The wind caught her curls and whipped them around her face, but she paid them no heed as well. She spotted one of her husband’s warriors near the stable, ordering Melvin and Dole about and walked over to him, giving him a hard tap on the back.
The tall, broad-shouldered warrior turned with a start and looked surprised to see the petite woman in front of him.
“What are you doing?” Sorrell demanded.
Melvin was quick to respond. “He thinks he can order me and Dole about. I told him we only take orders from you, Sorrell.”
The warrior bobbed his head at her. “Pardon me, Lady Sorrell, I didn’t know it was you. These men are to see to building a new fence to the east side of the stable.”
“That isn’t a chore I would entrust to either of them,” she said, a bit taken back by being referred to as Lady Sorrell.
“Those are my orders, my lady.”
“We don’t take orders from you,” Melvin said, jabbing his finger in the air in his direction.
“Aye, from now on you do,” the warrior said. “Or you’ll find yourself spending time in the stock.
Dole snickered. “We don’t’ have a stock.”
“You will have two by the week’s end,” the warrior said.
“What is this, Sorrell?” Melvin asked. “We’ve never had need of one stock let alone two.”
“There must be some mistake. We don’t use stocks here,” Sorrell said, annoyed that two would be built without her knowledge.
“Lord Ruddock’s orders, my lady,” the warrior said and looked to Melvin and Dole. “Get to work on that fence.”
“They won’t be doing the fence,” Sorrell said and received a grateful look from Melvin.
“Forgive me, my lady, but I follow Lord Ruddock’s orders and he says these two will build a new fence today.”
“He of all people should know that these two aren’t capable of it.”
“Sorrell’s right, me and Dole can’t do it,” Melvin said, nodding in agreement with Sorrell.
“You’ve addressed Lady Sorrell most improperly several times. You will address her properly from this moment on,” the warrior corrected.
“She’s just Sorrell to us,” Melvin said.
“No more. Lady Sorrell is Lord Ruddock’s wife and will be addressed according to her title,” the warrior warned.
“I am Sorrell to the Clan Macardle and will remain so,” Sorrell ordered in a tone that left no doubt she meant it. “Melvin. Dole. Go see what help Dorrit might need.”
“Will do, Sorrell,” Melvin said purposely emphasizing her name, then quickly took off, Dole close behind him before the warrior could stop them.
She was about to take the warrior to task when she heard a disturbance in the stable and when she saw the cause, a warrior having a difficult, if not impossible time, controlling her horse, Prince, as he escorted him out, anger took hold.
“What do you think you’re doing?” she screamed at him and her horse grew agitated.
The warrior tightened his hold on the reins and looked about to argue with her when the warrior she had been speaking with spoke up.
“This is Lady Sorrell.”
The warrior immediately bobbed his head in respect. “My lady, your horse is to join our horses for the journey home.”
Sorrell walked over to him, seeing Prince grow more agitated, and held out her hand. “Give me his reins.”
The warrior didn’t know what to do. “I have my orders, my lady.”
“He is my horse. Give me his reins,” she demanded and Prince pounded the ground with his hoof.
The warrior yanked on the reins, agitating Prince all the more and causing him to rear up.
The other warrior reached out and yanked Sorrell away from the horse while the other warrior tried to get Prince under control.
Sorrell turned on the warrior, giving him a punch in the gut, not that it hurt him, but it startled him enough to release her and knowing the other warrior wouldn’t surrender the reins, she charged at him.
She lowered her head as she got near him and rammed him in the gut, and the reins left his hands as the breath was knocked from him, and he tumbled to the ground.
“Easy, Prince, easy,” she cajoled. “Everything is all right. No one is taking you from me.” It took only a moment to calm him down, though he continued to paw the ground, to let her know he was still upset.
“What goes on here?” Ruddock demanded angrily as he approached with four warriors trailing him.
The warrior on the ground scrambled to his feet while the other warrior actually looked terrified.
Sorrell remained beside Prince, keeping her eyes on her husband. He looked nothing like John anymore. He was striking in his clean, dark green plaid with slim lines of yellow and red running through it, and a pale yellow shirt beneath. It fit snug at his waist, as did the piece that ran across one shoulder and down on an angle to his waist.