A disgruntled Agnes carried buckets of ash down from the braziers, and Calum cleared his throat.
“The Saracens had a fondness for cleanliness that far exceeded that of most in the west,” he commented.“I remember it well.Their homes were a marvel.”
“Indeed,” Duncan agreed.
“Killairic will benefit from Lady Leila’s inclinations,” Fergus’ father said with approval.“I see it now.”
When next Agnes appeared, the line of her lips was mutinous and her braid was becoming undone.She was breathing more heavily as she trudged up the stairs, with a bucket brimming with water and a brush.
His father glanced after the girl.“She has not worked so hard since her arrival here,” he said beneath his breath, then chuckled.“It will not harm her.”
“I wonder at Leila’s ability to communicate with her,” Fergus said.“She speaks little Gaelic and I doubt Agnes speaks French.”
“I suspect your intended is a resourceful woman,” Calum said.“She has that look about her.”
“As we saw, some commands can be given by gesture,” Duncan contributed.
“I should ensure that all is well, just the same,” Fergus said, excusing himself.“The girl looks to be vexed.”
His father was clearly amused by his departure.“Cannot bear for her to be out of sight?”that man asked Duncan as Fergus left them together.“I cannot blame him.She is a beauty, to be sure.I am quite delighted by the promise of more conversation with her.Did you know that her uncle was a smith?”
Fergus climbed the stairs, moving quickly and quietly, and peeked into the solar.He wanted to see what was happening before announcing his presence.Already he could see the difference in the solar.The dust and cobwebs were gone from the corners, and the rushes had been piled outside the door.It smelled cleaner, too.
Agnes was on her knees, scrubbing the floor and casting poisonous glances at Leila at regular intervals.Leila ignored her, but he doubted she was oblivious.The bed had been stripped to the ropes that held the mattress and the wooden frame itself.Leila was unpacking the trunks of gifts he had brought for Isobel, sorting the items on table beneath one window.
There was a goodly pile of cloth of various weights and in many lengths, and Leila had arranged it by color.There were leather belts and purses, and embroidered silken shoes, and stockings so fine that they were like gossamer.Fergus was a little surprised to see it all assembled, for he had forgotten about some of the cloth.
Leila worked without expression, pausing only once in her task to glance back at Agnes, then point imperiously to a corner the girl had missed.
“It looks like a different chamber,” Fergus said in French, announcing himself.Agnes hastened to her feet, wiping her hands on her skirts and curtseying to him as she smiled.He nodded at the bucket, indicating that she should continue.Her lips tightened and she dropped to her knees once more, failing to hide her resentment.
“Must you do it all in one afternoon?”he asked Leila.“Agnes will despise you.”
The girl glanced up at the sound of her name, her expression revealing that she did not understand what was being said.She clearly thought she might have a reprieve.But Leila turned to her and pointed to the floor.Agnes picked up the brush once more, and Fergus saw her eyes flash before she lowered her gaze.
“I think there is little to be lost there,” Leila said calmly.“There will not be fondness between us, no matter what I do.”
“I thought you meant to win allies.”
“She will never be one such.I will not worry about what cannot be changed.”
“I could find another girl to be your maid.”
“I will not be the infidel who finds this one lacking.There is a proverb, after all, about keeping those you trust close to your side and those you do not trust even closer.”She cast an assessing glance at Agnes.“I will ensure that she sleeps well each night, though.”
“I do not understand,” Fergus said.
Leila avoided his gaze.“Surely you know that it is customary for a maid to sleep in the solar, as one of the benefits of her post.She must sleep or I will not.”
Fergus thought that Leila’s suspicion of Agnes was undeserved, for he did not imagine that his father would have any servant in his hall who could not be trusted.Still, he did not blame her for feeling alone in his home, and uncertain of her safety to some extent.Who would not feel vulnerable in a foreign land, not speaking the language well?
In time, she would come to trust the girl, he hoped, or they would find another maid.
In time, he knew she would learn Gaelic and her confidence would grow.
“She will sleep in the hall this night,” Fergus said.“I am not so interested in additional companionship on the night of our nuptials.”He savored Leila’s quick smile, but her words revealed that he had not changed her thinking.
“All the same, the solar should be cleaned, and I will have it done on this day.”
