wouldn’t be the same as getting to know one another in person. He wondered if he might convince Hamish to come for a visit with Maude. Kieran had grown eager for his mother and sister to meet her. They were more materialistic than Maude, but he was certain Maude would win over every member of his clan with ease. It was impossible for him to fathom anything to dislike. He responded to his steward’s distressed message with reassurance that he wouldn’t allow them to spend another coin. He wrote explicitly in the missive that he gave his seneschal permission and discretion to deny the two women any unreasonable request. Kieran wrote a similar letter to his mother and sister, admonishing them for their lack of restraint. He warned them of the consequences to their clan if they continued to spend as they had. He prayed they would heed him and not force him to return before he was ready.
