“Oh, do not fret, child,” Elsbeth replied. “I’m not dying, nor am I likely to anytime soon, but I know in my heart that I’ll not see Stanton again. Nor will you. There is nothing to go back to, Adair. The hall is gone. Not a stone of it remains, and there are weeds growing where it once stood. The few Stanton folk remaining are old, infirm, or too young to help you rebuild. If they survive the winter it will be a miracle. And most of the men were slaughtered in the orchard or by the cattle barns.
The king has not relented in his punishment. Your lands are gone. Your title is gone. Stanton is gone.”
“Then what am I to do?” Adair cried, feeling the tears pricking at her eyelids.
“For now you will help me clean this kitchen, and prepare the laird his roasted goose,” Elsbeth said. “I am too tired to think beyond that, and so are you. Come, and let us look about to see where we may begin.”
They discovered a pantry where dishes and food could be stored. But it was empty of any foodstuffs. Elsbeth shook her head but said nothing. There was a cold larder where game could be hung, but there was no game hanging. Elsbeth muttered something beneath her breath that Adair could not distinguish. When they reentered the kitchens young Murdoc had returned and begun a fire for them in the great hearth. He was stack-ing more wood in the woodbox.
“Thank you, laddie,” Elsbeth said. She turned to Adair. “Find me a cauldron so I can begin heating somewater, and we can begin to clean some of this muck.
’Twill not all be done in a day, but I’ll need enough things to cook supper. Where is the spit?”
“Let me help you,” Murdoc said. “I’ll get the water for you.”
Adair sought among the jumble of cooking equipment and finally found a large cauldron. It was heavy, and she struggled to bring it over to the hearth. Together she and Elsbeth hung it, and Murdoc drew bucket after bucket of water, which he then brought across the kitchen and poured into the great kettle.
When the kettle had been filled he brought a bucket of water and set it on the big kitchen table along with the foodstuffs.
Then he left them.
“A well-brought-up laddie,” Elsbeth noted.
They cleared the table briefly, and scrubbed it with boiling water. They had no sand or soap, and Elsbeth mumbled that this kitchen was poorly fitted, and things were going to have to change. The table finally cleaned, Elsbeth set Adair to crumbling one of the loaves while she chopped apples and pears. Murdoc returned to say that his brother, the laird, wanted to know if they had all they needed.
Elsbeth exploded. “Nay, laddie, we most certainly do not. I need butter and cream, among other things. There isn’t a scrap of food in the pantry. Not even an onion!”
“I can go into the village over the hill and fetch you butter and cream, Mistress Elsbeth. I think there might be some onions, leeks, or shallots in my mother’s old kitchen garden. You’ll find it through the larder door,”Murdoc said.
“I’ll go,” Adair said. The little garden was overgrown, but amid the weeds she found a treasure of herbs and root vegetables. Adair resolved to weed the garden on the morrow and, discovering a row of onions, pulled a few to bring inside. “The garden is there, and I’ll start to restore it tomorrow,” she told Elsbeth. “We’ll harvestwhat we can, and prepare the garden for next spring,”she said enthusiastically.
“Good,” Elsbeth responded. “Now clear away all this clutter for me, dearie, and I’ll begin to prepare the goose.” She was relieved that Adair had stopped speaking about returning to Stanton. It did not mean she was not contemplating it, but for now, at least, she would not act rashly or foolishly. There was nothing left at Stanton for her mistress, and while she had not been born and raised to be a servant, at least Adair was safe for the time being. Elsbeth had seen the way the laird had looked at the girl. Who knew what could come of it? But at least that was a new direction, and all the old directions that they had once followed had come to naught.
Adair gathered up all the kitchen accoutrements and moved them to the pantry, since there was nothing in it at this point. She sought three pewter plates among the disorder, and mugs and spoons. These she put in a stone sink and, taking water from the kettle over the fire, poured it over the tableware. She let them soak and the water cool until she was able to wash and dry them.
“How many men will be in the hall, do you think?” she asked Elsbeth. “You can’t feed all of them with one goose.”
“You’ll have to go up and ask the laird,” Elsbeth said.
“Me?”Adair answered.
“I’m trying to cook here, child. Go on now. The man won’t eat you. Not the way you look and smell,” Elsbeth said bluntly. “You’re hardly an enticing treat.”
“I know,” Adair replied. “Do you think I can get a bath after everyone has been fed? And where are we to lay our heads, Nursie?”
“Go and ask the master how many in the hall for supper, and then we’ll have another look about. Usually there’s a sleeping space or two for the help.”
Adair was saved a trip to the hall at that moment by the arrival of young Murdoc Bruce, who was accompanied by two boys.
“I’ve brought cream, butter, and a wheel of cheese,”
he announced, very pleased with himself. He directed his companions to place the requested items on the big table.
“Bless you, laddie,” Elsbeth said. “Now tell me, how many must I feed tonight? This poor wee goose is barely enough for you and your brothers.”
“Oh, lord, Mistress Elsbeth, there will be at least twenty men besides my brothers and me,” Murdoc said.
“What can you do?”
