As she sat, he could not help but notice the glow of her skin and the softness now in her form. The pregnancy and childbirth had taken her to death’s very door, but motherhood clearly favored her. Her flaming red hair was pulled back and tied but loose wisps of it framed her face. The circles under her eyes when he first met her were gone and she smelled of something elusive, something wonderfully comfortable and appealing.
“Can you still smell it then? I thought I had washed it all out,” she said, turning her head to sniff her shoulders and hair. “Bairns tend to spit up at the worst times.”
Robert laughed, realizing he’d been a little too obvious in taking in her scent. And he noticed that Connor was well aware of his open appraisal of her.
“I canna smell anything, my... Anice. I mean, if the bairn left his scent on ye, ’tis no’ noticeable at all.” He still stumbled over her name. “So, are ye returning to yer work then?”
“You are being kind, Robert. A person cannot wear as much of a babe’s leavings as I have been and not smell of it.”
Her voice was replete with contentment; she was not angry or upset at all about being the target of her son’s refuse. And then she laughed and he knew that it was the first timehe’d ever heard her do so. The sound of it filled the small room and brought yet another smile to his own face.
“I am not quite ready to take over all my duties yet,” she answered. “So, Connor, Struan tells me you will be our new steward then?” she asked, turning her attention to the other man.
“Aye,” the man mumbled out.
“And he haes some wonderful new methods of recordkeeping to show ye,” Robert added.
“Well, Connor, if Robert will not stay with us, then I am glad to have you in his stead.”
Robert’s words stuck in his throat. If he would not stay? Struan had given him no other choice and had never even asked him to reconsider after Sandy’s death. Seemingly intent on getting rid of him, Struan had even appointed Connor without any counsel from him.
But what good would come from staying? ’Twould be no time at all until his parentage was out in the open. He saw the open speculation on the faces of some of the elders in the clan on those rare occasions when he and Struan stood together. He even caught himself in some of the same expressions as Struan. No, no good would come from his staying.
Robert was drawn back by Connor’s stammering answers to Anice’s questions. As he watched, an even darker blush crept up the man’s already ruddy face as Anice smiled and inquired after Connor’s wife and child. He realized as he watched her that this was an Anice he had never seen before—self-assured, confident, and comfortable. And there was no fear haunting her eyes or manner.
“Connor, if you do not mind, could I speak to Robert alone?”
Connor mumbled once more and backed out the door before either he or Anice could say another word. Robert laughed at the soon-to-be steward’s discomfort around Anice:
“Do ye always have that effect on men?”
“Actually, Robert, I used to do that to most of the men in the clan.” Although her voice was filled with laughter, he sensed a deeper truth. At his frown, she continued, “Oh, aye. The Lady Anice could be quite formidable in her displeasure.”
“And did ye enjoy being the formidable Lady Anice?”
She laughed and rose from her seat. “Oh, aye. I did enjoy having the clan and the servants at my beck and call.” She stepped to the door and then faced him once more. “Now I find myself at the beck and call of that wee tyrant upstairs. How things have changed.”
He shared a few moments of laughter with her and waited to discover the reason for her visit now. Her glance moved to the wall that separated the workroom from the dais of the great hall and he knew she was remembering, as he was, the night a few short months ago when she found out that Sandy was on his way back to Dunnedin. The joy in her expression dimmed just a bit before she smiled at him.
“Would you walk with me outside, Robert? The day is clear and sunny and I would like a few words with you.” Her gaze fell back on the wooden panel and he heard her unspoken words—where no one can hear.
He gathered and secured the parchments on the tabletop for his attention later and then stood. He followed her into the hallway.
“I must check on the bairn first. Can you meet me next to the practice yard?”
Robert nodded, completely baffled but incredibly interested in her purpose. As he watched her walk away, he was once more struck by this new Anice and by the vitality she emanated now. He turned and walked out to the practice yards to wait.
His wait turned into longer than he anticipated; almost a half hour passed before he sighted her coming from the kitchen door into the yards. He’d bided his time by giving some directions to the men training in the yard closest to the path where he stood. Robert joined in the cheering as the two teams of warriors faced one another with swords. He pivoted just as she approached and was surprised to see her carrying the babe in a sling.
“The piglet decided ’twas a better time to eat than sleep,” she said, stroking all he could see of the bairn’s head within the plaid fabric. “Forgive me for keeping you waiting, Robert.”
“I understaun that this is the way of it with bairns, Anice.My suggestion is to get used to it.” He leaned closer and tried to see the boy’s face.
“Here now, you have not seen him since... his birth, have you, Rob?”
Between the sight of her holding the babe and the familiar shortening of his name, Robert’s breath caught. She lifted the babe, Craig, out from his protective cover and held him up before them. A dense thatch of hair a few shades lighter, but red nonetheless, covered the babe’s head and his skin carried the same paleness that his mother’s did. The little one scrunched up his face and even he, without knowledge or experience of children could tell, was about to cry when Anice gathered him back in her arms to soothe him. A few moments of cooing and soft touches and the bairn was once more staring at the world from his woolen cocoon.
“Would you care to hold him, Robert? He is really quite strong now and he grows bigger every day.”
