Annys nodded as she helped herself to a warm chunk of bread and slathered it with honey. “Joan did a lot of talking when we were in the village, which is a verra pleasant place, although it could use some trees and flowers. She told everyone who would pause long enough to listen that there is now a lady in the keep and that she has come to put the house in order.” She shrugged. “It seemed to help.”
“Just make certain the garrison understands that the lassies are here to work and all flirting has to be consensual,” said Triona from her seat next to Brett, “and the fear that Sir John and his men put in them will fade away.”
Harcourt nodded and turned his attention to his meal. He kept glancing at Annys as she spoke with Triona about work that needed doing. He saw no disgust or disappointment, not a hint of anger, but he grew more and more uneasy. She was well trained in hiding such things before company so he could not put his faith in her apparent calm.
By the time the meal was done, he was ready to talk to her about the state of the home he had brought her to. He had even composed his apology for the sad state of it. Unfortunately, Triona and Brett took their leave and Annys was caught up in that. Then Joan called for her and she ran off to see what the woman needed. He sat down on the steps to the keep and watched the dust fade from his brother’s leave-taking. A moment later Gybbon sat down next to him.
“That was the best meal I have ever eaten here,” Gybbon said, rubbing his belly in appreciation.
“I ken it. The great hall actually looked like one should for a wee while.”
“And every man in the garrison is madly in love with your wee wife as weel as Joan.” Gybbon watched Harcourt for a moment. “Strangely, this does nay seem to please you.”
“I have brought her to a keep that will bring her naught but hard work.”
“Ah.”
Harcourt looked at his brother. “Ah? That is all ye have to say? Ah?”
“Weel, wasnae sure I ought to call my older brother an idiot.”
“Ye were at Glencullaich. Ye saw what a fine place that is.” Harcourt waved his hands around to indicate the stark keep and bailey of Gormfeurach. “Look at this.”
“A good sturdy place. A lot cleaner than it was with all the cracks and crumbling parts cleared up and strong again. What has nay been done is what women do. Aye, if we had thought about it we could have done it, but, right or wrong, we dinnae think about it. Have ne’er been trained to, have we? We saw clean and safe. ’Tis the women who make it comfortable, mayhap even pretty or whate’er ye wish to call it. Ye have brought her to a good home. It just needs a touch of softness. And, if that meal tonight is any indication, it also needed a woman here to get the maids back.”
Harcourt nodded, agreeing with everything his brother said but not feeling all that much better about what he had brought Annys to. He was not such an idiot as to think she would fall out of love with him just because his home for her did not match what she had left. What he was terrified to see, however, was her disappointment. Stiffening his backbone, he stood up and went looking for her.
Annys was just about to explain to a young kitchen maid how she needed to keep a close watch on the supplies when Harcourt strode into the kitchen. He hesitated when all the women gathered there gaped at him but then took her by the arm and gently led her out of the kitchens. Harcourt said nothing until he had led her all the way up onto the walls surrounding the keep.
She looked out at the land surrounding the keep and smiled. The land was not as good as the land at Glencullaich but it had its charm. There were enough fields and grazing lands to supply them all and that was all that mattered. And there was water, she thought, looking at the winding burn that wriggled over the land and curved around one side of the keep.
“I am sorry this keep is in such poor repair,” Harcourt said. “I should have warned you.”
She frowned and looked around. “It isnae in poor repair. ’Tis just, weel, bare. Stark.”
He frowned at her. “But that is what is nay right here, what I should have warned ye about.”
Annys shrugged and rested her forearms on the wall. “I couldnae see what was needed until I got here, could I. Ye have linens enough for the beds. The kitchen has all the tools it needs.” She grinned. “And now it has cooks.”
“And that is just because ye are here.”
She began to get a sense of what troubled him. The man was clearly thinking of Glencullaich and seeing the home he offered her as so much less. At the moment, she supposed it was, but that was fixable. It was actually work she looked forward to doing because it meant this place would have only her touch showing here. At Glencullaich she had been able to add just a few things to make it more hers and that had mostly been in her bedchamber. This place just waited patiently for her touch and only her touch. She was not sure he would understand how that actually pleased her.
“Aye, having a lady wife at the keep eased a lot of fears, but ye didnae put the fears there. And kenning that Joan will be the one ruling the household also helped. They could see she was a strong woman who kens what she is about and will stand for them. Now ye can truly shake off the last taint of Sir John.”