Chapter 7

CHAPTER SEVEN

T hough her body shook with cold, Katherine’s face burned with embarrassment as she ran through the castle. Down each corridor, she met surprised and aghast faces of servants, all of whom tried to ask her if she needed help. But Katherine only continued on, determined to get to her bedchamber in the least possible time.

Once inside, she slammed the door behind her and proceeded as fast as she could to remove her soaking clothes. Still shivering, her hands could barely undo the ties of her corset, and her trembling body was hardly helping. Layer by layer, Katherine eventually removed all of her clothes, leaving them in a pile on the floor before slipping into her nightgown and moving in front of the fire.

Standing there with her hands outstretched, a small moan of relief left her lips as she began once more, to feel her fingertips. The rest of her body warmed, slowly but surely, to the point that she had to step back from the flickering flames for the heat was nearly burning her skin.

It was some time later, when she was dressed in clean dry clothes, that a light knock made her turn toward the door. The door opened, and a young servant girl entered.

“Fer ye, me lady,” she said timidly. She hurried to the dresser, placed the tray down, and hurried away again so quickly, Katherine hardly had a chance to thank her.

When the door closed, she moved across to the tray and gazed at the plate. There before her sat a plate of manchet bread. The bread had been sliced and beside it was a large knob of butter and a small jar of honey and a spoon.

For a long moment, Katherine could only stare at it feeling confusion, surprise, and delight, for her stomach was now complaining loudly given she had hardly eaten a bite since she had arrived.

Why, after humiliating me in such a way, has he now provided me with this meal?

She knew it had come from the laird’s instruction, for while the other’s had been arguing that morning at breakfast, he was the only one who had enquired about her breakfast preferences. All the rest were determined to talk over each other.

But why?

Clearly, he feels guilty… but then again, you did push him to his limits with your words.

“He is a laird,” she finally muttered to herself. “I cannot believe he could lose his temper over anything I have to say. Besides, surely he has heard it all before.”

After his earlier actions, and now his kindness, Katherine was struggling to understand his mixed messages. First he was gruff, then he was kind, then rude again. If he continued in such a manner, she might go mad before the wedding even occurred.

“I will simply go and ask him,” she declared to herself.

But not before she took advantage of the only decent food she had laid her eyes on since being in the castle. Even for her tiny size, she made light work of the bread, butter and honey, and wiping her mouth, so as not to embarrass herself anymore that day, she left her bedchamber in search of the laird.

Enya and Thora had already informed her that his bedchamber was right next door to hers. There was also an adjacent door connecting the two rooms. She was certain that’s how he had entered that morning and read her book. While the sisters had seemed pleased, given it was their idea, Katherine had been appalled at the knowledge that he was so close to her.

Stepping down the corridor, she reached his bedchamber and tapped lightly on the door. It was doubtful he was there, but she had to start somewhere. For all she knew, he could still well be outside sparring with his men.

“Come,” a deep, gruff voice seeped through the wooden barrier that separated them.

“Oh,” Katherine gasped.

Taking a deep breath in, and making certain he would not see her nervousness, she opened the door and strode confidently inside.

“My laird,” she began, eyeing him standing at the window and looking out onto the hills of the glens beyond.

“For the love o’ God, woman, will ye just call me Domhnall,” he growled without turning to face her. “All this me laird malarkey is too much.”

A little taken aback at his abrupt interruption, Katherine stopped in her tracks and lifted a hand to her breast. “Oh.”

“Oh, what?” he pressed, spinning to face her.

His eyes pierced hers as he awaited her reply, and for a second, Katherine found herself floundering.

“Dae ye nae use names in England?” he pressed; his eyebrows raised in surprise. “Is it all, me lord this, me lady that?”

“Of course, we do. It’s just… well, we only use them in close familiarity.”

“We’re about tae get married. How much more familiar can ye get?”

Katherine nodded abruptly, for she could hardly argue his point.

“Good,” he replied. “Now I can call ye Katherine instead o’ all this pompous nonsense? So, Katherine . What is it that ye want?”

Looking at him directly, she said, “I wanted to know why you sent manchet bread to my room.”

“Were ye nae hungry?” Domhnall replied.

“Well… yes. I was.”

“Then, there’s yer answer,” he replied condescendingly.

“That’s not what I mean, and you know it.”

“Actually, I dinnae ken it. What exactly are ye getting at?”

He stared at her, waiting for her to explain herself.

“Isn’t it obvious?” she retorted, refusing to allow him to talk down to her. “One minute you’re throwing me in a freezing cold river, the next, I’m having my favorite food delivered to my room.”

He scowled and narrowed his eyes. “First of all, it was a stream, nae a river. Secondly, I dinnae want ye tae starve tae death.” He jerked his head at her whole person. “Ye’re far too skinny fer me liking as it is.”

“How dare you?!” she barked.

“Och, away with ye, lass. Ye’ve wrecked me head enough fer one day.”

“I challenged you to a fight. It is you who chose to play the brute.”

Domhnall then took several long strides toward her, his face twisted, stopping only a few feet away.

“Dae ye think this is a game? Dae ye think that when ye’re out on that battlefield, ye’re considering yer opponents feelings? Men die out there, Katherine,” he lambasted.

Katherine was suddenly taken aback by both his words and his approach, and stunned into silence, she could only stare back at him.

“Ye may well be trained in the sword, lass, but ye cannae ken how it truly feels when it’s yer life at stake or that of the man standing opposite ye.”

A long silence hung between them, and then Domhnall turned away with a heavy sigh. Katherine remained where she was, unsure of what she ought to do or say. He was right. She had never been in battle, nor could she ever know what it felt like to smite a man. Perhaps his brutish behavior had brought her to the conclusion that he was unaffected by such horrors, but by the obvious weight in his tone, she realized that her assumptions had been completely wrong. Not knowing what else she ought to say, she turned and left the room, closing the door quietly behind her.

Back in her own bedchamber, her eye caught the tray that remained on her dresser. Even after she had pushed him earlier when they were dueling, he had clearly felt guilty for what had happened afterwards. It gave her a warm feeling in her stomach that he had cared.

She smiled sadly to herself. “Perhaps he is not the brute I thought he was, after all.”

Three days passed by, and while Katherine had seen a softer side to Domhnall, she was still not thrilled to be there. Besides, she was still on a mission. She needed to discover something Reginald could use against the MacLeod clan. The problem was, even though she had managed to escape being around Domhnall, giving her the ability to snoop around the castle, she was still no closer to finding anything meaningful.

Each morning since their duel, there had been a portion of manchet bread with butter and honey served at breakfast. No one else touched it, and Domhnall always put it on her plate. It was the only real conversation they had each day, if him handing her food and her thanking him, could be called a conversation. That being said, she could not deny the excited twisting in her stomach evoked by his evident kind regard for her well-being.

While in the library alone that morning, Katherine was disturbed from reading her book by the entrance of a young lad with a satchel slung across his chest.

“I have a missive fer ye, me lady,” he said.

At first, Katherine frowned, for she couldn’t imagine who it might be from. But a few seconds later, she suddenly realized who might have sent it.

Hurriedly, she stood from the sofa she had been sitting on, and reached out a hand.

“Thank you,” she said, when the boy gave it to her.

“Ye’re welcome,” he replied. “Will there be a return missive, me lady?”

“Yes, but there is no need for you to wait here. Go to the kitchen to get something to warm you and I shall call for you when I am ready”, Katherine told him. She didn’t want the boy to wait, for she wanted to read the missive in private.

He nodded, and turning, he left her alone once more.

Katherine quickly broke the wax seal and unfolded the thick paper, eager to read the message she knew was from her brother. Not only did she recognize his handwriting, but any missives she might receive from England would not reach her so quickly.

Even knowing there was no other in the library, she could not help looking over her shoulder, as though someone might have crept in. Satisfied she was truly alone, she moved over to the window, the light outside making the words easier to read.

Dear Katherine,

I trust you are well. While I am sorry you are there alone and having to suffer that dreadful fiend, rest assured, I am not far away.

My scouts have returned with little in the way of information, and thus, I am relying upon your communication alone to give me what I need.

Please reply to this missive with haste telling me of anything you have already discovered.

R.

Clearly, she was going to have to double her efforts. It wasn’t as though the information she needed was just going to fall into her lap, was it? Tucking the letter into her cloak and wondering if she should burn it, Katherine left the library and headed to her bedchamber. There, she wrote a reply, for she did not want to keep her brother waiting. She had nothing to convey, but even telling him such would assure him that she was still alive and well.

Finding the same message boy, she inquired from where he had received her message.

“A man in the village gave it tae me, me lady,” the young lad said.

“Very well. Take this and find him again, will you?” As she said so, she pressed a coin into his hand. “And let’s keep this between us. It will be our little secret.”

The boy’s eyes lit up, and with a beaming smile, he nodded eagerly. “O’ course, me lady.”

When the boy had left, Katherine gazed up and down the corridor. She wanted to make certain she had not been seen, and was relieved to discover no one was about. But now, she had another problem.

How am I to find what Reginald is looking for?

For a moment, she pondered that question, but when several moments had passed, a flash of inspiration came to her completely out of the blue. Of course . Now, she knew exactly where she ought to go.

Hurrying down the corridor, she met a maid coming the other way.

“Excuse me,” she said, bringing the young woman to a halt.

“Aye, me lady?”

“Do you know where the laird is at this moment?”

The girl nodded. “I dae, me lady. He’s in the great hall getting it ready fer the Yule log. Would ye like me tae tak’ ye tae him?”

Katherine quickly shook her head. “No. No. I’m sure I can find my way. Thank you.”

“Ye’re welcome, me lady.”

Katherine waited for the maid to hurry off to her duties before turning in the opposite direction to the great hall. If the laird was there, he wasn’t where she wanted to be, which suited her plans perfectly.

With her head on a swivel, Katherine hurried through the corridors, smiling politely at anyone she met. When she finally arrived at the corridor she was looking for, she slowed her pace, and, trying to calm her thumping heart, took longer breaths.

She came to a slow stop at the study door, that the twins had pointed out to her when they were showing her around the castle one day, looked up and down the corridor again, and when she was certain no other could see her, she lifted her hand and turned the handle. But to her utter dismay, the room was locked.

Why did I not realize it would be? She reprimanded herself silently.

Reginald’s study was always locked, and thus, of course, Domhnall’s ought to be no different.

So, what am I to do now?

For a moment, Katherine stood there feeling a little flummoxed. The worry running through her at the thought of getting caught was hardly helping her critical thinking process, but taking some deep breaths, she forced herself to settle.

Turning from the room, she wandered down the corridor and continued to think. If Domhnall did return unexpectedly, she did not want to be found lingering around his study. As she rounded the corner, however, she noticed a maid leaving a bedchamber, and as she did so, the woman took hold of a ring of keys. They were attached to her waist by a cord. She then proceeded to lock the door.

Inspiration flew into Katherine’s mind, and after taking a second to get her story straight, she approached the maid.

“Good day, me lady,” the woman said, bowing her head reverently at Katherine’s approach.

“Good day. I see you have the key to the rooms,” Katherine said, glancing down at the ring still in the woman’s hand. “The laird has sent me to fetch something from his study, but in my rush to do so, I forgot to get the key for him. He is in rather a hurry, and,” Katherine looked a little worried, trying to sell her story as well as she could, “I do not want to keep him waiting.”

Immediately, the maid nodded, as though knowing well that her laird’s patience could run rather thin. “O’ course, me lady. Come, and I will open it fer ye.”

“Thank you,” Katherine breathed. She did not have to act relieved, for that feeling was entirely real. A moment later, and the study door was unlocked. After thanking the maid several times, the woman hurried off to continue with her duties, while Katherine swiftly slipped inside.

All the deep breathing in the world did not settle her heart, however, for she knew well, that Domhnall might arrive at any second. Scanning the room, she wondered where she ought to start first. There were bookshelves to her left, and a little farther on, a dresser that held decanters of amber liquid along with several short glasses. On her right, two high backed chairs sat near the fire, the fireplace finished with a thick wooden mantle set into large stones that surrounded the flickering flames.

Dead ahead of her, but at the far end of the room between two tall windows, sat a huge wooden desk. It surprised her a little to find it so neat and tidy. Apart from a pile of documents that sat neatly over to the left and some pleasantly smelling pine branches in a vase, the desk was entirely clear.

That has to be the place to start.

With a final ear to the door to make certain she could hear no one coming, Katherine hurried across the stone floor. Moving around the desk, she rifled through the papers searching for anything she might be able to use.

But the more she read, the more frustrated she became, for instead of finding evidence of him being the dreadful laird she hoped, the opposite appeared to be true. Domhnall had actually cut taxes for the tenants who were struggling financially. There were letters instructing his men to deliver food parcels to those in need. She even found a directive for guards to be sent to several homes after their cattle and sheep had been mauled by wild animals.

“For goodness sakes,” she sighed. “Does this man have wings, too?”

She was running out of time, but she scoured through a few more letters that she found in a leatherbound case on the bookshelves. There she was even more angered to find that last winter, he had provided wood to his people in the most far out parts of the land, given the snow was so bad, they could not reach the forests to cut their own.

Slamming the folder closed, she shoved it back into the shelves in frustration.

Damn him!

Her endeavors had been both dangerous and pointless. Perhaps she might sneak back into the study at another time, but for now, she did not want to push her luck. Checking that everything looked just the way it had when she entered, Katherine hurried towards the door.

Opening it as quietly as she could, she stepped out and was just about to close it, when she felt a sudden presence, and spinning around, her heart jumped at the very same second that her mouth fell open.