“I bartered with the merchant and got the lavender oil he saved for me. When ye have the time, I can help ye make soap for us and mayhap and extra bars to sell at the fair.” Elayne spied the twinkle in Mrs. Logan’s eyes.
After dinner, Mrs. Logan would try to persuade her father about letting her have reasonable time off. As an added enticement, Mrs. Logan had brought a sweet cake for her papa, as he loved her sweet cake. Elayne learned women had to use their charms to persuade men to change their minds.
Elayne excused herself and returned to the forge. She worked late into the night to make as many short nails as possible. As she battered the hot iron, she wondered if Cailean would bring his sleek stallion to the farrier’s for new shoes while she worked there.
Stoking the fire with bellows, Elayne recalled the heat of Cailean’s kisses, her very first experience. Each one had been magical. Never having been kissed before, she wondered if allkisses were the same. Not that she wanted to do that with anyone else, but it had piqued her curiosity.
Later, after she closed the forge, Elayne dreamed of Cailean’s smoky eyes and his irresistible kisses and hoped for more when they saw each other again.
Chapter Five
Spring Interlude at the Loch
Excited to see Cailean again, Elayne arose early, washed, and dressed. Then she placed a pot of water on the hearth. Later, they would have hot water for tea and washing. Elayne drank a cup of water and walked to the forge, eager to start her day. She wished Cailean could see her in a pretty dress before leaving on his long journey, though she didn’t know why. After lifting the bar on the door to the forge, she swung it open.
Elayne went to the well with a bucket to fill it with water to cool the iron. She tied the well’s length of rope to the bucket and then dropped it into the well. Then she heaved it up, hand over hand. Elayne made several trips, as she did daily before beginning her work. Later, she stoked the fire on the forge, carried armloads of wooden logs, and placed them in the forge. Using the bellows, she made the fire hotter and brighter.
Clad in a leather apron, Elayne secured her braid down the back of her clothes and put on her leather gloves. Then she grabbed a piece of the iron from the large oak barrel and placed the iron bar in the fire with tongs.
Elayne watched the flames lick the cold metal. When the temperature had increased and the metal glowed hot, she placed it on the anvil and pounded it into shape, making more short nails.
When done shaping them with a square-shaped peg at the top to hold them in place, she whisked them into the water bucket to cool. After a while, she retrieved the cool nails and placed them on wooden boards to dry as the sun shone into the forge.
Elayne hoped the extra work would not make her shoulders too sore. Even so, it was a small price to pay to see Cailean.
Her father was amazed to see how much she had accomplished before he joined her. After greeting him, Elayne took a few moments to drink cool water and grab an oatcake to eat.
“Ye are up early, daughter. I may join ye tonight to help Duncan.”
“I ken he will appreciate yer help. The farrier has agreed to give me extra iron on top of his usual pay. With eight nails for each shoe and thirty-two for each large stallion, he needs many nails. It takes time to trim the horse’s hooves, and nail the shoes into place.
“With help, he can shoe many more horses, ensuring the captain of the guard and the laird’s pleasure. The farrier takes almost an hour to shoe each horse, while his apprentices are much slower. It will take several weeks to shoe all the warriors’ horses.”
“Aye, daughter, it is a monstrous and tiring task. The farrier will appreciate the extra help. Thank ye for negotiating more iron from him.”
“After finishing this batch of nails, I will also start making more horseshoes. Otherwise, we will soon run out.”
“Aye, thank ye, but I will start on the horseshoes to save time. Even though he has stockpiled what we made over the winter months, he already needs more.”
Elayne and her father each began their tasks, working in unison.Clang, clang, beat, beat, hammer, hammer, clangrang out from the forge as people awakened and went about their tasks. Soon, the sounds of the market engulfed them. Elayne heard the bells ringing on the cows and the bleating of the sheep.
Elayne marveled at the early morning as dawn painted a rosy picture in the sky. She drank a cup of water and appreciated the beauty of the sunrise in the spring sky over the castle’s towers as she gazed up at the mountains in the distance. Sighing, she wondered about the outcome of Mrs. Logan’s discussion with her father.
So far, he had not said anything. Elayne would give him nae more than two days to tell her that she had a free afternoon. Then she would use other arguments to persuade her father to let her go.
Her time with Cailean was limited, and she did not know when he would leave for his brother’s wedding. He would be absent for a long time.
Elayne returned to work and hammered away all afternoon, taking a break only for water and using the outhouse behind their house. She washed her face and hands and joined her parents for dinner.
Once Elayne finished her dinner, she excused herself. “I will see ye later at the farrier’s, Papa, and I will let him ken ye willjoin us to make more horseshoes. Good night, Mrs. Logan, and thank ye for the delicious dinner.”
Elayne breathed deeply the fresh spring air before sunset as she left the forge and walked to Duncan’s. The tools and equipment she needed were ready for her. Elayne greeted him as she donned a leather apron and gloves. “My father will be here soon to help ye by making more horseshoes. Ye will need many more.” The stalls were filled with headstrong, mighty stallions. The grooms were busy leading the horses to and from the stables.
The beautiful and powerful horses made Elayne miss their horse all the more. Galloping on a horse with the wind in her face made her feel free. Elayne missed those days. Besides seeing Cailean, swimming in the loch and riding had been what she looked forward to each summer and autumn.
The horse was gone. Soon Cailean would leave too. Elayne’s heart sank with so many losses but wouldn’t let anyone see her tears. With so much changing in ways she didn’t like, Elayne felt out of sorts this spring.
Elayne chafed at being inside, like a horse confined in his stall when he wanted to run free and wild. Did Cailean react the same way? Although the weather affected her, inspiring her increased need for free time, she suspected it had more to do with his kisses unleashing a passion she had never experienced.
