“I am trying to help you. Will you please answer the question?”
Adelaide almost refuted her again but she thought better of it. “If you are going to tell me that sewing up bloody gashes will please Thomas, then don’t. I do not care if it pleases him.”
Maitland cocked her head. “Don’t you want your husband to be proud of you?”
Adelaide looked at her as if she had gone daft. “It does not matter if my husband is proud of me,” she said, almost sarcastically. “We will be married and I will run his castle as I see fit. I will do as I please.”
Maitland could sense either a very spoiled woman or one that was being inordinately defensive to cover up for the fact that, perhaps, she really did want her husband to like her but had no idea how to accomplish that.
“Is that all that matters to you?” she asked. “Doing as you please? My lady, I was married to a man I did not like and he didn’t have any particular love for me, either. It was a miserable existence, I assure you, so it would be in your best interests– and in Sir Thomas’– for you to be a little more cooperative. I am sure if you were, he would be, too. Do you truly intend to go the rest of your life doing battle with a man whose children you are going to bear?”
Adelaide geared up for what was sure to be a sharp retort but she couldn’t seem to bring it forth. Her jaw seemed to work angrily for a moment.
“None of this concerns you,” she said. “And I am not going into the hall.”
With that, she turned on her heel and headed back towards the keep as fast as she could walk. Maitland didn’t follow, but she did call after her.
“Do you not understand that I am trying to help you?”
Adelaide paused and swung on her. “I do not need your help, you… younun!”
As she turned back around, Maitland could feel her patience slipping. In fact, realizing that Adelaide had completely slapped her down, her annoyance got the better of her.
“Then I hope you like being miserable because you are going to have a miserable marriage and a miserable life,” she called after her. “This is why no one likes you, Lady Adelaide. You are nasty and uncooperative, and the more you deal out those horrific traits, the more hatred you will find as a result. It will be you against the entire de Wolfe clan if you do not open your eyes and see what a worthless cow you are. Enjoy your unhappy life because if this is all you are, then you deserve it!”
Adelaide had come to a stop just short of the stairs to the keep, turning to Maitland in outrage, but Maitland didn’t give her the opportunity to retort. She was already rushing back to the hall as fast as she could without running, angrier than she’d been in a very long while. She was also embarrassed that her frustration had caused her to say something she wouldn’t have normally said.
Worthless cow.
Although she probably shouldn’t have said it, she meant it. Every damned word.
Nearing the hall entry, she could see that the door was open and Jordan was standing there, wiping her hands on a linen towel. She looked at Maitland curiously as the woman swiftly approached.
“What was all the shoutin’ about?” Jordan asked.
Maitland didn’t want to tell the woman that she’d lost her temper, but she presumed she’d hear about it soon enough. She was quite certain Lady Adelaide would tell anyone who would listen how horribly the “nun” had treated her. Therefore, she knew she had to confess.
“I was trying to convince Lady Adelaide to come and help us,” she said.
“And?”
“And she feels that it is beneath her.”
Jordan simply nodded. “Oh,” she said. Then, she sighed heavily. “Well, ye tried, lass. Ye’re a good soul for at least tryin’.”
Maitland shook her head. “Not such a good soul,” she said. “I became angry with her. She’s stubborn and foolish.”
“Aye, she is that.”
“Just so you are aware, I called her a worthless cow,” she said reluctantly. “I will not apologize to her, for it is true, but you will not have to worry about me any longer. I shall be gone in the morning and you will not see me again. If my insult causes you any undue trouble, then I will gladly apologize to you for it. I would never knowingly cause you trouble.”
Jordan stared at her a moment and Maitland was afraid she’d grossly insulted the woman. But after a few seconds, it became apparent that Jordan was fighting off a smile, with losing results. The smile broke through and she snorted, putting one hand over her mouth as she put her arm around Maitland’s shoulders.
“Why couldna my Tommy marry a woman like ye?” she wanted to know. “Lass, ye’re honest and I canna fault ye. I appreciate a woman who speaks her mind.”
Because she was snorting, Maitland grinned reluctantly. It was rather funny, but she wasn’t proud of it. “I should not have called her names, but I could not help it,” she said. “The woman is frustrating.”
Jordan nodded, pulling her back into the hall. “Ye’re okay, lass,” she said. “Ye and I are goin’ tae get along just fine. And even after ye leave here tomorrow, I will make a point of seein’ ye again. Ye’ve not gotten rid of me yet.”
