“You must have read my mind!” he said happily. “Come for a walk with me, Grace. I have a new horse I want you to see.”
Grace put on the best smile she could muster and took his hand as she reached the bottom of the stairs. She loved horses, but one minute in Robert’s company was one too many. However, she allowed herself to be led along to the stables, where she saw a beautiful strawberry roan mare in the first stall watching them as they entered.
“What do you think?” Robert asked proudly. “Isn’t she beautiful?”
“She’s lovely,” Grace breathed, smiling in wonder at the mare. “Just stunning, are you not, young lady?” She rubbed the back of her hand against her velvet nose. The horse whickered and rubbed her nose against the top of Grace's hair, messing it up. She giggled.
“Her name is Rosie, and she is yours,” Robert said proudly.
Grace looked at him in disbelief. “Mine!” she exclaimed. She looked at the beautiful animal again, hardly able to believe him. “Mine? Really?”
Robert nodded, smiling. “Call it an early wedding present.”
For a few moments she was thrilled, then her heart sank; this was just one more tie to bind her to him. Nevertheless, the horse was an expensive gift, and she must at least try to be grateful. “Thank you!” she breathed. “She is lovely, Rob.”
“My bride deserves nothing less,” he replied smugly. “You can ride her later. Come with me.” He took her hand and led her outside, and as luck would have it, the first person they met was Fergus, who was coming back from helping to thatch a barn.
“Coming to dine with us, Fergus?” Robert asked. “I have a new German Riesling I want you to try.” He turned to Grace. “He has a good nose, you know.”
“Yes,” Fergus nodded sharply. “I’ll be there later.”
‘He talks as if he gave it to Fergus as a gift,”Grace thought. She smiled tightly then looked at Fergus, and for a second or two, their gazes locked.
Fergus wished he could run to Grace and throw his arms around her, then kiss her senseless. He wished he could do so much more, but there was no point in wishing; it got him nowhere. Eventually, he looked away from her and carried on walking.
13
Grace managed to suffer through dinner, the second most tedious meal she had ever endured, before bedtime which led to yet another night of tossing and turning, wondering how she could extricate herself from the mess she was in.
She awoke from a fitful sleep, still unrested and as ‘crabbit as a bag o’ cats,’ as Crissy was wont to say. Grace was tired and looked it; her face was pasty, there were shadows under her eyes, and she had no energy.
Crissy brushed her hair, frowning. “I don’t know what I can dae to help ye, hen,” she sighed. “I have never seen ye look so sad.”
“Help me find a way to release me from my family duty and be my own person,” Grace sighed. “That is all I want, Crissy.”
Crissy kissed the top of her head. “I wish I could, hen,” she replied sadly. “But I can think of nothin’, short of runnin’ away.”
* * *
Fergus went to see tenants, and Robert was away at a horse fair that day, so Grace was alone at breakfast, for which she was extremely grateful. However, she wished that Lady MacAndrew would join her sometimes. It would be good to know Fergus and Robert’s mother better.
Since she had been at Inverleck Castle, she had seen Lady Alison MacAndrew only a handful of times. Grace had been told that she was a devoutly religious woman, who had taken to staying in her own suite of rooms praying after Laird Wallace MacAndrew died. She only came out for matters which absolutely demanded her immediate attention and for church on a Sunday, and she always wore black or grey, colors of mourning and half-mourning.
Grace thought that it must be dreadful, suddenly being bereft of someone you had loved so much, but then, she reflected, it must have been wonderful to have had that love in the first place. She was never going to have that good fortune.
Just as she was sinking into another pit of self-pity, William came in, smelling of fresh air and smiling. Looking at his happy face made Grace feel better at once, and she returned his smile. “You look pleased with yourself,” she said.
“My skills with a sword are definitely improving,” he told her. “I’m sure I will soon be as good as Fergus.”
Grace cast her eyes heavenward and laughed. “Men!” she observed. “You are all the same! Why does everything have to be a competition?”
William waited until his breakfast had been delivered to answer. He shrugged. “Because that’s the way we are made,” he answered, chuckling. He dove into his food with relish when he realized his sister’s gaze was fixed on him.
“Have you seen any young lassies here who take your fancy?” Grace asked.
William swallowed a piece of sausage and grinned at his sister. “One or two,” he admitted. “But no one that I would consider courting seriously. I am beginning to think that woman has not yet been born!” His remark had been made light-heartedly, to cheer her up, but it did not have the desired effect.
“I see,” Grace said wistfully. “I would love to have a sister-in-law.”