Chapter 18

Ashort while later, Kenna found herself seated at the dinner table with Maxwell, Lindsey, her husband James, and Laird Forbes himself. She had been bathed by a lady's maid and had her hair done, then was helped into a lovely pink day dress. Although the garment was plain and modest, it was the most expensive dress she had ever worn, and it made her feel like a princess. She guessed it had been one of Lindsey's since it was a little short, and she was very grateful for the kindness Maxwell's sister had shown her.

Laird Forbes was a slightly older version of his son, but he was a stern and authoritative man, and Kenna was quite intimidated by him at first. However, as the meal drew on, he came out of his shell and displayed a gruff kindness to her, although Kenna had no doubt that he looked on her as an inferior being.

James Gilchrist, Lindsey's husband, was quiet and mild-mannered, in stark contrast to his fiery wife, but Kenna could see the shining love between them, and she was envious. She did not mind being poor, but she had wished many times that she could enjoy the same kind of passion she saw between couples like this.

Yet she knew that the man who was sitting across from her, his handsome face once again freshly shaved, his shaggy hair shining and clean, was the one for her, the only man she would ever love. The thought no longer came as a shock to her, and neither did the familiar surge of sadness that such a love could never be.

"Did you enjoy your meal?" Maxwell asked, smiling at her after they had left the dining room.

"It was delicious," Kenna replied. "Not like the fare I usually eat at all."

"Is the servants' food bad at Invercree?" he asked curiously.

"Oh, not at all!" Kenna hastened to reassure him. "It is plainer without so many spices and so much meat, but there is plenty of it, and I am sure it is the same here. I have always been quite happy with my diet."

"Good. Perhaps I should look into the quality of our staff's food too," he said thoughtfully.

"I don't wish to be rude, but I am afraid I cannot stay awake a moment longer." Kenna yawned. "It has been a very long day."

She wished her hosts goodnight, and Maxwell escorted her to the door of her chamber.

"Sleep well, love," he murmured, before planting a soft kiss on her forehead.

"Goodnight, Maxwell." Kenna turned and entered the beautiful room, but she was too exhausted to admire it. It was time to lay her head on a soft, comfortable pillow and look up at a beautifully carved and molded ceiling and lie in a soft feather bed with silk drapes around it. Kenna had no idea what the morning would bring, but she could worry about it no more. When she closed her eyes, sleep came to claim her almost at once.

Maxwell descended the stairs at once to say goodnight to everyone, but when he entered the dining room, he found that Lindsey and James had already left, and only the stern figure of his father sat at the head of the table.

"Goodnight, Father," he said politely, turning to leave.

"Not so fast, Son," Laird Forbes said firmly. "Sit." He patted the chair on his right-hand side. "I need to talk to you."

Maxwell sat down obediently and poured them both a glass of ale. He raised his eyebrows. "What can I do for you, Father?"

"Son, before you go, I want to make sure you understand what you are doing."

He sighed heavily and looked up at Maxwell with a look he had never seen before in his father's eyes. It was a guarded kind of love.

"If anything happens to you, what will happen to your inheritance? The estate? The castle?"

"Lindsey will inherit. I know she is a woman, but it is not unheard of." He sipped his wine to avoid his father's eyes. "But nothing will happen to me, Father. I would not be going there if I believed otherwise."

"And the woman who is with you? You are fond of her, are you not?"

The laird looked at his son shrewdly.

"She is a fine woman." Maxwell was defensive as he gazed back at the laird.

"Remember who you are, Son," Laird Forbes warned. "And who she is."

Maxwell clenched his teeth but said nothing, even though he was seething with anger inside. He nodded, stood up, and left without looking back. What if he was completely head-over-heels in love with a maid? It was nobody's business but theirs.

Then he stopped and caught his breath. In love. Completely in love. Of course he was, and the only reason he had not identified the feeling was that he had never experienced it before.

Maxwell Forbes, you are a fool,he thought, shaking his head, but he went to bed smiling. He did not care if she was a maid, a seamstress, or even a washerwoman. She was the woman he loved, and that was all that mattered.

The morning dawned clear and bright, and when Kenna looked out of the window, she could see that the snow had melted. It would be a little warmer, at least, she thought, but her shoes had not yet recovered from the soaking they had received the night before.

She sighed, then washed and put on her beautiful pink dress for the last time before going down for breakfast. It was going to be hard to say goodbye to it, just as it would be hard to say goodbye to Maxwell, but she was resigned. Someday she would see him walking around with a lovely wife and perhaps a child or two, but she would not be his wife, and the child would not be theirs. She would still be cleaning rooms, lighting fires, and serving meals, but she could dream.

Imagine,she thought. A little boy or a little girl.

A stab of sorrow pierced her at the thought, but then came the familiar feeling of resignation.

At the breakfast table, the laird was a little more talkative.

"Max, when you go to Invercree, you will have to take Lindsey and James with you since they have already made peace with the McDonalds. If you like, I will come too."

"No, Father, thank you, but I do not want a whole tribe of family members with me," Maxwell said politely. "I will take Kenna and Lindsey."

There was an awkward silence at the table.

"Kenna has to go home, of course," James pointed out.

"Yes, I do," Kenna agreed, looking down at the table.

As a maid, she was used to being talked about as if she was not there, but it irritated her, nonetheless.

"But what if they try to harm you?" Lindsey asked fearfully. "Max, you cannot go!"

"I know Laird and Lady McDonald," Maxwell replied. "I have known them since I was a child. They will not harm me."

"You had never killed their son before," James pointed out, then, too late, he realized that he had said the wrong thing.

Maxwell said a word that no man should ever have uttered in front of ladies, then he vaulted over the table to where James was sitting.

"I did not kill anyone!" he roared into his brother-in-law's ear.

James winced, then held his hand against his ears while Lindsey rushed to his side and gave her brother a venomous look.

"You are so lucky I am pregnant, Max," she growled. "Or I would have thrashed you. Say sorry to James."

She pulled James into her arms and kissed him.

"No," James groaned. "I am sorry, Max. That was an unforgivable thing to say."

Maxwell took a deep breath and counted to ten, then screwed his eyes shut, suddenly realizing that the rage that had built up within him was finding a vent. He had been unaware of its existence, but now he felt it like a fire that was blazing in his chest, burning him up from the inside.

He swallowed, and with a huge act of will, he said, "I should not have reacted like that, James, and I am sorry too, but you must realize that this accusation has been following me around for the past year, and it is completely untrue."

"I know," James said regretfully. "But we know the truth, and we will do our best to make sure that everyone else does too."

A short while later, Lindsey and Maxwell met Kenna at the stables. Lindsey was wearing a warm woolen cloak and dress, and Maxwell was dressed in a similar cloak with breeches and a warm jacket.

Kenna, in her tattered maid's uniform with the saddle blanket wrapped around her shoulders, felt not only cold but vulnerable, as her flimsy clothing marked her out as their social inferior. She had no idea how she was going to make it back to the McDonald estate without being chilled to the bone. Even in the relative comfort of a carriage, it would still be freezing.

She need not have worried. As soon as Lindsey saw her, she cried out in horror, "Kenna! What are you wearing? You cannot travel in that!"

"I have nothing else," Kenna replied.

There was no self-pity in her tone; she was merely stating facts.

"I am so sorry," Maxwell said regretfully. "I forgot. Let me get you something better to wear."

"Oh, for heaven's sake!" Lindsey snapped at her brother. "You are a man. Ladies' clothing is only important to you when you are taking it off! Let a woman do this."

She took hold of Kenna's arm and whisked her away to an anteroom, where she found her a stout jacket and a warm cloak.

"Men! You can't trust them to tie their own shoelaces!"

As Lindsey shook her head in irritation, Kenna chuckled softly. No wonder Maxwell was slightly in awe of his sister. Her husband, too, seemed to go wherever she led, and the servants respected her too. She was indeed a force of nature. Kenna had no doubt that if the baby were a girl, she would be just like her mother.

In no time at all, Kenna was attired in a warm jacket and cloak, and they made their way to the carriage. She was relieved to find that she was not left out of the conversation, which mainly revolved around Maxwell's exploits in the year that he was away.

Kenna learned a lot about him. He had been involved in some strange goings-on in his travels, such as the time when he had been so desperate for money and a bite to eat that he had dressed up as a bear to perform at a traveling fair. He had stayed with them for a few days and would have been happy to ride further with them, but they were evidently not willing to keep him since they paid him and let him go.

Then there was the time he had picked up the fat wallet of a rich man who had dropped it while riding through the streets of Edinburgh. The man had been utterly astounded that anyone would be so honest as to return a wallet stuffed with cash. He gave Maxwell a reward of a pound, an enormous sum of money for a man in his circumstances.

"That kept me in food for a month," he said thoughtfully. Then he laughed. "I also had the chance to take advantage of the comforts of a lady of the night, who had seen the transaction."

Kenna's eyes widened in astonishment, even as she felt a dart of jealousy pierce her.

"What did you do?" she asked.

Maxwell chuckled. "I said no, of course. I have no wish to die an early death of some dread disease."

Kenna was slightly shocked, but not surprised, that Maxwell would raise such a subject in front of his sister, but then she remembered that Lindsey was made of stern stuff! However, she noticed Lindsey giving her brother a warning frown, and she changed the subject immediately.

"Where did you sleep?" she asked.

He flicked an almost imperceptible glance at Kenna and shrugged.

"Barns, stables, anywhere I could find that was reasonably warm and dry. In the end, I knew I had to come home, but the route home, as you know, passes by Invercree. I knew it was dangerous, but I could not go a step further, so I sheltered in the stables, and that was where this wonderful woman found me."

He looked at Kenna, who blushed and gathered her cloak more tightly around her.

Lindsey caught the brief glance that passed from one to the other, then, with the intuition for which she was renowned, she felt the attraction crackle between them and smiled to herself.