Page 34 of The Return of the Heir

Chapter Nine

Gwendolyn awoke to see late-morning sunshine filtering into her chamber. She sat up abruptly when she realised she’d slept soundly for the first time in ages. Even Lottie had not called upon her. Gwendolyn swung her feet over the bed and stood. Hopefully, she’d not been woken from a sound sleep because her sister was improving, and not out of pity because Gwendolyn had collapsed at Lottie’s feet the night before.

Quickly, Gwendolyn bathed with the pitcher of water on the table by the bed before drying herself with the towel that had also been left for her use. She slipped her chemise over her head before she moved to where her gown from last night lay in a pile on the floor. She had no other choice but to wear it. She brushed it off and slipped it over her head just as a knock sounded upon the door.

Gwendolyn hastily pulled the bodice of her gown together before she opened the door wide enough to peek through.

“I’m so glad you are awake,” Rowena said with a smile. “May I come in?”

Gwendolyn stepped back, and Rowena brushed past her into the chamber, carrying a handful of gowns and a basket. “I brought you water and a towel earlier but you were so deep in slumber that I decided not to wake you.”

“Thank you for everything. You’ve all been so kind to us,” Gwendolyn said, closing the door and joining the young woman who set the gowns upon the bed and the basket on the table by the bedside.

When she turned back to Gwendolyn, Rowena frowned. “You cannot wear that dress. I brought several others of mine for you to try until we can have more made for you.”

“I cannot—”

“I insist.” Rowena lifted a clean chemise off the bed and thrust it towards Gwendolyn. “Start with this. Then you can pick which gowns you’d like.” The look in Rowena’s eyes told Gwendolyn she would not win this battle, so she slipped her old gown over her head and replaced her soiled chemise with the clean one. The scents of heather and sunshine clung to the laundered fabric, and Gwendolyn closed her eyes and drew a deep breath.

At a chuckle from Rowena, Gwendolyn opened her eyes and smiled. “My apologies. It has been so long since I’ve worn anything unsoiled. I’d forgotten what freshly laundered clothing smelled like.”

“Then you’ll love the way these dresses smell. Our laundress, Roberta, is a marvel. Not only does she get things cleaned, she dries them in the sun and starches them to perfection.” Rowena bent down and picked up a sage-green satin gown with an underskirt of white that was decorated with a scattered flower pattern, featuring pink roses and blue cornflowers. The stomacher was embroidered in flowers that matched the underskirt.

“I brought a corset if you would like to wear it, but I daresay you do not need one,” Rowena said after inspecting Gwendolyn’s trim waist.

“Nay. I’m sure the stomacher will be constricting enough,” Gwendolyn laughed as she slipped into the gown and attached the stomacher over her breasts and stomach. Rowena helped to close then tighten the gown until it fit perfectly. When she was through, Gwendolyn smoothed her hand down the silken fabric. The straight bodice accentuated the roundness of her breasts. She tugged at the bodice but failed to conceal that her figure, though slim, was more curvaceous than Rowena’s. Even with a more daring neckline, the dress was preferable to her other gown.

With a shrug, she picked up the brush that Rowena had brought along with the water and towels, and began combing out her long, heavy hair. Now that it wasn’t matted and soiled, Gwendolyn could see that all but the section Garrick had clipped had grown well past her knees in the past five years. “Do you have any shears?” she asked Rowena.

Rowena moved to the basket and withdrew a pair of shears. “I came prepared for anything. Would you like to cut it or shall I?”

“Would you? I hardly know the popular lengths of fashion.”

Rowena motioned to a chair near the hearth. “Well, you are in luck because I do. Fortunately for us, the styles are no longer teased and piled high. Just simple curls around the face and either a bun at the back of your head or having it gathered in a braid are the trends today.”

“A braid will do just fine.” Gwendolyn settled in. “Thank you, Rowena, for all your help. I am most grateful.”

“You are welcome. I will make certain we cut both Arabella’s and Samuel’s hair today as well.” Rowena wasted no time in snipping off an arm’s length of Gwendolyn’s golden-blond hair. Instantly her head felt lighter. After only a few minutes more, Rowena proclaimed she was done cutting and proceeded to braid Gwendolyn’s hair. Once finished, Rowena brought Gwendolyn a hand looking glass in which to inspect the final results.

Rowena had tied a simple white bow at the end of the braid and then had woven the tails up through the braid in an elegant fashion. Two tendrils of hair had been tugged loose at Gwendolyn’s temples to soften the effect, making her eyes seem much wider, and without her hair covering her face, her skin glowed with vitality. Gwendolyn set the looking glass aside, then stood and proceeded to clear the floor of her excess hair while Rowena placed the remaining gowns in the armoire. “When your sister feels better, we can find a new gown for her from these. In the meanwhile, I brought her several chemises to wear as she recovers.” Rowena turned back to Gwendolyn when she had finished. “Are you ready to go belowstairs for a late breakfast?”

Gwendolyn straightened. She wasn’t ready to face Beatrice and Alastair together just yet. “Might I go check on Arabella first?”

“Of course,” Rowena agreed with a smile. “I will meet you in the great hall when you are done.”

At Gwendolyn’s nod, Rowena left the chamber. Pausing in the doorway, Gwendolyn thought not about her sister in the opposite room, but about the situation that awaited belowstairs. She and her siblings were in essence trapped at Dunvegan until Arabella’s health improved. Therefore, she was going to have to find a way to remain here in relative harmony for however long that took. In order to survive with her heart intact, she vowed to be polite and poised and completely unemotional, no matter what situations presented themselves. She was no longer a naive young girl. Life had tempered her in ways others would never understand.

She would be an excellent guest, and while she waited for her sister’s health to improve, she would find some way to support herself and her siblings once they were free to live their lives away from Dunvegan Castle. With all that settled in her mind, Gwendolyn headed for Arabella’s chamber.

When she entered the room, it was to see Arabella sitting up in bed. Her face was still pale, but some colour had definitely returned to her cheeks. “How are you feeling this morning?” Gwendolyn moved to sit beside her sister. Lottie stood near the hearth, heating a kettle over the flames.

“Still weak, but I can breathe easier,” Arabella said as she reached for her sister’s hand. “I’m sorry to cause a fuss.”

“You’ve done nothing of the sort.” Gwendolyn turned to gaze at the pallet where Samuel had slept last night. “Where is our brother?”

Lottie returned to the bedside with the steaming kettle and began mixing herbs together with her pestle and mortar. “The laird and his brother, Callum, came to ask Samuel if he would like to train with the other young warriors this morning.”

“If you listen, you can hear them in the rear courtyard,” Arabella said.