“Siegfried is usually right.” Hamish sat deep in the saddle and reined in Luar. “The cave is up there.” He pointed to a grassy promontory jutting out from the rocky cliffs. “We don’t havetime to go this day, but I will take ye there afore the summer ends.”
Brianne pouted. “It willna take long, Papa.”
“Aye, but we have the feast to prepare for.” He smiled as the spark returned to her blue eyes. “Had ye forgotten?”
“Never,” the little girl declared. “’Tis a feast in honor of my naming day.”
“’Tis the Lammas Feast, and ye came ter us on Lammas Day, the greatest gift I e’er could have gotten.”
His eyes misted at the memory. Baby Brianne had been born almost nine months to the day that he and Isabella had first come together at Ember Hall. He had held his tiny daughter in his arms and thanked God for the blessings raining down upon him.
Brianne beamed up at him, bringing him back to the present. “Can I stay up and join in with the dancing? Please, Papa.”
“Ye can stay fer a while,” he allowed. Isabella would raise her eyebrows at his leniency, but Hamish found it difficult to deny his daughter aught she desired. It was fortunate indeed that Brianne had a sunny disposition and rarely expressed discontent.
Brianne dropped the reins to clap her hands together, and the pony quickly ducked his head to snatch up a mouthful of moorland grass. “I will wear my new plaid and sit beside Mama who always looks so pretty on a feast day.”
“Aye, she does that.” Hamish waited until Brianne had gathered her reins again. “Though yer mama looks pretty all the time.”
“Less so when she’s working in the kitchens,” Brianne opined. “If I was the Lady of Greenock, I would do naught but wear pretty dresses and sit in the long gallery and eat sweetmeats.”
“Well, mayhap that day will come.” Hamish smiled down at her daughter, but she had twisted in the saddle and was looking back at the cave.
“Do ye think we will e’er have to leave Greenock and live up there?” she asked.
“I dinna think so,” he answered honestly. “I willna lie to ye. And if I have learned one thing in all my years on this earth,’ tis that ye rarely ken what events are ahead of ye. But our castle walls are strong and our guards are stronger. Balliol’s troops ne’er troubled us, e’en when most of Scotland fell to them. And now peace is the victor in these lands.”
“Good. I wouldna like it in the cave.” Brianne shook her head so vigorously her curls bounced.
“’Tis not all bad.” Hamish remembered playing the lute on warm summer nights, with his sister singing along beside him.
Brianne’s attention had moved to other things.
“Can we race back, Papa?”
“Race?” He feigned astonishment. “All the way back ter the keep?”
Brianne squealed with glee and urged her pony into a gallop. The little creature moved at quite a lick over the moors, but Hamish ensured Luar stayed a nose behind all the way back to the outer walls. The guards saluted smartly as they passed through the gates and a breathless Brianne declared herself the winner.
“’Twas nay fair. Ye started afore I did.” He frowned down at her in jest.
“Dinna worry, Papa. We can race again another day.”
They trotted into the stable yard where Siegfried was deep in conversation with a young groom. His lined face lit up at the sight of Brianne and he lifted his arms to help her down.
“How is the new pony, Lady Brianne?”
“Fast,” she answered with satisfaction. “Faster than Luar.”
“’Tis true.” Hamish ruefully swung himself down onto the cobbles. “I may have to borrow him.”
Brianne looked alarmed. “Ye are much too big for him, Papa.”
“Then he will have to grow.” Hamish nodded seriously, then ruffled his daughter’s hair. “Siegfried, do ye ken where I might find my wife?”
“The Lady is busy in the kitchens.”
“Of course she is.” Brianne sighed with exasperation. “But she needs to make herself pretty for the feast.”
