“What do you mean?”
“I mean you are my other half. Whether you were innocent or guilty, had never been identified to me, I would have still found you, fallen for you, and married you. I do believe we were destined to be together and how we met is of no import now. You are mine and I am yours now and forever. I will never let anything come between us. That I promise you.”
She didn’t say anything rather crawled onto his lap and placed her head on his chest. He stroked her hair as they sat into a silent truce. If she wanted, he would stay that way with her for all time.
Chapter Fourteen
Did his accountand his reasoning make sense? Aye. Did she feel like a silly wee lass over how she’d behaved in those first hours with him? Aye. How she would reconcile the two she did not know. The truth of the matter was that they loved one another and that had grown from the beginning; he was right about that. Only time would tell whether or not this new knowledge would continue to bother her. For now, she was in this marriage and she loved this man.
William kissed the top of her head. “I have arranged a bath for you,” he said. “The tub will be here shortly, and I have two of the kitchen maids instructed to aid you. You can keep them for your use as long as you wish. Does that suit you, Agnes?”
“Aye,” she said. She had no more words for him. And she was glad when he stood up with her in his arms and placed her down upon the bed.
“I must see to security now, but I will check in on you later. And by the way,” he said from the door, “this is our chamber and I hope you like it. But if you do not, I will have it furnished to your pleasing.”
With that he left the chamber, gently closing the door.
Agnes got up from the bed and moved to the open window. The view overlooked the extensive garden, from beautiful flowers on one side to sculpted bushes and flowering trees on the other side. In the center was a small pond and by it his mothersat near a stone marker. Agnes could faintly hear the woman talking and from time to time soft laughter. The sight was heart wrenching yet comforting at the same time. How would she herself react if something happened to William? Would she go mad with despair or keep his memory alive as his mother did?
The maids came with pails of water and two men carrying a tub. She instructed them to place it by the hearth and turned back to the window as they came back and forth with water until the tub was full.
“My lady, your bath is ready,” a quiet voice said from behind her. When she turned, she took in the young women who would tend to her. Agnes was not accustomed to this much devotion but was glad of it, for she was so tired she wasn’t sure she could lift her arms to wash her hair.
The two maids were about the same age, by Agnes’s guess, barely old enough to serve, yet here they were about to wash a stranger who was now the lady of the castle. It was all a great deal to take in.
“What are your names?”
“I am Alice, and this is Marie,” the taller of the two said. “We have brought you some special additions for your bath, m’lady.”
“’Tis true,” Marie said. “We got it from the kitchen, and they said that a young countess must be treated delicately and that her skin can never become dry. So we brought you all these things,” she said as she lifted a cloth to reveal several vials with an oil-like substance in them together with dried lavender and rosehips.
“Will this do, m’lady, or shall we fetch more?”
Agnes smiled. She liked these young ladies.
“This will do quite nicely and since I have only been a countess for a short time, I am not sure what my skin requires. How do you tend the dowager countess?”
They exchanged quick glances. “The dowager countess doesn’t want anyone to dote on her. She insists on doing that herself, so we only seldom get to do her hair,” Alice said.
“Aye, and we like doing hair,” Marie said. “Will you let us do your hair, m’lady?”
“Aye, I will let you do my hair.”
She gave over to them entirely. When they had her gown and shift off and helped her into the tub, she felt only a little guilt over being so fawned over.
But she’d been through an ordeal and determined she deserved a little pampering even if she would not indulge on a regular basis. It was nice to know this was available to her. The maids emptied the vials into the steaming water then sprinkled the dried flowers. The scent was magical, as was the way the heat soothed her aching muscles. She didn’t realize just how sore she was until the bath water touched each and every part of her.
Agnes lay back with her hair hanging over the back of the tub after they fully washed and rinsed it. The maids lifted her limbs and gently washed her from one end to the other only handing her the cloth to handle her more private areas.
The heat combined with the soft scent wafting around her and the gentle brushing drew her toward slumber. She was just starting to drift when one of the maids touched her shoulder.
“M’lady, ’tis time for you to get out now. Too much time in there might make your skin wrinkly.”
Agnes smiled to herself. She’d hadwrinklyskin from a long bath before. That was a sign it had been a good one, but nonetheless, she would get out and then maybe explore the grounds while William was away. She was tired, but she was more curious about her new home.
The maids helped her out of the tub and into a modest pale-blue satin gown once she was dried. It was one of the onesWilliam had promised her, having previously belonged to his sister, Elspeth.
“This looks far better on you than it ever did onher,” Alice said and then clapped her hand over her mouth as if realizing the seriousness of her statement.
