“I have to get the ring back, Faith. We are no’ safe as long as it’s in Mored’s hands, as we must assume it is. I’ve already sent a scouting party out, and if they return with news of where he is or even where he may be, I’ll be leaving to find it.”
She nodded in understanding. She didn’t want anything at all to threaten the happiness they had so newly found together.Not an argument, and certainly not the perfidy of an evil man. But she didn’t want him going either, at least not while she had to stay home and worry about whether or not he would be killed.
“I’ll come with you.”
Bren’s eyes immediately sparked anger. “Like hell ye will! Ye will stay home and wait for me woman, even if I have to lock ye in our chamber until I return!”
She crossed her arms and glared at him, trying to match his fierce scowl, but he only laughed at her and pushed her back onto the grass for a deep, soul-searing kiss. They did not return to the castle till dinner time that day.
Faith now found herself in a position she never could have imagined she’d be in: Lady of Creagmor. She knew there were certain duties that came with the role, but she had little concept of what they were, except for vague ideas she had picked up while reading history books. And so, while Bren was out training with the other men, she arranged to meet with Colm. The castle steward would surely know what her new duties were. She liked to be busy, and there was certainly plenty to be done in a castle of this size.
She sat down with Colm in a corner of the great hall. “Thank you for speaking with me, I know how busy you are.”
“It is my pleasure my Lady. How can I be of service to ye?”
“Well, I’m afraid my upbringing was… rather different, and I wasn’t taught… the sort of things most ladies would have been taught. I’m not entirely sure what my role here is. I mean, what does the lady of the castle do, exactly?”
Colm looked a bit taken aback by her question, but to his credit, he smiled warmly at her and answered as if she had only inquired about the weather.
“The lady of Creagmor has many roles, the first of which is to see to the laird, of course, but she also sees to the well-being of all of Creagmor’s people, especially the elders and the children.”
Faith relaxed a little. She could do that.
“And”, Colm went on, “she sees to the stocking of the larders, and the planning of the meals, especially when there are guests at the castle.”
That sounded a bit more daunting, but, Faith admitted to herself, could be quite enjoyable. She liked a challenge.
“And, when there are verra important guests, the lady usually personally sees to their needs, including helping to bathe the men and providing any necessary finery and personal items for the women.”
Faith tried to imagine herself washing the castle’s male guests, and nearly laughed out loud at the image. Would she be expected to washdown there, and if so did one carry on pleasant conversation the whole while? That one would take some getting used to.
“And”, Colm continued, because he was nothing if not thorough, “if the lady so pleases, she sees to the care and tending of the gardens, with the help of her staff, of course.” He cleared his throat, a deep red blush creeping up from the collar of his shirt. “Her most important duty, after tending the laird himself, of course, would be to bear the laird’s children, and see to their care.”
Faith nodded as he finished his list of her new duties. Her heart had started at the mention of children, and then proceeded to thud loudly in her ears. She had been so enthralled and overwhelmed by Bren himself that any thoughts of a baby had been relegated to the very back of her mind. Even when hehad told her that he wanted lots of children, her mind had interpreted that to mean eventually. But they certainly hadn’t used any form of birth control, and he wasn’t the kind of man who was likely to agree to such a thing, anyway. If she became pregnant… well, that would be…amazing. To think of having Bren’s child, a part of him… a part of both of them, it made her all warm inside. But Colm was still sitting there, waiting patiently for her to either ask another question or dismiss him, and she was holding him up from whatever he had to do.
“Who does all of these things now?”
“Well, I do, I suppose. Except for bathing the male guests”, he said with a smile. “And… um… and the other, of course.”
Faith laughed. “I hope I can lighten your work load, somewhat. Whom do I talk to about planning the meals? I think I’ll start there for today. I have so much to learn.”
At first she was very worried about stepping on the toes of the people who had been running the castle for so long, but Colm and Berta, at least, were more than happy to have their work-load lightened.
Berta only laughed at her when Faith asked if she would mind her taking over some of the planning.
“Of course I dinna mind! I’ve been waiting for years for that lad to take a wife, we all worried over him, encouraged him to wed in any way we could, but now I ken he was verra wise; he was waiting for the right wife.” She winked at Faith. “I happen to ken, lass, that the laird is nay over-fond of venison. Ye may want to serve something else, for a while. For a good while.”
Excited to get started, Faith ran to the larders, taking a quick inventory of what was there, ideas filling her head, wondering what other foods might be available here, what dishes she could make. Though she imagined it would take sometime to have things running smoothly, by dinner that evening, she had come up with salmon with dill sauce and roasted asparagus, along with the usual bread and ale. She took her place beside Bren for the meal, and he leaned over and kissed her cheek when he noticed the fresh flowers she had picked herself and put on the table. He was home at last, and there was one reason for that.
“Good evening, wife. How was yer first day of running the keep?”
She smiled at him. “It went well, I think. Except that you need to do away with that ridiculous rule that none of the men besides Colm and your brothers can look at or speak to me. It makes it very difficult to get things done.”
He frowned. “I dinna ken. I find that when it comes to ye I am a verra jealous man. I dinna want other men looking at ye with desire in their eyes, or at all for that matter. I willna stand for it.”
She looked at him patiently. “You need to change the rule. I need to be able to speak with the men of the castle. If one should try something… inappropriate, then you can kill him. Not before.”
He scowled. “I will think on it.”
