“Aye, well … if ye need anything, just ask,” Lady Kylie said after another pause.
Fiona nodded, even as her gaze shifted to the bright window framing the Sound of Mull and the southern coast beyond.
Back to her old life.
But that was behind her now.
Everything she’d dreamed of was coming true. Aye, she was giddy with nerves, yet she’d settle soon enough.
And she would weave her future right here in this room.
3: UPON THE WALLS
“I HOPE YE realize what an honor Lady Kylie has bestowed upon ye.” The cook’s voice drifted down the long table.
Swallowing the mouthful of bread and cheese she’d been chewing, Fiona met the older woman’s eye.
Essie Maclean was a tall, spare woman who looked like she never sampled any of the food she prepared. The cook had a small army of assistants and serving lasses and lads who scurried after her, terrified of her wrath.
Seated next to Carrie in Dounarwyse’s large kitchen, Fiona had been enjoying a supper with the servants. However, upon listening to the conversation that moved around the table, she quickly understood that Essie ruled her domain with a rod of iron. It was important to pay attention to such matters. A castle like this was a small community with its own pecking order. Much like a village.
There were those ye could trust. Those ye had to be wary of.
Essie’s direct question and the challenge in her voice made her tense. “Of course, I do,” she replied, her voice low and firm. “And I intend to ensure that my work gives her no call for complaint.”
“And yerconducttoo,” answered Essie with a snort. “I don’t know howfreeye were in Craignure, but here in Dounarwyse, we have standards.”
Irritation quickened in Fiona’s belly. This woman could turn out to be a thorn in her arse. “I come from a fishing village, not a brothel,” she replied, unable to keep the acerbity out of her voice.
This comment brought sniggers from around the table. One of those seated, a bairn, started giggling. However, his mirth cut off when Essie cast him a sharp look. “Ye mind yerself, Stu.”
“Aye, Mistress Essie,” he said, swallowing his delight. He was the only bairn here, a thin, birdlike lad with bright eyes and a cap of glossy black hair. Shifting her attention from Stu, Fiona cast a gaze over the faces of the men and women who kept this castle running smoothly and wondered how many friends she’d find here.
Clearly unimpressed by her answer, Essie snorted. She helped herself to a sliver of cheese from a large round at her end of the table. “Lady Kylie,” she went on, “is a generous soul, but she isn’t from Mull and sometimes forgets the way things are done here. She would have been better off choosing an older weaver with an established reputation for such an important job.”
“Enough of that, Essie,” Carrie cut in, her sweet face tightening with annoyance. “Fiona has as much right to be here as any of us.”
Essie sniffed, her gaze drilling into Fiona. “And what’s yer father’s trade?”
Fiona raised her chin, refusing to let the hatchet-faced woman cow her. Nonetheless, a tiny part of her quailed. Lady Kylie had done something quite audacious in hiring her, but Fiona hadn’t questioned it. Instead, she’d been delighted to have the chance to make something of herself, to move up in the world. “He’s a carpenter,” she replied, her tone calm. “The best on Mull.”
This claim caused a smattering of laughter. Fiona didn’t like the way some of those around her were smirking. Only Stuappeared impressed. He was gazing at her now, his large grey eyes full of questions.
“That’s quite a claim, lass,” an older grizzled man replied, cutting her a narrow-eyed look. His name was Tay. He was the castle’s rat-catcher, a stocky man with a greying, stubbled jaw, followed everywhere by a small pointy-nosed terrier named Midge. The wee dog sat under the table, waiting for scraps.
“It’s not one I made up,” she replied, meeting his gaze. “Ask anyone who the finest carpenter on Mull is, and they will say it is Bryce Mackinnon of Craignure.”
“Mackinnon, aye?” Tay scowled at her. “Time was, anyone with that name would have been cast from this castle.”
“Fortunately, those days are behind us now,” Carrie answered him brightly. “Captain Jackweda Mackinnon … as did Lady Kylie’s sister.”
Fiona stilled. She hadn’t known that. Suddenly, she felt even more warmly toward the fire-haired woman she’d been introduced to earlier.
Tay snorted, casting Carrie an irritated glance. “That’s because ye are too young to remember back that far.” He glanced back at Fiona, his brow furrowing. “I hear ye are going to depict the Battle of Dounarwyse. Ye weren’t even alive when it took place.”
Fiona’s pulse quickened. Another direct challenge. “No, I wasn’t,” she admitted, anxiety fluttering up. “But I will make sure to learn about it.” She paused then. It was better not to lock horns with these people, but to try to get alongside them. The likes of Tay needed to be her ally, not her enemy. “Were ye here then?”
The rat-catcher puffed out his barrel chest. “I was. I was inside these very walls as the Mackinnons laid siege to us.” His eyes grew slightly glazed as his mind traveled back. “I remember standing on the ramparts and watching as a great battle tookplace upon the water out there on the Sound. Ye have never seen such a sight. Arrows flying. The air was thick with smoke.”
