“Moira said ye will sleep after ye drink that. She said no’ to allow ye to walk around unaided.” Firtha smiled and took the empty mug when she finished. “’Tis no’ good to see a pregnant woman swaying on her feet like a drunkard, she said.”
“My thanks to you for looking over me, Firtha. I do not know what I would do without you.”
Feeling the sleepiness creeping into her limbs, Anice slid down and pulled the covers up to her neck. So much faced her in the days ahead. And now she had to be strong for not onlyherself but also the babe who depended on her. The bairn must have sensed her thoughts for he began to shift within her, pushing and stretching and testing his strength. He? Smiling as she drifted towards sleep, she realized she only thought of the babe as a boy. A son. Her son.
A son to live for and to love and to hold precious as none had held her. She would, she could, endure anything for the babe that lived within her now. He had saved her months ago. He had pulled her out of her walk in darkness and given her something wonderful and untainted to love. Something, someone, who was her own and no one else’s.
Her son.
11
He spied the messenger as the man approached the keep. Stepping back into the shadows, he watched as the courier from England, wearing the royal insignia of the House of Plantagenet, dismounted his horse and strode into the building. The others in the entourage simply stayed on their mounts and waited. Robert was tempted to follow him in, but decided instead to bide his time and keep watch.
Within minutes, the courier was back, this time racing down the steps and mounting his horse without a moment’s delay. A glance at his men was all it took for them to follow him out of the yard to the gate. The whole thing occurred in such haste that Robert would not have believed it if he had not witnessed it himself. Now he would go inside and see what news this courier brought from England. In the pit of his stomach, he knew it could only be about one thing, one person. His half-brother Sandy must be returning to Dunnedin.
A sense of urgency filled him and he entered the keep, knowing even then that the direct approach would gain him nothing. Turning down one hall, he headed for the room he, or rather Anice once more, used as a workroom. It was off to the side of the hall and from there one could hear anyone on the dais if they were not guarding their words. He softened his steps as he came closer and listened for Struan’s voice. The emotion in it was clear, although the low tones belied it.
“I told him no’ until the bairn was born and now he does this?”
Struan’s face was like stone; Robert did not remember ever seeing him this angry. The laird stood, turned to theclansman next to him and whispered something that Robert could not hear. The man—Iain?—nodded and left without a word. After taking a mouthful of whatever brew filled his cup, Struan looked at the group of elder clansmen seated around the table, one at a time.
“I promised her protection through this time. I canna break my word when given as laird.”
“Were ye daft then, Struan, to ever promise such a thing? A man haes the right...” The grizzled old man, on Struan’s left, let his words drift off as Struan glared at his challenge.
“I do whate’er I must to protect the future of the clan MacKendimen. And right now, the future of this clan lies in the belly of that woman.” Struan pointed over their heads, in the direction of the chambers above.
“But Sandy is yer son. He is yer heir, the tanist of the MacKendimens. He was chosen by the laws of the clan, by this verra council, and stands as our next laird.” Struan’s opponent would not lessen his stance at all.
Robert moved closer. Struan stood a bit taller and, if such a thing were possible, his gaze became even more fierce.
“But I am yer laird now and she haes my protection until the bairn is born safely. I will no’ allow him to touch her until then.”
“And after the birth, Struan? What will ye do then?”
Robert waited with the rest as Struan considered his words. ’Twas obvious that Sandy was some kind of danger to Anice and that Struan had made promises to her. What had Sandy done to engender this kind of fierce protection from Struan?
“They were joined by God in front of this clan and her own. ’Twould be against God and clan to interfere in the business of a man and his wife.”
The group seemed to release their held breath at the same time. Some crisis had been averted, but Robert was not sure of the nature of it. The men rose and pushed back from the table, the discussion clearly at an end. The distastefulness of it was obvious in the way the men moved quickly to leave the dais and hall.
Struan mumbled something as he waited alone. Robertstrained to hear the words.
“Until parted by death,” ’twas how it sounded. Until parted by death?
The words so startled him that he left his place and took several steps towards Struan before realizing it. The click-clack of his boots on the stone floor surprised both of them and he found himself staring into Struan’s icy gaze and unable to think of a word to say.
“What is yer business here, Robert?” Struan stepped to the table and took the seat reserved for the laird.
“I saw the messenger and came to find out the news.”
“The messenger and his information do not concern ye. Now, go about yer tasks.” Struan lifted the cup to his mouth and drank deeply until none remained.
“What concerns the clan MacKendimen concerns me.” Robert would not back down from this. For months Struan had treated him like a lackey, an errand boy to be ordered about at the laird’s whim. If he was to carry out his duties, he needed to know the happenings of the clan... and the reasons behind such occurrences.
“I think no’. Ye are here as a visitor, only until Anice regains her strength and can oversee the new steward. Do no’ expect more than ye are due here, boy.”
Robert could not see; the furious haze that filled his vision blocked everything in front of him. His heart pounded at such a rate and loudness in his own ears that he wondered how it stayed in his chest. All he wanted, all he craved was one word of welcome, one word of acceptance and he would stay and make his life here. Every day of working in the clan and the need to stay and be part of his family seeped deeper and deeper into him until he recognized it for what it was. Now, that one desire, that one need, was crushed once more by the only man who could fulfill it.
