“About time I see the lady being gossiped about all through the keep. What do I hear about this lass being dragged across half the Highlands without food?”
The cook had turned around to focus on Lorna, and the younger woman spread her hands.
“I dinnae ken, Laddie. Ye'd have tae ask the laird himself.”
“Well, yer days of hunger are nae more, lass. I'll feed ye until ye’re standing before me looking hale and hearty. Ye have tae promise me tae always eat my food.”
Taken aback, Jane's first reaction was a slight chuckle. She didn't know who this woman was, but she liked the easy manner of her words. She folded her hands solemnly in front of her and promised to always eat.
"Sit down, then. There’s a stool in the corner. Ye can take yer meal there, we already cleaned the Great Hall.”
Jane obeyed the cook's orders, despite her reservations about eating in such a casual setting as the kitchen. She quickly forgot about appearances as the delicious aromas from the stove whet her appetite, and she gorged herself on the hearty oat bread and pottage Laddie had brought her. Lorna and the cook conversed in the corner while she ate.
“She wouldnae say her name?” Laddie exclaimed in astonishment. She gave Jane a short glance and uttered a soft groan. “When people hide their given name, they usually have a secret tae keep. Are ye hiding something, lass?”
Jane said nothing, just focused on her food.
“Ye’ll understand well the whole situation from yer laird, anyway,” she replied eventually. “Why should I bother explaining what has happened when ye’ll probably nae believe me, anyway?”
She tried to hide the frustration and worry from her words, hoping that by injecting enough strength into her voice she’d make the other woman back down. Laddie just rolled her eyes and resumed tending to her fire.
They didn’t understand the fear that she felt, or her confusion. Fate had bound her to the man that was prophesied to be her doom. Jane wanted to scream and cry, but she did neither. This was the time to take charge of her life, and she wouldn’t roll over as she’d always done.
“Can ye take me tae see him?” Jane asked Lorna as she rose from the stool. “Tae the laird,” she added. “I would really like tae have a word with him right away.”
“Of course,” Lorna said in her sweet voice. “He'll see ye soon enough, but I need ye tae get tae a chamber first where ye can rest and a healer can look at yer leg.”
Despite her insistence, the food Jane had just eaten churned in her gut when she thought about facing Darach Robertson again.
“Are ye worried for yer safety?” Lorna asked as they descended the steps from the keep. “Ye needn’t be. My brother may seem ferocious, and he can be a bit grumpy when crossed, but he’s fair and even-handed in his dealings with our clan.”
Jane nodded at the sweet girl. She did not doubt that Darach Robertson was a good leader to his people. But Jane wasn’t part of the Robertson clan, which meant that any of hisfairandeven-handeddealings would not apply to her.
They rounded the corner into the courtyard. Jane's eyes widened at the sight of a dozen men sword training. The sounds of clashing metal and shields nearly made her deaf, and the strong sunlight striking right at the metal made her squint and wince twice more than usual.
“We're a leading clan in the Jacobite uprising, and we must be prepared lest William of Orange attack us,” Lorna murmured.
They didn't say much else until they got to the keep's western wing. Jane blinked and shifted her gaze away from the reflections in the air. She gasped when she realized what she was seeing. Lorna had come to a stop beside her.
“What happened here?”
Lorna didn’t answer. A deep scowl creased her face, and her eyes went nearly black as she stared at the charred tree and blackened walls before them. Jane could see her eyes flash with a look that made her shiver.
“Let's head intae the house and speak nae of it.”
Jane wondered what could have encouraged such a sudden change of spirits. She followed the now silent and brooding lass through the keep as she was led into a chamber where a hot bath was waiting for her.
“Here's yer chamber.”
Jane nodded, looking around. To her surprise, they were a lovely set of rooms. She'd expected to be thrown in a cupboard or under the ground or in a tower somewhere. The last thing she'd expected was a comfortable room with all the amenities a lady would wish for.
Lorna smiled at Jane again as if she sensed her surprise. “My brother considers ye more a guest than a prisoner, even if it doesn’t seem like it by the way ye were brought here. There was nae way he would throw ye into a dungeon. I hope soon ye'll ignore the stories ye’ve no doubt heard, because he really is a good man.”
Despite the obvious state of despair her heart was in, Jane couldn't argue the point that Darach Robertson had been much better to her than any other abductor would have been. She walked to the window and looked upon the clan lands. The view was beautiful. She could see some sheep grazing, herded by an older man flanked by his two dogs. There were large fields and rich, yawning gardens in bloom.
She suddenly heard Lorna step out of the room. The soft click was a sign that she had locked the door from the outside.
Thatwas proof enough of her situation.