Highland Grace (20 page)

Dread filled Maryn’s voice when she replied,
“Nay, not yet. Please?”

Jesslyn jerkily nodded her head. “Al...All
right,” she replied.

Thankfully, Lady Maclean bustled through the
doorway at that moment. “Maryn, my dear, whatever are you doing?
You shouldn’t be troubling yourself with that hearthfire right
now!” She strode over to stand near Maryn. “Here,” she said,
placing her arm around Maryn’s thickened waist, her other hand on
Maryn’s upper arm, “let me help you over to the bed; you should lie
down now.”

“Nay, Grandmother Maclean. I’m not ready to
lie down just yet,” she replied, digging her heels in so that Lady
Maclean couldn’t move her.

Lady Maclean’s arm loosened. “Then let us
walk around the chamber together awhile.”

“The water is being brought up now,” Maggie
said brightly as she walked through the opened doorway. “My son
came down just a moment ago and I told him to take Daniel and Bao
to the training fields to help Daniel work off his worry. Laird
Donald went as well; I believe he’s just as distressed as Daniel.”
She pressed her lips together. “My daughter-in-law is still abed,
it seems,” she said, disgust in her voice.

Jesslyn rose and took the clean tunics that
Maggie held folded in her arms from the older woman and placed them
on top of the chest at the end of the bed. They would wear the
garments over their own gowns once the childbed began.

Jesslyn was growing more anxious as the
moments passed. The only other birth she’d been involved in had
ended in death. And there had been so much blood. And screaming. A
shudder ran down her spine, taking her by surprise. She cleared her
throat. “Mayhap I should find my son and take him to Niall’s house
for the remainder of the day. He’s sure to worry if he isn’t
allowed to see me otherwise.”

“Aye, that’s a fine idea, my dear,” Lady
Maclean said as she strolled with her lumbering
granddaughter-in-law away from the hearth. “You mustn’t rush back,”
she said gently, a light of understanding in her eye. “Maggie and I
can handle the childbed just fine on our own, if need be.”

Maryn held out her hand toward Jesslyn. “Nay!
You must be here when my babe comes! Promise me you’ll not be gone
long!”

Jesslyn’s heart twisted. No matter how
fearful she was feeling, it could not compare to the fear her
friend must be feeling at this moment. After all, Maryn’s own
mother had died giving birth to her. She must wonder if she will
survive the strain of birth this day. Jesslyn nodded. “Aye. I shall
be back in a short while, worry not. I only want to see to my son
first.”

She stepped over the portal and to the side,
as the three servants that had carried the buckets of water and a
tub up the stairs and down the passage prepared to enter the
laird’s bedchamber. A fourth and fifth filed behind the others,
carrying peat and kindling. Moving past them, she hurried down the
stairs and out of the keep. Her son was most likely at his and
Niall’s fortress. The two lads spent most of their days there now
that it had been completed.
With
mangonel. But they were
only allowed to propel balls made of wound-up woolen hose in the
weapon, much to their dismay, and her and Lady Maclean’s bliss.
After both Bao and Daniel had explained the importance of such a
tool to a lad’s deeper happiness, and had promised to make sure it
was made in a way that it couldn’t hold anything too heavy, nor
hurl very far, both Jesslyn and Lady Maclean had given their
permission.

* * *

Bao, Daniel, Callum, and Laird Donald had
decided to work on cleaning up the remains of the bonfire instead
of going to the training fields. This endeavor required just as
much strength and would keep them busy for the remainder of the
day. They’d already removed three cartloads of wood and ash from
the site, but had at least thirty more to fill before they’d see
the bottom of the pile. Where embers still burned, water was used
to douse the flames. Most of the warriors were given the day to
rest and were either in their quarters or with their ladies,
enjoying the holiday from routine. The men assigned to the gate and
lookout positions on top of the curtain wall were working in
four-hour shifts throughout the day, allowing all of them a bit of
extra rest after the late night they’d all had enjoying the
Hogmanay
feast. It was still early, not yet mid-morn, and
the first shift would not be relieved for another hour.

Branwenn crossed the courtyard, intent on
speaking with her brother about their newly arrived guest—and her
evident kin. She’d awakened later than usual and had just come
downstairs a few moments before, only to be informed that Maryn was
nearing her childbed time. When Branwenn had then rushed upstairs
and pounded on Maryn’s chamber door, Grandmother Maclean had
forbidden her from entering the room, saying unwed lasses were not
allowed to see such. The lady had then entreated her to find Daniel
and Bao and stay with them.

She was pleased to do her grandmother’s
bidding, as this tangle she found herself in seemed even more
urgent than Maryn and Daniel’s forthcoming parenthood. The sun cast
a bright ray of light on the fresh-fallen snow that blanketed the
earth, blinding her a moment. Halting her pace, she blinked several
times. When her vision cleared, she saw Bao lifting a half-burned
pine log into a cart. He was bare-chested! She shivered with cold.
How could he stand to be so naked in this bitter weather? The man
wasn’t human. And then she caught sight of Daniel and Callum.
Neither one of them were wearing anything on top either! A shiver
of a different kind passed through her at the sight of her
too-handsome, broad-shouldered, very muscular, nearly-naked
nemesis. Tipping her nose in the air, she pressed on, telling
herself it had been a shiver of pure revulsion. And he did
not
look like the warrior in her dream last night, not one
wee bit.

* * *

“How long have we been doing this now, do you
suppose?” Daniel asked.

Callum looked at the position of the sun.
“Mayhap a half hour.”

“Not so long, then,” Daniel said.

Bao clapped his brother on the shoulder.
“Worry not. She’s under the care of well-skilled hands. Naught bad
will happen, only good. And in a short time, you’ll be holding your
new bairn in your arms.”

“That’s right, lad,” Laird Donald said, his
voice robust, as if he were trying to convince himself as well,
“and Maryn will be there with you. She’s a strong lass, always has
been. And she’s young, as well. Not in her middle years, as her
mother was when she gave birth to Maryn. That makes a difference,
mark me well.”

Daniel nodded and turned back to the remnants
of the bonfire. He lifted another log from the pile and tossed it
onto the cart. “I’ll not stay down here much longer. I must know
how my wife fares.”

* * *

“Bao,” Branwenn said, motioning with a wave
of her hand to get his attention. When he turned toward her, she
said, “May I speak with you a moment? Privily?”

Her brother dropped the end of the log he’d
just lifted and strode toward her. “Aye? What need you?”

With a glance past him to the others, she
decided she needed a bit further distance from them, in case they
could hear their voices. “Put your shirt and tunic back on and let
us take a walk.”

His eyebrows slammed together with a look of
concern, but he said naught further, only turned and pulled on his
clothing. Then, clasping her upper arm, he scuttled her out of the
upper bailey, across the courtyard, and through the gate of the
keep.

* * *

“I wonder what that was all about?” Callum
said, staring after the retreating pair.

“Mayhap she’s angered because our grandmother
will not allow her in the room with Maryn while she gives birth to
our babe,” Daniel said with a shrug.

“Aye, the lass does like to be in the middle
of things,” Laird Donald said.

A flash image of her naked, in the middle of
his bed, with him straining above her tripped through Callum’s mind
before he slammed a steel bulwark in place to block it. Feeling
guilty and disgusted with himself, he pretended indifference with a
shrug, then turned back to his task.

* * *

Branwenn swallowed her complaints as she
hustled to keep step with Bao.

They were halfway across the glen, going
toward the wood they’d dwelled in so many moons past, before
Branwenn finally spoke. Out of breath, she wheezed, but managed to
say, “Bao! We can slow down now. I vow, no one pursues us.”

He glanced over at her and slowed his pace.
“Too well do I know you. There is something very amiss; I can tell
by the panic in those purple eyes of yours. When we’re safe in our
cave, you’ll tell me all, agreed?”

“‘Tis much too cold to meet in that barren
cave! Why can we not speak out here, where at least the sun’s
warmth can reach us?”

“Because, I want to be in a more privy place
when you give me your tale. We’ll build a fire, worry not.”

It took a while, but they managed to find
enough peat turves and kindling in the cave to build a fire. They’d
used the shorter route to their cave, climbing the pine tree and
traversing the limestone outcropping that led to the fissure, which
led to the opening of the cavern.

The fire was barely built before Bao began
his interrogation. “What has you so distraught? And don’t give me
half-truths. I want it plain and brief.”

“I met my brother last night. The one with
whom I share blood—”

“
What?
” he barked.

“—is that plain enough?”

Bao’s eyes drilled into her and he gave her a
grim nod to continue.

“His name is Reys ap Gryffyd; his mother was
Gwenllian wreic Gryffyd.”

Her brother’s brows lowered. “How?” he asked,
his voice grave.

Branwenn shrugged, enjoying herself now. Bao
would take care of everything, she had no worry of that. And after
the mad dash he had put her through and the rude way he had
demanded she give him her tale, he deserved a bit of a blow to his
arrogance. “He was our first footer. And Grandmother asked him to
stay on as long as he wishes.”

He studied her for a long moment. She
couldn’t read the expression in his gaze. It was dark, guarded.
When he spoke at last, he asked, “Are you glad that he’s found
you?” He looked into the fire. “Pleased to find out you have real
kin?”

Branwenn dropped her chin to her knees and
shrugged. “I suppose I am.” She picked up a chunk of bark that had
fallen off one of the logs and tossed it into the fire. “I’ve not
spoken more than a few words to him since I found out our
relationship.” Shaking her head in self-disgust, she continued, “I
actually swooned when he told me! Do you believe it?”

Her brother grinned and returned his gaze to
hers. His eyes were sad. “I would have loved to see that.”

Branwenn slapped his thigh. “I’m sure you
would have, you beast! I know not how Jesslyn stands you!”

“Do not change the subject, for ‘tis not that
easy to distract me,” he said gruffly. “Now, tell me why you were
so panicked if you’re glad he found you.”

Settling back in her earlier position,
Branwenn said, “I don’t know why, exactly. I suppose I fear that
he’ll take me from you. That I shall be forced to go with him and
live in that other land that I know naught about.”

“I will not let that happen. You’re mine.
My
sister. I raised you, I provided for you. And Daniel will
not let that happen, either. You are his sister as well.”

Branwenn nodded. “Grandmother Maclean would
no doubt have something to say about it as well. After all, she’s
set on training me in the ways of a lady. And I trow she’s already
found a few prospects for husband for me that she will not be happy
to give up, either.”

Bao rose. “We should get back to the keep,
then. I shall meet with this man and learn what his intentions are
regarding your newfound relationship,” he said as he tossed dirt on
the fire to put out the flames. Turning back to Branwenn, he
grasped her hand, which she held out for him, and tugged, pulling
her to her feet as well.

“Aye, but I want to be there with you when
you speak to him,” she said as she dusted off the back of her gown
with her hands. “After all, it is
my
life you’re talking
about.”

Her brother sighed, but nodded his head in
agreement. “But I shall send you from the room if you become
peevish. Understood?”

“Aye,” she answered gaily, thoroughly
unconcerned with Bao’s threat.

* * *

Branwenn led Bao to the north tower where
Reys ap Gryffyd was lodged. After climbing the spiral of narrow
stone stairs that led to the top-most chamber, she knocked on the
thick wood door that filled the arched limestone doorway to Reys’s
chamber.

Reys turned at the sound. He’d risen only a
few moments past and had still to put on his shirt. One side of his
face was shaved, while the other still held soap. “Aye?” he called
out. As he scrubbed the remainder of the herbal lubricant from his
cheek, he strode to the door and opened it, believing one of the
servants was on the other side. “Oh, beg pardon,” he said to his
guests, swinging the door shut once more and grabbing his shirt
from the chest to put it on. When he was sufficiently covered, he
opened the door again. Looking from Branwenn to the massive
black-haired, slant-eyed warrior just behind her shoulder, he moved
to the side and said, “Come in.”

* * *

Branwenn scanned the chamber. The man was
certainly tidy, she thought. He’d neatly folded and stacked his
clothing in the chest at the end of the bed and his shaving
implements were meticulously aligned on the top of the washstand.
One of the linen cloths he must have used to bathe himself earlier
had been folded lengthwise and hung on its wooden rod on the back
of the stand, and his
crwth
leaned against the corner of the
recessed seat of the window. Still gazing around the place, she
said lightly, “This is my brother, Bao.”