A resounding “Aye!”went up that made Conall laugh again, his ease and good humor with them as their laird and commander making all those assembled laugh, too.
Yet the hilarity soon turned into an orderly hubbub when he urged his horse deeper into the bailey so the rest of his men and the wagons could enter the gates.At once everyone set to work unloading provisions and assisting the servants to disembark while others already a part of the household rushed from the keep to lend a hand.
Out of the corner of her eye, Lisette saw Father Philip dismount and say a word or two to the stoutest of the maidservants, who Aislinn had said wished to accompany them.A dark-haired woman with thick forearms and a sturdy build, she murmured something back to him and then they quickly parted and went their own ways.
The serving woman hastening toward the keep while the priest gave his horse over to a stable boy and then stood there awkwardly as if awaiting an invitation to enter himself.
“Aye, Father, go on with you!”Conall called out to him.“Find the chapel and see if it’s tae your liking.”
With a nod, the priest hurried after the serving woman, the two of them disappearing inside just as Conall brought his stallion right up to the entrance doors.
He still held Lisette so closely as if reluctant to release her, but then he dismounted and helped her down to stand in front of him.
“Welcome tae your new home, wife.”
The husky emphasis on the last word made Lisette blush to her roots and he appeared about to kiss her.Yet an excited squeal made them both turn around to see Colin running up to Conall to grab him around the knees.The boy looked up…way up again at the father he already adored, and pointed with rounded eyes full of curiosity.
“What’s on your head, Papa?”
Conall’s laughter was deep and resonant as he pulled off the chain mail coif and bent down to show it to Colin.“Armor tae protect me in battle.Would you like tae hold it?”
Colin nodded, but he gasped when Conall gave him the coif, which was so heavy that the chain mail dropped with a chinking sound into the dirt.He glanced up at Conall again, looking doubtful this time.
“Did it make your head hurt?”
“No, but that’s enough questions for now.Shall we go inside and look for your new bedchamber?”
Colin grabbed Lisette’s hand with eagerness and then his father’s hand, and they lifted him up over the pile of chain mail and swung him toward the doors opened wide.
The nursemaid not far behind, Colin’s giggles ringing around them.
A family, Lisette found herself thinking with immense gratitude, though her earlier heartache wasn’t yet forgotten.
Mayhap once she and Conall were finally alone, his kisses would help to erase that awful memory…
Chapter18
“By God, will we never be done with this accursed quest?Conall Campbell and his wife gone further north tae a heavily fortified castle by the sea?”
Isabeau held her tongue as Euan raged from the unexpected news they had just received from a MacDougall clansman, and paced like a caged beast upon the narrow deck.She had learned from their short marriage that it was better to stand back until the worst of his displeasure was past—or else she would bear the brunt of it.
She despised him so deeply for every slap, every pull of her hair, but mostly for the times he’d thrown her upon a bed and soothed his temper with his degrading possession of her that made her stomach roil at the thought.
The worst of it, though, was that there was no one to pity her.
Claudia, her mother, would have demanded the marriage annulled by the Church at the first letter from Isabeau describing her wretched existence as Lady MacCulloch.Yet there was no help from Normandy, her mother moldering in the Charpentier family graveyard.
God help her, Isabeau didn’t want to even consider it, but Lisette would have pitied her—her sweet and kind half-sister who for all the misery she’d suffered at Isabeau’s and her mother’s hands, had rarely voiced a protest.Odd, how it had never occurred to her until now with Euan turning his blazing eyes upon her and his big hands clenched into fists.
“This wretched misadventure would never have happened if you hadna deceived me, wife!If you hadna schemed tae keep those jewels all tae yourself instead of sharing them with me, therightfulowner as your wedded laird.For all we know, the hem of that cloak has torn by now and a third of your inheritance spilled out into the hands of your bastard sister and that traitorous Highlander she married.Aye, mayhap a goodly portion gifted already tae Robert the Bruce tae support the murder of Scotsmen loyal tae England and the confiscation of their lands—och, Isabeau, I could kill you for your treachery and no one would fault me for it!”
He took a few menacing steps toward her while Isabeau backed away, her bottom coming up against the side of the ship.
There was nowhere to run unless she threw herself overboard, but she wouldn’t give him the satisfaction.Instead she lifted her chin and faced him squarely, hoping that calm reason would quiet his rage.
“You’ve no need to fear that the hem has given way, husband, the garment triple stitched by one of the most skilled seamstresses to prevent such a mishap.There’s little chance of the jewels being detected, either.Each one was wrapped in padding before being inserted into the hem—
and we’ll regain the cloak soon enough if we sail at once to the north.You heard the man who brought us this news,oui?He said the journey is only a few hours overland and even swifter by sea.”
