Chapter One
The crunch of frost echoed in Stirling Castle’s royal gardens as Allyson Elliot trudged along with the other ladies-in-waiting, enduring another one of the queen’s morning strolls through the struggling blossoms. It was mid-March, and spring had arrived for their neighbors to the south, but Mother Nature seemed to have forgotten that Stirling wasn’t truly in the Highlands. Sitting on the border between the Highlands and Lowlands, the weather in Stirling was fickle, playing both sides of the fence. Allyson puffed out a cloud of condensation as the ice crackled beneath her booted feet. She didn’t mind the distance of the morning constitutional, but having been raised in the Lowlands, Allyson was still unaccustomed to the frigid temperatures of the north.
“I still can’t believe he married her.” Allyson caught the waspish voice of Cairstine Grant as her attention returned to the young women around her. Allyson realized Cairstine spoke of Maude Sutherland without hearing the former lady-in-waiting’s name. Maude had been a shy lass from the northern Highlands, and several of the other ladies-in-waiting–Cairstine Grant included–had teased her without mercy. It had come as a shock when Kieran MacLeod arrived at court and immediately took an interest in Maude, who the other ladies considered overweight and plain. He’d been one of the most eligible lairds, and more than one nose was out of joint when he chose a woman so many believed was beneath him.
Allyson struggled to smother her giggle as she considered just how Maude was beneath Kieran these days. Allyson arrived at court four years ago as an impressionable girl overwhelmed by the attention her fair hair and robin-egg blue eyes garnered. She soon realized she enjoyed the attention after being the youngest of her parents’ six children. A few batted eyelashes and a coy smile earned her the appreciation of the young courtiers who flocked to court hoping to gain attention and favor from King Robert the Bruce. While Allyson wasn’t as daring as some of her peers, she had stolen a few kisses from these men, hoping to find one who would make her his wife and take her away from both the royal court and her family. Her attempts hadn’t garnered a husband, but it had resulted in a reputation as a flirt.
“Allyson. Allyson, are you listening to me?” Cairren Kennedy nudged her, and Allyson turned a blank stare at her friend before remembering that they’d been speaking about the upcoming festivities for the spring equinox. The court would celebrate the return of the sun and the forthcoming warm weather.
“I don’t know that there will be much to celebrate if this cold weather persists. It’s more like winter’s beginning rather than spring. I’d be happy to never see snow again,” Allyson grumbled.
“Not bluidy likely living in Scotland,” Cairren muttered the oath. Another Lowlander, Cairren had been at court since the previous spring and was still adjusting to the harsher climate. “I’m more likely to freeze my toes than freckle. It’s just an excuse to feast in the hopes of forgetting the miserable weather. Why else would the queen allow pagan celebrations?”
“She allows them because she knows no matter how Catholic we Scots are, we will always cling to tradition. It’s not like we run about caterwauling to the old gods. We light some bonfires and drink too much whisky and ale. I don’t mind encouraging spring to arrive, and I don’t mind how warm a belly of whisky will make me feel. Especially since I agree that my toes are about to chip off.” As if to convince herself that they wouldn’t, Allyson wiggled her toes as they paused for Queen Elizabeth to speak to a gardener. Allyson supposed the queen was requesting the flowers that would decorate the Great Hall and instructing the man on how to care for the blooms, lest this late frost damage them. “I’m looking forward to the feast since we’ll have the tedium of Lent within a week.”
“I wouldn’t let the queen hear you say Lent is tedious. I swear it’s her favorite time of year. More hours to spend in prayer.” Cairren pretended to rub her knee with a surreptitious look around. “I dread the time spent on my knees.”
“Aye, but some ladies are already well versed in that,” Allyson snickered.
“Shh! You’ll have us be among those, and not with any pleasure. I have no desire to be trapped on the prie-dieu in the queen’s solar in front of the others.” Cairren failed to hide her smirk despite her censoring words.
“Very well. But you’re just as aware as I am that I speak the truth,” Allyson murmured, allowing the subject of the other ladies-in-waiting’s less-than-ladylike behavior to drop. Neither Allyson nor Cairren should have been privy to such knowledge, but living among courtiers for more than a day gave the young women an education they never would have received at home. Allyson had mourned her loss of innocent ignorance when she first arrived, but she soon learned that women wielded power by choosing with whom they shared their favors. Allyson hadn’t gone beyond a brief kiss here and there, but she wasn’t averse to more sinful behavior if ever a situation where her wellbeing at court counted on it.
“Are you pleased that the Gordon twins returned in time for the feast. Which do you think is the better looking?” Cairren redirected their conversation to a safer topic. It was expected that they would gossip about eligible men.
“Can you even tell them apart? They’re mirror images of one another.”
“Nay. Not really. But both are handsome as the devil, and just as tempting.”
“Then it’s a good thing Lent is around the corner. I’ll be sure to withstand that test.” Allyson rolled her eyes.
“But in the meantime, we have the equinox and Shrove Tuesday to indulge.”
Allyson tsked. “The only things I intend to indulge in are honey cakes and lamb stew. I shall miss meat when all I have to look forward to are potatoes and turnips.”
“I can think of a few women who will miss both meat and taters,” Cairren chuckled.
“You’re worse than I am.” Allyson didn’t say any more as the group arrived at the castle doors. The queen swept in ahead of them and gave a glance that told the ladies to hurry to her salon after returning their outerwear to their chambers. Allyson and Cairren wound their way through the twisting passageways until they reached the one where the matrons and widows lived. They halted and stared as the Gordon twins emerged from Lady Bevan’s chamber, both tucking their leines into their breeks. There was no way for Allyson and Cairren to misunderstand the situation. The twins turned towards them and offered remorseless grins. They strolled toward the shocked pair.
“We seem to have found two little chickadees separated from their mother hen,” one of the Gordons purred. Allyson wasn’t certain, but she decided that the one speaking was Ewan, who had small scar that sliced the left side of his upper lip. His twin had no such scar, to Allyson’s knowledge.
“Such a shame they should encounter two foxes in their henhouse.” The other brother, who she assumed was Eoin, offered a smile that could only be described as wolfish.
“Aye, and the farmer lops off the heads of the foxes he catches. A couple clucks in the right ear ends the foxes’ hunt.” Allyson bristled. She’d met the twins several times during her time at court, and even enjoyed dancing with the accomplished set of brothers. But their reputations preceded them, and their arrogance rankled. This time it wasn’t their reputations that spoke to their roguish behavior but the behavior itself. “I hadn’t realized roosters liked to share their spent hen.”
“She is most definitely spent.” A dark eyebrow twitched as the man she believed was Ewan smirked.
“She would be after brooding so often.” Allyson grew tired of speaking in euphemisms and analogies. “Excuse us. We have somewhere we’d rather be.”
“Testy chickadee,” the same brother spoke again.
“Bored,” Allyson used her practiced smile, but there was no missing the derisiveness in her voice.
“We’ve entertained you plenty of times.” Eoin matched his twin’s twitching eyebrow.
“Perhaps on the dance floor. But then again, you are interchangeable.” Allyson chirped. Cairren elbowed her as she gasped for at least the third time. “One is as good as the other to waste away the time.”
The brothers’ matching glares made Allyson laugh. She elbowed Cairren back, but this was in jest. She shook her head before composing herself enough to speak.
