Odder still, she didn’t mind one bit.
Talk of her charity had been brief, as the conversation had turned to Wark Castle and the House of de Wolfe in general the moment they had entered the hall. Desmond seemed to be hovering over her, enough to be astonishingly annoying, and every time Thomas would try to speak to her, Desmond was there to insert his own opinion or knowledge into the conversation. It didn’t take Maitland long to figure out thatDesmond was more than likely feeling left out, as they hadn’t seen each other in a couple of years, so she reluctantly turned her attention to her brother from time to time. If the poor man was so desperate to talk to her, then she would oblige him.
But Thomas didn’t give up so easily. He didn’t seem to like Desmond taking her attention away from him. After telling the servants not to wait the meal on his father and Lord de Vauden, he put himself back into the conversation between brother and sister. Maitland was quite happy to pay attention to him again, but Desmond wrangled her focus away with talk of their father, something Thomas didn’t have much to say about because he didn’t know the man. Feeling disappointed, Maitland begrudgingly focused on her brother again.
“One of the last times I saw you was before our father died, Mae,” Desmond said as he poured her a measure of wine from the pitcher on the table. “Did he ever come see you in Newcastle before he passed?”
Maitland took a gulp of the sweet, rich wine. “I’d not had much to do with Normand de Ryes since my marriage to Henry,” she said. “He made it clear that he wanted to be rid of me, so I obliged him.”
Desmond could see the stiffness in her manner when she spoke of their father, which wasn’t something he’d ever seen from her before. “I would like to think that he married you to Henry to provide a better life for you.”
Maitland cast him a long glance. “He married me to Henry to be rid of me,” she said. “Des, you and I have hardly had time to sit and talk to one another over the past five years, so permit me to tell you the truth behind Normand– you were away to foster from a young age, so you did not see how it was at home with him. He lamented your absence daily and cursed me that I was not born a male. Did I ever tell you that?”
Desmond was forced to shake his head. “You did not,” he said, distressed. “You should have.”
Maitland lifted her shoulders as she turned back to her wine. “It does not matter,” she said. “It was not your fault. But you hated Henry; I know you did. I saw you berate Father for agreeing to the betrothal.”
“Of course I did. Henry was a fool.”
“Father did it simply to be rid of me.”
The pleasant evening was taking a downturn. Desmond had always known that was his father’s reason for marrying Maitland to a middle-aged knight with a less than stellar reputation, but he wasn’t going to admit it. To do so would make it seem as if his sister wasn’t worth anything, and she was. He had a great deal of respect for her. Maitland was educated and clever, and she was certainly worth far more than their father gave her credit for.
“And it was fortunate for you that he did,” he said, trying to sound encouraging. “He married you to Henry and the man got himself killed, which has allowed you to commit yourself to a pious life of servitude. You are now going to Edenside to take over the foundling home and you will make an excellent life for the less fortunate. Mayhap, this is what God had in mind for you all along, Mae.”
Maitland turned to him, a forced smile on her face. She didn’t exactly look at it like that. All she’d ever wanted was to marry a man she at least liked and have a dozen children of her own. Now, she was relegated to taking care of children who had no parents. She would never have children of her own. If that was God’s plan for her, she wasn’t happy about it, but she had little choice in the matter.
“I am fortunate that the Bishop of Newcastle thinks so highly of me,” she said. “When I first came to the church there, I was put in charge of the foundlings simply because they had no one else, but it was something I liked very much. I can educate them,you see, and I taught them how to draw letters and write their names. The bishop thought I did such an excellent job that he is sending me to Edenside because those children have no one at all. Scottish children, I am told.”
Next to her, Thomas grunted. He had been listening to the conversation mostly because he was quite interested in Maitland, but also because he rather liked hearing her speak. But now she was veering onto a subject he had an opinion about.
Scots.
“If they’re Scots children, they should be suitably unruly,” he said. “My mother is Scots, the daughter of a clan chief that I am named for, but that does not mean I have any love for them. You said you were looking for a patron for the home?”
Maitland turned to him, her big eyes fixed on him, and he felt just the least bit quivery inside. He thought it rather humorous because he’d never experienced a reaction like that to any woman, not even to Tacey, but there was nothing about this woman he didn’t find attractive. What had started out as sheer interest in a pretty lass was turning into something beyond the interest in her beauty.
She was a woman of substance.
“I hope to,” she said, breaking into his thoughts. “As I said, having a de Wolfe as a patron would be a proud thing, indeed. Mayhap you will consider it after visiting the home once I have had a chance to organize it. You will see that I am very good at managing a home, and the children shall be cleaned and fed and educated. I have vowed this to the bishop.”
“Who is this bishop?”
“Antony Buxton, the Bishop of St. John’s Parish,” she said. “But the diocese is allied with Kelso, which is why I have been sent here. They needed someone and Father Buxton recommended me because of my service to St. John’s.”
Thomas watched her mouth as she spoke, watching the ends of her mouth curl up. It was fascinating. “That sounds quite prestigious,” he said, tearing his focus away from her mouth. “But you said the children shall be educated. I am assuming you are educated yourself?”
She nodded but before she could reply, Desmond chimed in. “You have no idea, Thomas,” he said. “My sister is the most brilliant woman in England. She taught herself to read, write, do mathematics, and manage a house and hold when she was very young. It was out of necessity when my mother died, but she already knew a great deal when my father sent her to Alnwick to foster. I was already serving there, and the earl and his wife were most kind to take Mae. By the time she left to marry Bowlin, she was practically running the place. I do not believe the countess has ever gotten over losing her.”
Thomas frowned. “She was at Alnwick?” he said. “I went there many times in my youth but I never saw her.”
Maitland laughed softly. “I was probably not there when you visited,” she said. “If you went in your youth, then I am sure I was still living at home with my father. He did not send me there until I had seen twelve years of age.”
Thomas’s attention was drawn to her. “How old are you now?”
“I have seen twenty years and three.”
Thomas stroked his chin. “I see,” he said. “In that case, you are probably right. I am a good many years older than you are.”
