“There’s no point in asking me anymore of yer questions. I dinnae ken where he is.”
The man continued to hold her upper arm tightly in his large calloused hand. She had to run to keep up with him and she practically fell as they made their way down the stairs. The man grabbed her around the waist, throwing her over his shoulder and carrying her the rest of the way down.
At the bottom of the stairs, she was unceremoniously dropped. She stumbled to regain her balance before landing on the floor. The jolt of hitting hard on the cold stone floor knocked the breath right out of her.
“Get up.” The man commanded.
She had no breath with which to formulate an answer, so she struggled to her feet, following him into the great hall.
“Helene, is it?” Paddraig MacRae asked from his seat upon the dais.
“Aye, sir.” Helene’s eyes searched the room for Dougall – he wasn’t there. She did her best to control her trembling body. She didnae wish to show fear, but she was terrified of this man. She placed her hand to her mouth as bile rose in her throat and she fought to force it back down.
“He’s nae here.” Paddraig barked.
“Where is he, sir?” Helene’s voice shook with fear, but she had to ask. What if something had happened to him?
“That is none of yer business, lass.” His irritation with her was apparent.
Helene kept her mouth shut. No one had ever spoken to her this way before. The MacKenzies treated her as one of their own and even though she served them, they never spoke harshly to her.
“Unfortunately fer ye, Dougall brought ye here to Treun. Ye would have been better off staying where ye were at Breaghacraig. Ye cannae live here as a lady, because ye arenae one, so ye’ll remain here as a servant. Do ye ken?”
“Aye.” Helene muttered. What else could she say? She was alone here with the laird and she knew better than to disobey him.
“Good. Dougall’s bride will be arriving today and ye’ll be her lady’s maid. Ye’ll treat her with respect and do whatever it is she asks of ye. If ye give her one iota of trouble, ye’ll find yerself a prisoner in the dungeon. I hope I’ve made meself perfectly clear.”
“Aye. Ye have sir.” Helene was feeling most confused. This is not how things were supposed to be. Had Dougall agreed to marry this woman even though he’d vowed to Helene that he would never do so? Mayhap that explained his absence. Her heart sank and her knees grew weak at the thought of it. It was obvious to Helene that there was little she could do in this situation. Even if Laird MacRae was lying to her, he was the Laird and therefore she had no say in what was to happen. She stood silently waiting to hear that she’d be allowed to leave, but that didn’t seem to be in the cards for her.
“Ye’ll no longer be allowed to sleep in Dougall’s quarters, ’twill be where his new wife will abide. They’ll be marrying upon his return. I have arranged with the head of me household staff to have ye sleep with the others who serve us. She doesnae have a bed fer ye, so ye’ll be sleeping on the floor until one can be found.”
So, Dougall was going to marry this woman and she was going to be forced to watch it all take place. There seemed little she could do about it. She’d await his return and then perhaps Logan could take her back to Breaghacraig, where she’d no doubt die of a broken heart. She held back the tears brimming in her eyes. Thoughts of losing her parents came unbidden to mind. Until this moment, their passing had been the worst time in her life. She never thought she would get over losing them, of being left alone to fend for herself, but the MacKenzies had seen to it that she was safe and cared for. Aye. She still had her friends back at Breaghacraig, if she could only get home to them. She’d make a plan, and until then she’d do as she was told and stay as far away from Laird MacRae as she could get.I’m a strong lass. No matter what I’ll survive this. I just want to go back home to me friends.Ashley and Jenna would surely know what to do. They’d each been through dark times and they lived to tell the tale. She could do the same as they’d done. As Ashley always told her, there wasn’t anything she couldn’t do if she put her mind to it. She would try to remember those words in the coming days.
“Go on then. Wait at the doors fer yer lady to arrive and while yer there ye might as well clean the entrance.”
Helene turned, feeling as though she’d been beaten by this awful man. How could he possibly be Dougall’s father? They couldn’t be any more different. Dougall would never treat anyone the way his father had just treated her. She gathered herself, standing tall and marched to the door.I only wish I knew when Dougall would return. I don’t know how much more of this I’ll be able to take.
A woman standing by the entryway to the great hall handed her a broom and a cloth. “Ye’d best get to cleaning, lass.”
Helene stood staring into the empty passageway. Her mind was not on this woman, or on the work she was to do. Her mind was on Dougall and how much she loved him. She almost began crying again, when the woman who was dressed plainly in a worn brown dress and kerchief, slapped the back of her head so hard she saw stars. The woman spoke to her again. “Go on. Dinnae make me report to the Laird that yer disobeying me. Yer nae a lady here so ye’ll do as yer told.”
Shaking herself from the pain in her head and stunned into silence, Helene began the tedious job of sweeping out the entryway and dusting every nook and cranny that was visible to her. As she worked, she heard the sounds of a carriage arriving and dreaded the thought that it might be the woman who was about to steal her man.
The doors flew open and two men entered, followed by a beautiful woman dressed in the finest silks. She had auburn hair and dark, green eyes. Her skin was flawless and her dainty hands flew to her throat as she almost walked into Helene. One of the men roughly grabbed Helene and shoved her out of the way. The group proceeded into the great hall where Helene could hear Paddraig gushing over Greer Matheson.
“Girl! Girl!” Paddraig yelled at the top of his lungs.
It took Helene a moment to realize he was speaking to her. She set the broom and cloth aside before entering the hall. “Sir.”
“Greer, this is to be yer lady’s maid. I hope she’ll do.”
Greer narrowed her eyes and Helene was struck by the cold, disgusted look in her eyes. It was as though Helene were no better than a fly on a piece of horse dung. “See to it that me belongings are brought to me room and unpacked. I’d like a bath prepared as well.”
“Aye, m’lady. As ye wish.” Helene left the room, not sure how to go about taking care of this woman’s demands. She was completely unfamiliar with this castle, but had no choice other than to do as she was told. Outside by the carriage she found some boys and asked them to please bring the bags upstairs. She gave them direction on where to go and then went to search for the woman in charge of the housekeeping.
She wandered around the castle grounds until she found the entrance to the kitchen. As luck would have it, the woman she sought was there.
“I’ve been asked to prepare a bath for…” She didn’t know what to call her. Would it be Lady Greer? She somehow couldn’t manage to get the words out of her mouth.
