Bren pressed his lips into a straight line. The lass was anything but simple. The very personification of wicked temptation, aye. But not simple. He had seen the spark of intelligence in her eyes when she had first looked at him, as if she were sizing him up, trying to figure him out. But he was a man who was hard to decipher, even for himself, sometimes.
“Aye, Colm, ye were right to tell me. I dinna think she’s simple, perhaps just verra inexperienced, but I will look into the matter further when I have the time.” He put his hand on Colm’s shoulder and gently ushered him back to the door. “For now, keep an eye on the lass and tell me anything that seems odd, and what the servants say of her. I think she is harmless enough, and she will learn, as ye’ve said.”
“Aye, my Lord. I thought as much, myself.” The steward bowed out of the room, hurrying back to his nearly endless tasks. Bren decided right then he would have to give him more gold next quarter, for he definitely deserved it. Colm worked very hard, took the brunt of the disputes and other unpleasantness of day to day life in the castle, and still kept track of even thesmallest details. And the man had a wife and five children to care for, as well. Good and loyal help was not so easy to come by, and should be rewarded well.
Bren sank down into his chair, putting his elbows on the heavy oak table he used as a desk. The ancient oak tree used to make the table had fallen in a storm, long ago. His own grandfather had fashioned it into this sturdy table. Then his father had used it for decades, until the day it became his. He slid one hand over the smoothly worn wood. He would have no other. It was also where he came to think, as if the wisdom of his father and grandfather had somehow been absorbed into the wood, his now for the asking.
Dirc’s lass. Faith. She was a mystery. So she did not seem to know how to perform simple tasks that any lass would have learned at her mother’s knee. How could that be? Either she pretended ignorance, or she was not taught, and why would she not be taught unless she was never expected to do such things…unlessshe was high-born. A little shock of recognition went through him. It was the truth, she was a lady-born. He should have seen it from the start. He thought about her pale ivory skin, her quiet beauty, the proud, straight way she held herself. The glimmer of defiance on her face that he had not quite recognized until now. She had boldly met his eyes. A servant would have dropped their gaze in deference. He slammed his palms down on the table.Why didn’t I see it before? Ha! Because I was already imagining her in my bed.
“Oh, Dirc, ye are the verra Devil. What are ye playing at now?”
Who the hell was she, then? And stranger still, no coddled lady he had ever known would actually make the effort tolearnservant’s tasks and then carry them out. At least not without a few major temper tantrums along the way… unless she had agreed to the scheme. Colm had said she was doing the work,once she knew how, but she wasn’t used to it, she wasn’t born to it. She was a beauty, made for a man’s hands, made for a man’s pleasure. She was meant to be protected and cosseted, meant to bear the sons of a powerful laird. What a shame it would be for her hands to grow rough and calloused, the fiery spirit that he felt in her to fade under the drudgery of hard physical labor. He couldn’t let it happen. What had he been thinking, assigning her to the kitchens? If he had been thinking straight, he would have assigned her to be his own chamber maid, where he could keep her close at hand. Where she would be obliged to help him bathe and dress, and undress… He stood up abruptly and left the study, walking across the hall and out of the keep with long, purposeful strides. He nearly ran into his brother Eian. Again.
“Whoa! Where are ye off to at such a pace? Is there a fire in the keep?”
Bren crossed his arms and gave him a narrow look that said he was not amused. “I’m going to see the sorcerer, if ye must ken. I suspect he’s holding back some rather important facts from my attention. Just wait until I get my hands on that old meddling…”
Eian cut him off. “Ye willna find him, Bren, he’s gone.”
Bren stopped short.Of course he’s gone! He sighed irritably. “What do ye mean he’s gone?”
“I mean he left Creagmor. This morning. Went to visit a sick cousin or some such. He willna be back for a week at least, or so he said.” He took in the menacing scowl forming on his brother’s face. “Jesu, Bren, what did he do? Did he try to slip ye one of his love potions again? Ye ken they dinna work anyway. I ken that for a fact, because I’ve given one to nearly every maid in the castle. None of them…”
Bren grabbed Eian’s arm and dragged him back into the study, slamming the door shut with a resounding thud.
“He left me with a damnedladyunder my protection, that’s what, for she is nay servant! Does the man think I am daft?”
Eian was looking at his brother as if he was wondering the same thing himself. “What?”
“Faith. His ward. Or the lass that he claims is his ward, at least. She’s no’ a common servant as he wants me to believe. She’s higher born than that, and that old sorcerer is up to something even greater than I originally suspected him of. How on earth did he procure aladyfor his latest plot?” He growled in irritation. “One just doesna walk away with one, ye ken! They are generally well guarded. He kenned I would figure it out and ask questions, so he left! The coward! Now I have a lady in the castle that I’m sworn to protect, and I dinna even ken the first thing about her, or even if her family is on the way to lay siege to the castle! She doesna even ken how to be a kitchen maid, Eian! That’s how I figured it out. And she’s to give her oath tomorrow. What sort of strife might that cause, should her kin come looking to take her back?”
Eian only shrugged, well used to his brother’s occasional, sometimes even violent, outbursts, but this time he was really rambling. “So what’s the problem? Spend a little time with her, talk to her. Even if she’s sworn to secrecy, she’s bound to slip up now and again. Ye should be able figure it out by what she says, or doesna say. And spending time with such a bonny lass is surely nay hardship.” He paused, and his mouth widened into a grin. “Or do ye want me to do it? I’m rather good with the lasses, and the ladies.” He made a crude gesture, and Bren cuffed his brother in the ear, though not as hard as he would have liked to. Somehow, such crudity did not seem to belong anywhere near Faith.
“Ye stay away from her Eian, on my orders. I ken what trouble ye can stir up. I swore to Dirc I’d keep her safe, and eventhough I’d rather dunk him headfirst into the bog right now, I always keep my vows.” He paused to push his hands through his hair in a gesture of impatience. “Aye, I’ll talk to her myself; it’s a good idea, Eian.” He let out a long breath. “I just dinna need a new problem taking up my time when Mored is so quickly gaining strength and men again. There have been so many more attacks recently…”
Eian snorted, not in the least diverted. “There’s nay problem that I can see. Ye like the lass. Ye want her in yer bed. Her kin are no’ here, and it is yer duty to provide protection.”
Bren raised an eyebrow, his brother was stating the obvious. “I would like to bed her, aye, and I have every intention of doing so, eventually”, he said matter of factly. But I have much greater responsibilities here Eian, as do ye”, he reminded. “Have ye done as I asked?”
“I checked the outer wards this morning, aye. All is in order. We’ll need to be extra vigilant, though, with Beltane only days away.”
Bren sat back in his chair, folding his hands behind his head and letting himself relax for just a moment. “Mmm, Beltane, my favorite time of year.” It was, too. The world was new again, a time of hope, of rebirth, of celebration. And of lush sensuality, when sex became even more an act of worship of the earth and its fertility. He loved the joys of the flesh; loved all things carnal. The anticipation, the scents and the pure intoxication of it. And of course the intense pleasure of release. Come to think of it, it had been quite a while since he had had any release at all. That was probably part of his problem. Maybe even most of it. There was definitely something about Beltane time that lifted the spirit and restored the soul, but there was really only one woman he truly wanted to share it with this season.
“I only hope I will no’ be too busy with other things to enjoy it. But I dinna think there will be any attacks on Beltane, Eian. Mored would think of that, but he’s nay fool, he’ll assume we’ll be expecting him then. He’ll wait until sometime after, I think. Maybe even before, while we’re preparing. Anything to catch us unaware. Anyway, I plan on actuallyenjoyingBeltane Eve this year, so he’d better keep far away from Creagmor. I willna be happy if anything interrupts my plans for the evening.
Eian gave him a speculative look. “Maybe this year ye’ll be blessed with a child on whatever woman ye choose to go into the forest with. That would mean luck for the whole clan. We could use some extra luck.”
Bren gave his brother a look of exasperation. “I have nay intention of getting a woman with child, Eian, this year or any year. I will not be populating the village with my bastards to be raised without a proper father. A child of mine will be just that, a child ofmine. To be brought up byme.” He looked out the window for a moment, into the distance, where the sun was beginning to set behind the rugged hills. “I have never given a woman my seed, and I never will, unless the day should come when I am properly wed and can be a true father to any child that is created from the union.”
Eian stared at him in astonishment, his mouth already hanging open. “Bloody hell, Bren. Ye’ve never… no’ once? Ever?”
“Never.”
***
Faith just needed a few moments to herself. She was definitely not used to the constant crush of people everywhere her tasks required her to be in the castle. And so after the dinner things were cleared away, her job officially done for the day, she slipped out the back door for a much needed momentof solitude. Her head was absolutely spinning. She had always worked hard in her life, but this was something different altogether. A well-ordered chaos was the best she could describe it, and yet every job was done and done well by the end of the day. The last two days had been very full as she learned the ways of the castle and struggled to make her place in it. Especially since she would probably be here for a while. At least until Dirc came back, or she happened to discover the way home on her own.
The other women had been kind to her, but she was still very much a stranger here; welcome enough, but not yet completely trusted.You’ve only been here two days! She reminded herself. It only seemed so much longer. After her quiet and mostly solitary existence as a student and then an intern, she found herself quickly overwhelmed by the amount of people and activity in the castle. Even the room she slept in was shared by four other women. As much as she enjoyed the company of other people, she also desperately needed time alone with her thoughts.
