Melody bit her lip and said nothing. It was not a surprise that Angus disliked her. Really, she couldn’t blame him. From his point of view, his respected laird had entered into a hasty, ill-advised marriage with a strangeEnglishgirl, of all people. No doubt he didn’t expect the betrothal to last. And of course, he’d be right about that.
“Ye have dashed his dearest hopes, I think.” Kat continued, with a huff of amusement.
“Hopes?”
“He wantedmeto wed the Laird. Nonsense, of course, but ye ken how the old folks have their pet schemes. Another council member, Liam, wanted his daughter to become the new lady. It’s often like this when a powerful man is single, ye ken?”
“I… I don’t think I know that.”
Kat gave a grunt. She finished drying her hands and tossed the rag somewhere behind the privacy screen.
“Come. Let’s go and attend to Lady Sophie. It’s her knee, I imagine? The pain comes and goes.”
Without waiting for Melody’s response, Kat set off at a sharp, long-legged stride down the hallway, leaving Melody to scurry after her.
“Slow down, can’t you?” she panted.
“Is there any particular reason ye’re dressed as a servant?” Kat asked, ignoring Melody’s request.
“Well, yes. When I snuck into the keep, I stole a servant’s gown to go unnoticed. Nobody’s offered me anything else to wear.”
“Why did ye want to sneak into the keep? Actually, forget that, I’m nae sure I want to ken,” Kat sniffed. “Lady Sophie says that ignorance is bliss, and I believe her. So, ye are to wed the Laird, eh? My congratulations.”
“Thank you,” Melody responded instinctively. It seemed polite. The whole thing had the air of a harried dream, the sort of dream that didn’t even make sense when one was in it. She finally managed to catch up with Kat, who had atlastslowed down, and the two women walked side by side for a moment. Melody shot a quick, curious glance at her new companion.
Kat’s dress would never have been accepted in London Society, not even for a minute. She wore a plain green wool dress, with a thick, worked leather belt around her waist. Countless little pockets and pouches of varying sizes were fixed to the belt. Some held vials stopped up with corks, one held a rather nasty-looking knife, and another gave off a sharp-sweet smell of herbs.
There was more. Her skirt wasliftedshockingly high, almost to her calves! There were tiny buttons sewn in around halfway up her skirt, Melody noticed, which could be lifted to hang from twine loops attached along the edge of her belt, which in turn lifted her hem from the floor.
Of course, one could only see the sturdy, well-worn leather of her boots, but even so. They’d faint in the ballrooms if anybody appeared like that in London.
It did look practical, though. There was something else strange about Kat, though, and it took Melody a moment to realize.
“Your fingers,” she gasped, blinking hard. “Your fingers aregreen.”
Kat glanced carelessly down at her green-tipped fingers. “Aye, I’m a healer.”
“I don’t understand.”
“Well, I daenae ken how yer fine London doctors work, but here we have to pick herbs and plants and such to make medicines. All that rummagin’ around in the greenery leaves a tinge to the fingers, to say nothing of the pastes and plasters that have to be made up. Some herbs are delicate.
“Grindin’ them in a mortar and pestle can make them taste bitter, and cuttin’ them fine ruins the power of the herb. Sometimes, the only way to activate the herb is to crush it withyer hands. The warmth in the skin is part of it all. So, just about any healer worth her salt has green fingers. It fades with age, but never disappears completely.”
Melody was quiet for a moment, contemplating this. She glanced down at her own pristine hands. Not pristine at the moment, of course, since there’d be no opportunity for her to take a proper bath. Still, there was no green tinge.
“Shocked, are ye?” Kat said, after a moment. She sounded thoroughly amused. “How did ye come to know the Laird, by the way? Ye haven’t been long in the Keep. I’d ken if ye were.”
“I don’t know him. Not well. Our betrothal is… sudden.”
Kat nodded and didn’t question further. “Well, Lady Sophie thinks that marriage will be good for him, and so does everyone else, so I suppose this is all for the best.”
They reached the circular crossroads where Melody had met Callum. There was no sign of him now, of course. Kat took a sharp turn, and Melody hung back, frowning.
“I’m not sure this is the way to Lady Sophie’s room,” she called. “I could have sworn it wasthatway.”
“It is,” Kat responded. “But I have a feelin’ that she willnae be there. Come, this is the way to the Great Hall.”
Melody followed reluctantly. “What would she be doing in the Great Hall? Her knee is so bad, she can hardly…”
