Page 14 of Married to her Kilted Enemy

“Good mornin’ tae ye,” she called, wanting to make the woman’s acquaintance, for she had a sweet face. The woman looked up, and seeing Maddison standing there by the fence, smiled at her.

“Good mornin’, me lady, why, what a surprise. ’Tis a pleasure tae meet ye,” she said, leaving off what she was doing and coming to greet her visitor warmly. She bobbed a curtsey

“Ye ken who I am, then?” Maddison said somewhat ruefully. The woman laughed.

“Of course. We all ken the new Lady Lennox. I’m Alana, by the way, the castle’s healer. Will ye come intae me humble home fer a cuppa tea?”

A short while later, they were seated at a table inside the cottage, drinking freshly brewed tea from delicate china cups.

“My, it smells nice in here. Ye certainly have a lot of herbs and such like,” Maddison observed, casting her eyes around the many shelves loaded with bottles and flasks of all kinds, then up to the low the rafters, which were festooned with garlands of drying herbs.

“Aye, this is me home, but ’tis also the castle’s infirmary,” Alana explained. “If anythin’ ails ye, this is the place tae come. Now, how are ye settlin’ intae yer new home? I suppose ye met a lot of people at the weddin’ yesterday. It was lovely, by the way. Ye looked beautiful.”

“Thank ye. Aye, I met a lot of folks, all right, but I cannae remember their names. The only ones I really remember are Liam and his braither Tadgh. D’ye ken them?” Maddison asked. She could not help noticing that when she said Tadgh’s name, Alana went slightly pale.

“Aye, I ken them,” Alana replied, dropping her eyes to her teacup.

“They seem nice, though I havenae talked tae them much really. But I see Tadgh likes a jest,” Maddison said, watching to see if she got the same reaction. Alana looked uncomfortable, only nodding and sipping her tea. Maddison wondered if there was something between the pair. However, she did not want to upset her host, and so she did not mention Tadgh again. They continued to chat about inconsequential things for a while.

“D’ye think ye could spare me some time tae show me around the place?” she asked Alana before she left an hour or so later.

“Of course, I’d be delighted,” the healer told her. “Just come and see me whenever ye like. If the window is shut it means I have a patient, but ye can wait fer me tae finish in the garden if ye like.”

“Thank ye, Alana, and thank ye for the tea,” Maddison said sincerely, feeling slightly lighter of heart. “I feel I’ve made me first friend here at the castle. Goodbye now.”

Over the next few days, she and Alana met regularly when the healer was free. Under her guidance, Maddison began to learn her way around the huge castle and its grounds, intrigued despite herself to discover the extent of her husband’s lands. More irritating was finding out how well liked he seemed to be by his people, but she decided they would hardly criticize him in front of her. Clearly, they did not see him for the monster he was.

Still, she supposed she should be grateful he had not forced himself upon her. No yet, at least, though she had expected it every night they had spent together so far, which were the only times they ever spoke to each other. But he had been as good as his word, sleeping on the floor, in his clothes, insisting she took the bed. It was tough to admit to herself that as the days passed, his thoughtful behavior was making it a little bit harder for her to hate him.

CHAPTER EIGHT

Miserable and tired though he was from their bedtime shenanigans, Odhrán put a brave face on things during the days, embarrassed by his plight. On the fifth day of sleeping on the floor to please his wife, he was in the vestibule of the keep, sharing a joke with Tadhg and Liam, when Angus Bowman hurried up to them, all in a flap.

“What is it, Angus?” Odhrán asked him, concerned by the old councilman’s air of panic. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Maddison coming down the stairs. He felt a pang of longing, for she looked ravishing, but he forced himself to look away and focus on what the old man was saying.

“Me laird, a council meetin’ must be called at once, for a report has just come in about an attack on our northern border!” Angus cried.

“An attack?!” Odhrán exclaimed in shock, immediately forgetting Maddison and exchanging worried looks with the brothers, who were also instantly on alert. “What sort of attack?”

“We didnae ken who the men were, but they were all wearin’ dark clothin’, and they attacked our outpost, killin’ several of our men,” Angus told them.

“What the hell!” Odhrán said, alarm flooding through him. “Who the devil can be attackin’ us? Angus, call the others tae the meetin’ chamber. We’ll see ye there.” He and the brothers hurried to the council chamber.

“Who d’ye think could be responsible? Is it just brigands?” Tadgh asked as they strode along. Odhrán shook his head.

“Nay, they would nae have killed so many men,” he said.

“Aye, it sounds like a deliberate attack on the clan,” Liam put in.

In the meeting, it was decided that Tadhg, the clan’s best scout, would go out and see what he could find out about the mysterious attackers.

“But be careful, Tadgh, dinnae take any chances,” Odhrán told him as his friend prepared to ride out.

“Aye, I willnae. I’ll send back word and be back a soon as I find out anythin’.”

“All right, man,” Odhrán said, embracing him like a brother before Liam did the same. They waved him off together.

When they went back into the keep, Odhrán noticed Maddison waiting for him. When she approached, apparently about to speak to him, he asked Liam to wait to one side.