“She asked if you were a prince,” Emilia replied.
Adam squatted down beside her and stroked her shining red hair. “I am Prince Adam,” he replied, then picked up her little hand and kissed it. Emilia quickly translated what she had said, and the little girl giggled.
She squealed and buried her face in her mother’s skirts again, keeping one eye open to look at Adam. “What is your name?” he asked, and Emilia translated.
“Mara,” she replied shyly, and then she ran forward and put her arms around his neck and kissed his cheek. When she spoke again she addressed the question to Emilia so that she could translate.
Emilia looked at Ina, who put her hand over her mouth and tried not to laugh.
“She asks if you will marry her,” she told him solemnly.
Adam was taken aback. “What will I say?” he asked, horrified.
Emilia giggled. “I will tell her that of course you will marry her but only in a few years when she is a little older.”
When this was done, Mara grinned delightedly and kissed Adam’s cheek. Since she would not let go of him, he lifted her up and they went to a bench by a roughly-scrubbed kitchen table where he sat her down beside him.
“Ye are welcome tae anything we have, mistress,” Ina informed her cheerfully.
“We will gladly pay our way,” Emilia smiled. Ina poured them each a cup of milk and sat down opposite them.
“Nae need for that,” Ina said firmly. “Whit happened tae your man, mistress?”
“We had an accident,” Emilia replied. “We were having a little ride, looking at the loch, when his horse stumbled, fell on its knees, and cut itself. He fell down under it and hurt himself but at least he can walk.”
Ina looked at him, frowning. “He cannae speak the Gaelic?” she asked.
Emilia shook her head. “Lowlander,” she muttered, as if it were a dirty secret. She doubted if Ina could tell the difference between a Glaswegian and a Londoner.
Ina laughed and began to prepare their evening meal, a thin chicken stew thickened with oats. Emilia knew that she had likely prepared dinner for her husband and five children but now had to stretch it to two more portions, so she gave Ina what she had left of her own food, and it was accepted gratefully.
Meanwhile, she went outside to wash Adam’s wound with water from the nearby stream, closely followed by Mara, who would not leave Adam’s side. When Emilia dipped a linen cloth in the water to blot Adam’s graze with it, the little girl used the hem of her dress to do the same.
“She adores you,” Emilia observed as they walked back to the house.
“She has no taste,” Adam laughed.
“No tays,” Mara mimicked, giggling. Adam picked her up and whirled her around in the air while she shrieked with laughter, and it warmed Emilia’s heart to see him. He was going to be a wonderful father.
Presently, a tall, burly man with tousled dark hair and deep brown eyes came in. Following behind him were several young men who were more or less mirror images of him. They ranged in age, Emilia guessed, from about ten years of age to adult men in their twenties.
They all looked quite amazed to see the two guests, but after a moment they all welcomed the newcomers warmly.
The father’s name was Hamish, and he introduced his sons as Broch, Alastair, Fergus, and Wee Hamish. Wee Hamish was the biggest of the bunch, almost as tall as his father, but the name had been given to him as a baby and had obviously stuck.
Before they sat down to eat, Emilia produced the wine flask from her satchel. They had drunk sparingly and it was still half full, so she poured a cup each for Hamish and Ina.
“It is wine,” she told them. “You will like it.”
They each took a sip then looked at each other, smiling.
“Thank ye mistress,” Hamish said happily, grinning at her. “It is splendid.”
“Splendid,” echoed Mara, holding up her cup as she had seen her parents do. Adam was shaking with laughter as he put his arm around the little girl.
“You are so precious,” he whispered, and kissed the top of her head. Immediately she pulled on his shirt to make him bend down so she could kiss him, then hugged him.
“I have never seen her this way before,” said Ina incredulously. “I think she might be in love!”
