‘Let’s to the kitchens then, for I remember well the way,’ said Murray stifling his disappointment and flinging himself off his horse.
***
‘Why did the Grants not come with father?’ asked Ilene, casually.
‘All the Grants, or one in particular?’
Ilene looked away from her mother’s perceptive glance.
‘Do not set your cap at him, Ilene. He may be an eligible young man and a handsome one, but it is not wise to wear your heart on your sleeve. People gossip and it is by no means certain Aidan will choose you for marriage, no matter that he has singled you out for attention these past months.’
‘He likes me a great deal mother, he has told me so.’
‘Is there an understanding between you two?’ Ailsa asked, suddenly wary.
‘There is no understanding, but I care for him, I really do.’ Her face lit up, as it always did when she talked of him. ‘And he is so fine and beautiful and strong and he chooses me before the other girls.’
‘And why should he not choose you, there is no greater beauty in all the Highlands than yours. Do not sell yourself short Ilene.’
Ailsa had noticed that Ilene was tamer around Aidan Grant, who had recently become a frequent visitor to Cailleach on some pretence or other. Around him, her wildness seemed diminished, as she shaped herself to suit him. Ailsa worried that if they chose each other, eventually, her daughter would find herself imprisoned by constraints of her own making.
‘Father is angry with me for not greeting Murray properly yesterday,’ Ilene said quietly. ‘And why should I?’ Her mother said nothing so she ran on with her excuses. ‘It was not my fault for I never expected him to return and had all but forgotten him. And it has been so many years since he went away, that I didn’t recognise him.’
‘I see.’
‘And he is much changed, and not for the better,’ she said in outrage.
‘So you do remember him?’
‘Aye, but how could I know it was Murray, for he looked so coarse and dirty and so different to how I remembered him, and that scar on his face!’ Ilene shuddered in distaste.
‘He has been travelling all the way from England, how did you expect him to look?’ Ailsa replied smiling. ‘I seem to remember you crying for weeks after he left, you were heartbroken.’
‘He stared at me mother, in such an impudent way. A man should never look at a lady like that, I am sure.’
‘He’s not used to our ways. I think he has grown into a very handsome young man, scar or no scar, and so tall. You know he was very fond of you once, and you him.’
‘That was a long time ago, before he left us, in such haste and with such ingratitude.’
‘That is all in the past. He has come back to us, and your father and I are glad of it, for we need men like Murray in such times as these. So you must make amends to him for your rudeness.’
‘Yes, if it pleases you mother.’
‘We are to sup with him tonight so be sure to make yourself agreeable to him.’
‘I suppose I will,’ said Ilene, in a slightly martyred voice, ‘though I can’t think what we will have to say to each other!’
Ailsa smiled indulgently at her daughter. ‘Now Ilene, we must put our heads together and think of a means of comforting Aunt Morag.’
‘I feel so sorry for her, losing Uncle William. Do you think she’ll ever get over it? I want to offer consolation, but don’t rightly know what to say?’
‘Our words are little comfort to her in her grief, I fear. She loved William very dearly and for him to be killed in such a pointless way.’
‘Aye, all over a stupid feud over stolen land.’
‘Grudges can fester in the Highlands Ilene, and a small slight can become a terrible conflict.’
‘Why didn’t the Strathairns and theDrummonds settle their differences by negotiating?’