“I’m truly nae tryin’ to leave ye with nothin’ to do. I just daenae like to be a burden on anyone,” Saoirse explained, wondering if she should’ve just allowed Mary to do those things for her.
Mary snapped out of her trance. “Wisht, M’Lady! Ye’re nae to say such things. If ye like things doin’ a certain way, ye go ahead and do them yer way. Ye’re the Lady here now, after all. But… if ye daenae need me help, I suppose I ought to make meself scarce.”
“Actually, thereisone thing ye could help me with,” Saoirse said, though her growling stomach was already one step ahead of her. “I daenae ken my way around the Castle yet, and I’m a bit hungry.”
Mary clapped her hands together. “I’ll fetch ye somethin’!”
“Instructions to the kitchens would be enough,” Saoirse insisted. “I should learn the route and get used to gettin’ lost, so it doesnae catch me out later.”
Mary narrowed her eyes in curiosity. “Ye’re an unusual lass, M’Lady, and I’m mightily pleased that ye are. Means there’s two of us, for once!” She went back to Saoirse, pulling her to the chamber’s threshold. “So, ye’ll want to follow this hallway, straight to the first staircase ye come to. Go down it until ye cannae go any further, then turn left. Ye’ll come to another staircase, which ye go down—obviously—until ye see the floor with a white stag tapestry. Any further and ye’ll be headin’ to the dungeons. From the stag, turn right, follow the passageway and let yer nose guide ye. I’m certain Mrs. Wellerby has somethin’ cookin’ at this hour.”
“Thank ye.” Saoirse squeezed Mary’s hand. “Thank ye for understandin’, and for makin’ me feel welcome.”
Mary raised an eyebrow. “His Lairdship hasnae?”
“It wouldnae be polite of me to say.”
“That lad isnae too old to get his backside smacked,” Mary grumbled, clearly incensed. “Does that mean he dinnae stay here with ye last night?”
Saoirse gestured around. “Unless he hid in one of those trunks, I should say that’s a resoundin’ nay.”
“But I thought—” Mary shook her head, severing the sentence. “Ye leave it to me, M’Lady. I’ll have a stern word. It’s the least I can do for ye when ye willnae let me do anythin’ else. But if ye do need anythin’, anythin’ at all, ye let me ken and I’ll have it to ye in the shake of a lamb’s tail.”
Before Saoirse could protest and insist that she didn’t need Mary to scold Noah on her behalf, the older woman was gone. Maybe, in her age and wisdom, Mary had known that Saoirse would try to argue.
“I’ll just be in more trouble with him,” Saoirse muttered, looking down the now-empty hallway.
But at least someone is on yer side,her mind whispered. It soothed her nerves a little. Mary might not have been the friend Saoirse had expected, but Mary could very well be the one she needed.
Stepping back into the room and closing the door, Saoirse took a moment to gather her breath and her thoughts. “Today will be a better day. It has to be.”
With her trunks already open, she dressed quickly, eager to begin her explorations. Seeing the Castle in daylight and finding a hearty breakfast was an excellent way to distract her mind. In the pit of her stomach, she couldn’t help but feel a bit excited. After all, she’d never been in such a place as this one before. True, Baxter Keep was considerable in size, but she already knew every nook and cranny. This place was fresh and new.
As she straightened her bed, her fingertips skimmed across the place where Noah had pressed her into the mattress. Her throat tightened, remembering the weight of him. Yet, it hadn’t scared her, to be trapped beneath him. It was like her body knew there was nothing to fear from him and everything to gain. The way his mouth had grazed her jaw, her cheek, her brow, her lips like a burning feather was testament to that.
“If a scoldin’ can bring him back to this chamber, let Mary chide him all she pleases,” she thought aloud, as her body responded to the memory of him: a warm, flushed feeling that began in the pit of her stomach and stretched through to her toes and fingers. It made her want to unfurl like a cat, until no tension remained in her muscles.
Just then, her stomach rumbled, ruining the fantasy.
Cannae have that happenin’ when I meet wit’ Noah. He’ll say I’ve another beast trapped inside me.She didn’t know if she could ever forgive him for saying she snored, and she wouldn’t give him further ammunition.
Once the bed was made and the room was in order, Saoirse headed out of her chamber. Following Mary’s instructions, she moved straight down the hallway to the staircase and descended. At the bottom, she hesitated. Had Mary said to turn left or right? Glancing both ways, the hallways looked identical, with closed doors scattered all the way along. She certainly couldn’t see a second staircase.
I should be careful what I wish for,she lamented, remembering her remark about getting lost.
Picking the left-hand passage, Saoirse walked along at a slow pace. It didn’t take long for her to find the stairs she was looking for, though the Castle was more disorienting than she’d expected. Nevertheless, she found the tapestry of the white stag and continued to follow Mary’s directions.
“Will ye stop,” Saoirse heard a delicate voice giggle beyond the door she had just come to, at the end of another hallway.
She hesitated, not wanting to intrude… but she knew she had to go through the door in order to get to the kitchens. The smell of delicious cooking was her way-marker, and it couldn’t be ignored.
With a light knock on the door, Saoirse pushed the door open and peeked through the crack. Long wooden tables stretched across the space in an orderly fashion, all neatly laid with pitchers, cutlery, and various vessels for drinking. The overpowering scent of rosemary and fresh bread caused her stomach to twist in hunger.
I must’ve imagined the sound,she told herself, for the room—a feasting hall of some kind—was empty.
Stepping further inside, she stifled a shriek as she found the source of the giggle. In the farthest corner of the room, two people melded together atop one chair, both drenched in the wide shadow cast by a dusty bear’s head. A tingle of insecurity seeped through her as she stood there, not knowing which way to go—to retreat or press on. The instant the two people in the room noticed her, the laughter stopped.
“M’Lady,” a female voice called out, as the entwined bodies separated. The woman stood up and smoothed out her skirts, bowing her head. It was clear the woman wasn’t expecting her, but Saoirse didn’t want them to feel put out by her sudden appearance.