“Valan!” Elspet’s eyes flared wide, but then her kissable mouth trembled, betraying she wanted to laugh, too. She cleared her throat and assumed a regal stance. “Dullis is loyal and true,” she said, her tone strained but controlled. “She is merely gruff. I feel certain, in her heart, she means well.”
All amusement left Valan as a very unsettled William entered the hall with Dullis close behind, toting her broom like a weapon.
“This here’s the one, m’lord. Saw him with me own eyes.” The maid upended the broom and stamped its handle on the floor. “Walked entirely too close to the Lady Beitris earlier, and it not even sunup.”
“I was walking the battlements,” Beitris said. She took a step toward the old woman and gave another flip of her wild curls. “I always walk the battlements before we break our fast. ’Tis my turn. Mama walks afterward. Ye know that.”
“What say ye, William?” Valan noted the young man’s hesitancy to look him in the eyes.
After stealing a glance at Beitris, William stood taller. “I felt the lady shouldna walk alone. What if an attack broke out?”
“Inside the castle?” Valan stared at his second in command. If the man was going to lie, he should at least try to make it convincing.
“Beitris?” Elspet lowered a disapproving glare on her daughter.
The wily lass rolled her eyes. “Saint’s bones, leave the poor man be. ’Tis my fault. I admit it.”
“I am not a poor man,” William said, sounding more insulted than he should.
“Aye, ye are, and ye’re loyal to the marrow of yer bones as well.” Beitris huffed an unladylike snort of disgust. She turned to Valan and held up a single finger. “Not only did he refuse to show me one move, just one mind ye, that might improve my swordsmanship, but he also said he would send word to my mother if I got anywhere near yer men.”
“Well done, William.” But Valan sensed there was more to this story. Even a blind man could see the fidgeting young warrior couldn’t keep his besotted gaze off of the fiery Lady Beitris. He sympathized with his second in command. Lady Elspet possessed the same power over him. Must be some ancient magic the Maxwell women shared. He gave a dismissive nod. “Ye may go, William.”
“Can he not break his fast with us?” Lady Beitris snagged hold of William’s arm as he passed her. She aimed a coaxing smile at her mother. “After all, I did trick him.”
“Ye did not,” William argued.
“Aye, I did.” Beitris adopted a coy tip of her head. “Can he, Mama? Please?”
Elspet sighed and drew a hand across her brow. After a glance at Valan, she gave a curt nod. “Aye. He can.” She turned to Dullis. “Have Caitra and Fiona help ye with the additional trays. Or one of the kitchen lads. Whichever ye choose.”
Dullis thumped her broom handle again, then departed, muttering under her breath.
“Ye are a dead man now,” Valan warned William.
“Ye mean to kill me?”
“Not I.” He grinned at the nervous warrior, then glanced at the door the maid had left ajar. “That old woman.”
“Dinna fash yerself, sir,” Elspet assured William. “I feel sure she intends to kill the constable here first.”
“And why is that Mama?” With a wicked grin, Beitris seated herself at the end of the table.
“Beitris.” Elspet uttered the one word only, but even Valan noticed an immediate chill in the air.
Beitris bowed her head, then went to her mother’s side, and knelt beside her chair. “Forgive me, Mama. Ye ken how I forget myself. Especially with…”
“That is enough.” Elspet shooed her back to her seat. After a long, tense moment of silence, she pushed herself up and strode to a narrow door in the far corner of the room. Hand on the latch and head bowed, she spoke without turning around. “I have lost my appetite.” Then she turned and met eyes with Beitris. “See that our guests eat their fill, aye?” She offered an apologetic smile to Valan. “The battlements call me. Should ye have need of anything more this morning, Beitris or Dullis will see it done.”
Before he could respond, she left and closed the door firmly behind her. Valan stared at the portal, trying to decide whether to give chase and discover the reason for his lady’s escape or grant her the solitude she seemed to need. A persistent tapping on the table pulled him from the quandary.
“She acts like that because the evil one is coming.” Beitris leaned forward and glanced around as if the walls might overhear and betray her.
“Evil one?” Valan eyed the young lass, hoping she was as loose-lipped as she had accused the elderly Dullis of being. The bench beneath him creaked as he leaned forward and propped his forearms on the table. “Explain, lass. For yer mother’s sake, so I might help her. Is it an Englishman ye speak of?”
Beitris hopped up from her chair and rushed to light on the bench directly opposite him. After a worried look at the door, she climbed up and knelt on the bench, then stretched across the table and lowered her voice to a whisper. “He is nay English. In fact, Dullis is on his side because he is a Maxwell, so dinna speak of him around that cow, aye? ’Tis the only one of Da’s brothers still living. Euban is his name. Been after Mama for years. Even before Da died, he tried to seduce her.” She shuddered as a look of revulsion curled her mouth. “He even cornered me in the well house once, but Mama sliced off his ear with her favorite dagger. Had him ousted from Caerlaverock after that. But that was before we got word that Da had fallen in Wales. Now, the worm is headed back here. Sent a messenger to one of Da’s old advisors. That old goat’s always disliked Mama and wanted Euban as laird.”
A red haze of pure rage filled Valan’s vision. Each of his knuckles popped one by one as he tightened his hands into fists. “I will gladly kill both the bastards and relieve yer mother of their existence.”
