“God’s wounds, girl, ye’ve slept the whole night away,” she said to herself, exasperated. Obviously yesterday’s excitement had proved too much for her. She cast the blanket aside in disgust and rose from the bed.
She was stiff and sore from sleeping at such an awkward angle, crosswise, with her legs curled up beneath her, and she winced painfully. She stood on tiptoe and stretched her arms high above her head, then dropped them to her sides. She took a few steps, almost tripping because her skirt and her linen petticoat were tangled about her legs.
She shook the material out vigorously. Her gaze darted to the porcelain clock on the mantelpiece, one of her few belongings that had escaped the soldiers. It was quarter past eleven.
Madeleine sighed heavily, furious with herself. So much for giving her kinsmen advance warning and alerting them to their new danger, she thought bitterly. By now they would have heard from someone else that English soldiers were billeted at Mhor Manor. News traveled fast in Strathherrick, especially when it had anything to do with redcoats.
Well, there was nothing to be done about it now. She would have to wait until later that afternoon to tell them her decision. She had a christening to attend first. She had promised Flora she would be there, and she never broke a promise.
She opened her wardrobe, her hand drifting across the small collection of better gowns hanging to the left side of her everyday wear. Her fingers lovingly caressed the three gowns she had inherited from her mother, gowns of silk, point lace, and satin, with quilted brocade underskirts.
Lady Jean Fraser had worn them long ago, during trips with her husband to Edinburgh and Glasgow. She had been a well-educated woman, fond of the theater and opera, and Sir Hugh had lovingly indulged her cultured tastes and love of finery. She had just begun to instill such interests in Madeleine when she died so tragically, bitten by a venomous adder while picking brambles in the woods.
Sir Hugh never went to the theater again, and he traveled very little. When Madeleine asked him once if they could journey to Edinburgh to see a Shakespearean play, he had quietly refused her. Even as a young girl, she sensed such diversions were simply too painful for him, evoking memories of happier days. She had never asked again.
Madeleine absently smoothed a satin flounce. The gowns were still considered fashionable thirteen years later, at least in the Highlands, though she didn’t care one whit about fashion. It merely pleased her that they fit her so well and had belonged to her mother. Occasionally she would try them on in secret and whirl in front of the oval full-length mirror, the shimmering fabrics bringing hazy recollections, of the beautiful, chestnut-haired woman who had once worn them.
Her hand skimmed over her other gowns. Simpler in design and fabric, they had been made especially for her by an accomplished seamstress in the village and were reserved for special occasions. She smiled. Today was such an occasion.
Madeleine chose a gown of printed linen, admiring the delicate pattern as she lifted it from the wardrobe. It was very pretty, with lilac stripes on a cream background and sprigs of rose, lemon-yellow, and green. She laid it out carefully on the bed so as not to wrinkle it, then began to strip off her drab gray dress.
A sharp knock on the door startled her, and she immediately thought of Garrett. Her heart began to pound. If he had come to ask her to have luncheon with him…
“Who’s there?” she called, rushing to the wardrobe. She grabbed a white cambric robe and whirled it around her shoulders.
“Glenis, lass,” her servant called through the door. “Ye’ve slept so late I thought I should wake ye. I dinna want ye to miss the christening.”
Madeleine unlocked the door and pulled it open. She was relieved, yet she felt an odd twinge of disappointment. She shrugged it off. “Ye’re just in time to help me into this gown, Glenis. I fear ‘tis one time I’ll not be able to get by without those blasted stays.”
Glenis’s furrowed face broke into a smile, and she chuckled as she set a tall pitcher filled with warm water on the washstand. She turned to the armoire and pulled out the top drawer. “So ye’ll be dressin’ like the true lady ye are, eh, Maddie?” she teased, filling her arms with linen underclothes and a starched petticoat. She plopped them on the bed. “Well, let’s be at it.”
After Madeleine quickly bathed, she drew on the lace-edged chemise and drawers, then held firmly to the bedpost as Glenis laced her stays with an astounding vigor that belied her advancing age. “Ye’ll strangle me for sure if ye pull any tighter,” she protested. “I can hardly breathe.”
“‘Tis the proper way,” Glenis replied, smiling her approval as she tied the starched petticoat around Madeleine’s narrow waist. “No wider than a man’s two hands may span it.”
Madeleine rolled her eyes at that statement but said nothing. She would not spoil Glenis’s enjoyment. She slipped into the gown, adjusted the square-cut bodice which was a bit low for her taste, then finally drew on her best pair of brogues. She quickly undid her braid, brushing her hair until it shone, and secured it with two silver combs.
“Ye look lovely, Maddie!” Glenis exclaimed. “I wish I could see ye like this more often. Ye’re as pretty as a picture.”
“‘Tis not practical, and ye well know it,” Madeleine objected mildly. “Not with what I’m about.”
Glenis’s smile faded. Her voice fell to a whisper. “How did it go last night, lass? What have ye and yer men decided?”
“I dinna make it to Farraline,” she said dryly. “I fell asleep, and only awoke a short while ago.” She ignored Glenis’s pleased expression. “I’ll be seeing the men later.”
“‘Tis just as well, lass,” Glenis said. “Ye needed the rest. And there was a fierce storm last night, with the wildest thunder and lightning.”
“I dinna hear it,” Madeleine said. It seemed the house could have come down about her ears and she wouldn’t have known it, she thought with annoyance.
“Och, ‘twas bad. I couldna sleep for the racket. ‘Tis glad I am ye were safe in yer bed, though I wished I’d known it at the time. I wouldna have prayed so hard!”
Madeleine could not help laughing. “Come on, Glenis, let’s go downstairs. I’ll have to grab a wee bite of something, then be on my way if I’m to make it to the church by one o’clock. I left the cart at Flora’s, and I canna ride in this dress, so I’ll have to walk.”
She stopped midway to the door and glanced at Glenis. “Are the soldiers about this morning?” she asked. She had no wish to run into Garrett. If he was somewhere in the house, she would attempt to avoid him altogether.
“Only a few,” Glenis replied, frowning. “The rest set out for God knows where just after dawn. One of the sly foxes must have stolen the scones I baked. They were gone from the table when I went into my kitchen.”
Madeleine cursed under her breath, but not for the missing scones. She had a strong suspicion Garrett and his men had set out to survey the valley, perhaps searching for any clues as to the whereabouts of the brigand he was seeking.
