Eoghanan nodded and followed me inside, watching from the doorway as I removed the hot bread and sliced it.
“Jane, I know ye have been working later as Isobel has grown sicker but, tonight, I need ye to be back on time. Do ye remember the MacChristys who werena home when we visited Cagair Castle last year?”
I reached for some cloth to wrap the bread in, talking with my back facing him. “Yes, I remember that it was their castle, but I’ve not met them.”
“Aye, I know. Well, the eldest son, Adwen, is taking over as laird and he’s travelling to each territory, making introductions, doing his best to keep peace at his father’s command. We know him already, but tonight he stops here. Baodan will wish all of us to be in attendance to greet him.”
“Oh. Okay.” It had been many months since official guests had visited the castle, and the idea of some excitement brightened my mood considerably. “Gregor will understand. I’ll just ask him if we can close down everything a bit early. I’ll be there.”
“Good. I’ll bid ye good day then. I can hear Cooper out front.”
He turned and left, and I followed him to the doorway, calling to Cooper so that he would come and collect his bread.
“Here, Coop. Come and have a taste before you leave.”
He bounced toward me excitedly and quickly crammed a large piece of the hot bread into his mouth. The excitement diminished instantly as he struggled to keep his expression steady. “It’s…it’s…delic-i-ous.” He spoke between large, chewy bites, and I laughed at his effort.
“You don’t have to lie to me, Coop.”
He spit the mouthful back into the cloth and handed it back to me. “Okay, well it’s better than the PB&J at least, but I think you can take the other piece of bread back inside. I don’t think E-o is going to want it. You’ll get better though, I know it.” He stood on his tiptoes to give me a quick kiss and then ran back to his horse.
*
I passed the morning in solitude, working on cleaning and preparing the kitchen as best I could, all the while humming to myself to keep the sound of Isobel’s coughing from reducing me to tears. Gregor stayed by her side, only coming to check on me well into the afternoon.
“Jane, might I speak to ye a moment?”
“Of course.” His eyes were bloodshot and heavy; I ventured to guess that he was getting even less sleep than my sister.
“She grows much worse with each passing day. I’ve received word of a healer who is passing through the territory tonight. He has set up camp on the edge of the village. I doona know if he will be able to help her, but I must take her and try.”
I didn’t put much stock in mystical healers, but after the strange events that brought me to this time, I’d learned not to doubt anything too wholeheartedly. Of course he wanted to try anything and everything he could to help his wife.
“Yes. Go and don’t worry about a thing. I’ll take care of everything. Nothing will be done as well as you would, but I’ll do my best.”
“I know that ye will. Only, ye will have to be around guests and no only in the kitchen. ’Twould be breaking the conditions that Eoghanan set for ye.”
I dismissed his worry with the wave of my hand. “Travelers stop in here, Gregor, not usually villagers. None of them should have any reason to know who I am. Besides, this is way more important than Eoghanan’s conditions.”
He leaned in and hugged me, a gesture that both surprised me and warmed my heart considerably. I’m sure he felt very much alone. They were the only family that each of them had.
“Thank ye, lass. Ye have been a blessing to us both.”
He left me to go and gather Isobel. I swallowed the lump in my throat before following him to help them gather what they needed.
It was only after I waved goodbye to them as they left that I remembered Eoghanan’s request. A request I would now be forced to ignore and entirely without regret.
CHAPTER 7
McMillan Castle
He’d saved the most favorable destination for last. At least he would be able to spend the last night of his freedom among friends rather than strangers whom he only visited out of obligation. The McMillans he knew well, and he looked forward to the enjoyable evening that lay ahead of him.
“Will ye stay in the castle this time?”
Orick rode next to him, the only man Adwen had allowed to accompany him on his month-long obligatory rounds.
“No. I’ll camp out of doors with ye.” He could see the tip of the castle’s towers in the distance as they began their ride through the center of the village. Big and beautiful, it made his skin itch and his clothes feel too snug. There was nothing so suffocating as the grandness of a castle.