“This Baron is nay fool, then.”
“I am sensible enough to ken that we can nae fight against the raids, lest we tempt the English to a complete invasion. At least now things are being kept to the south, and we are still able to get our trades here.” Her father paused as he moved to stand in front of the warm hearth, his back to Taryn. “He requests that we make a deal of some kind. He seeks an arrangement to leave the rest of our clan alone.”
Taryn couldn’t manage to stifle the gasp in time. She never dreamed that her father, or her uncle for that matter, would be such cowards as to make peace with a man who was wreaking havoc across the McGregor lands. The noise gave her away. Spinning to face her, her father’s eyes narrowed in suspicion.
“Do ye nae ken it is improper to eavesdrop on conversations that dinnae concern ye? Leave now. This is a private matter.”
She didn’t bother pointing out that she had been in the room, sitting in plain sight, from the moment he had stepped into the room. It was clear to her that his anger stemmed from the embarrassment of having said too much in front of her.
Tossing her tangled embroidery hoop on the settee behind her, Taryn rose as quickly as her manners would allow and walked from the room. She was careful to keep her steps evenand slow until she was sure she was out of earshot of her parents. Briefly out from under the crushing weight of their control, Taryn took off in a run.
Ignoring the wide-eyed looks she got from the guards she passed, Taryn kept going until she reached the kitchens. Her parents had strictly forbidden her to venture into the servants’ quarters long ago, quickly making them one of her favorite places to escape to when she found these little pockets of freedom.
“Managed tae sneak away, did ye?” Meredith, the head cook, grinned.
“Aye,” Taryn answered, letting Meredith’s exaggerated accent bring out her own.
“Take a tart with ye,” Meredith offered, gesturing to the plate of iced rectangular pastries.
Taryn’s mouth salivated at the sight. Without argument, she picked one up and shoved nearly half of it in her mouth before reaching for a second. Meredith shook her head with a laugh but gave no rebuke, for which Taryn was grateful.
“See ye later!” Taryn called as she continued outside the kitchens and towards the stables.
Gravel crunched under her feet as she trod the familiar path to the barn. She had discovered long ago that this was a surefire way to get to where she really wanted to be. No one would try to stop her now that she had cleared through the kitchen. Taryn smiled, not even caring that the weather was miserable, drizzling coldly against her skin.
She wore that same smile until she made it to the cover of the stables, where the groomsmen were brushing out the coats of her father’s favorite horses. The two younger boys stopped mid-stroke when they noticed Taryn, their jaws hinged open. Even the older man couldn’t seem to stop staring. Quickly, her smilefell into a scowl that had the three of them jerking back around to their tasks.
This was not an uncommon experience for Taryn. She had spent her entire life hearing how she looked just like her mother. Inheriting the same long blonde hair and striking blue eyes was said to be the greatest blessing in Taryn’s life.
But she felt it a curse more than anything. It meant that everywhere she went, she was stared at. It was hard enough to know that her parents kept a keen eye on her throughout the castle, but to feel eyes on her everywhere she itched was nearly enough to ruin her good mood. Nearly.
Picking up her pace once more, Taryn finished off the first tart just before she left the back end of the stables. Happy to leave behind the gawking onlookers and the smell of hay, Taryn made for the village. She breathed in the fresh air and the rain, soaking in the unexpected walk.
A few minutes later placed her in the center of the village. Mothers chased after their young children, fresh bread sat in the windowsills to cool, forgotten clothes hung on lines getting wet all over again. Apart from the occasional long look, the villagers widely ignored Taryn as she wove her way through the chaos of it all. She loved it.
“What are ye doing here? I was nae expectin’ ye for another week or two!”
Taryn let the door to the quaint shop close behind her, the bell hanging overhead ringing to signal its movement. The unmistakable scent of lavender and vinegar hit her, and every muscle in her back relaxed.
“I was nae expecting it either,” Taryn answered, “but my parents sent me from the room and I left before they had the chance to give me any more orders.”
Swaths of color bathed the little room the two girls stood in. Laura’s family owned the only textiles shop in the whole ofthe McGregor Clan. Her father’s grandfather had been tasked with creating the clan tartan, and they had been making them ever since. It was Laura’s mother who had suggested that they expand the business beyond just tartans and start selling fabrics outside of the plaids. Though that had doubled their business, it was still a small shop, making just enough to keep food on the table and wood in the fire. But to Taryn, it was heaven.
Taryn had still been a young girl when her mother had first brought her here to shop. It had been time for a more mature wardrobe, as Taryn had started to be expected at clan celebrations. The myriad of colors and textures had enticed Taryn as much then as they did now. Laura was the same vivacious, talkative girl then. Upon first sight, Laura had decided for the both of them that they would be friends, and Taryn hadn’t argued. All these years later, she was still grateful for her friend’s determination.
Her fingers draped across the tops of the bolts, waiting for Laura to finish what she was working on. She didn’t mind, as it gave her a chance to study the light purple and burgundy fabric that had come in since the last time Taryn was in the village.
“There,” Laura said, triumphantly dusting her already clean hands. “That is the last of today’s orders. Now, tell me what adventure we will go on today.”
The mischievous gleam in Laura’s eye made Taryn laugh. Five minutes in her friend’s company, and already the stark loneliness of the castle was starting to fade.
“I dinnae ken how long I can be away,” Taryn answered. “In fact, I am certain that as soon as my parents discover I have left the castle grounds, they will send the guards looking for me and demand my immediate return.”
“Then we cannae waste a single moment! Come,” Laura urged, grabbing Taryn’s hands and tugging her towards the door. “There is something I want to show ye.”
That was all the convincing Taryn needed to let Laura whisk her outside. They skipped past the last few houses in the village and ventured into the forest that lay beyond.
With the limbs overhead half bare, the sun managed to poke through the leaves, warming Taryn’s face as she listened to Laura talk animatedly about her week. The two girls had shared the second tart, though Taryn insisted on only taking a bite or two, letting Laura enjoy the majority of it.
