Better than feeling.
***
THE CLANS FOLK, INITIALLYwary of their new mistress, slowly began to warm to her.
Bella never raised her voice, never demanded, only asked politely and thanked them sincerely for their service.She helped them with their duties where it was needed, her hands as dirty as theirs at the end of the day.
She remembered their names.Asked about their families.Listened when they spoke.
It was the work ethic she'd learned at the abbey, treating everyone with dignity and respect, finding satisfaction in honest labor, taking pride in work well done.
"Mistress," young Lara the scullery maid said shyly one afternoon, "ye dinnae have to help us with the washing.'Tis not fitting for the laird's wife—"
"Nonsense," Bella replied gently, scrubbing at a particularly stubborn pot."I like being useful."
Lara beamed at her, and Bella felt warmth in her chest.These people were kind.They treated her with respect, even affection.If this was where she was to spend the rest of her days, then she would need to build relationships to last a lifetime.
She took her meals in the kitchen rather than the great hall, finding comfort and great entertainment from the chatter of the staff.The great hall felt too large, too empty without Boyd's presence.
Here, in the kitchen, surrounded by the smell of baking bread and the laughter of friendly voices, Bella could almost feel like she was home.
***
Chapter 14
Boyd was angry andagitated.
It had been five days since he'd left MacKinnon Keep.Five days since he'd snuck out of Bella's bed like the coward he was.Five days since he'd seen her bonnie face and inhaled her lavender scent.Five days since he'd felt her curvaceous warm body flush against his.
And all he wanted, all he could think about, was returning home to Bella.
Worse still, he really had no clan matters to attend to that would keep him away from home a whole month.It was all a ruse.In hindsight it seemed silly for him to turn up unannounced at different clans for no good reason.
Which meant Boyd and his men had been riding aimlessly for the past few days, his men following without question, all of them clearly wondering what had possessed their normally decisive laird to wander about the countryside like a lost soul.
Boyd couldn't explain it to them when he couldn't explain it to himself.
