Page 70 of The Daughters of Avalon
“Welcome home, my lord!”
“Welcome!”
“Malcom! Malcom!” they shouted.
Hues and cries sounded from every direction, and by the time they reached the inner bailey, Elspeth could hear them already lowering the portcullis. The villein—not just the soldiers—filtered in to greet their newly returned lord, accompanied by women and children.
Malcom dismounted, patting Elspeth’s thigh, bidding her to wait, and if she sensed curiosity in the sundry faces that surrounded her, it was momentarily overshadowed by their hearty welcome for the lord himself. Clearly, they cherished Malcom.
“Di’ ye bring me a Welsh bow—like ye said, Mal?” It was a small boy dressed like a page with flaxen hair, and bright green eyes who’d elbowed his way through the crowd, and Elspeth knew a moment of surprise, because he looked to be the spitting image of Malcom.
Malcom grinned. “I did, Wee Davey, but you’ll have to wait to get it.” He patted the boy on the head as the lad clapped his hands gleefully.
Another man came forward. “Tis a bloody good thing ye’ve returned, my lord. There’s an envoy from Carlisle.”
“Envoy?”
“Cameron, with news,” explained the man.
“You gave us a scare, m’lord,” complained a well-rounded woman. “We worried when Daw came crawling’ home w’oot ye!”
Malcom started. “Daw returned?”
“Aye, my lord, evening past. But he seems worse for the wear. Bertie is tending him.”
Malcom nodded. “Good, I suppose,” he said. And then he raised a hand to hush everybody all at once. He peered up at Elspeth, winking at her, then reached up to bear her down from the saddle and set her down so she stood beside him. “I have news of my own,” he announced, taking Elspeth by the hand, and raising their joined hands for all to see. “I am returned a man wed. I present to you your lady of Aldergh!”
There was a moment of stunned silence, and then slowly, very slowly, one by one, as though realizing it wasn’t a jest, the crowd began to clap. And if their initial quietude was anything at all, it seemed to be a case of genuine shock because the smiles that ensued appeared to be genuine.
“You will heed hereveryword,” he said, “and you will come to love her as I do.”
Elspeth blinked in surprise, having never heard him speak those words. He looked at her, and smiled, and the boyish curve of his lips, like the sparkle in his green eyes, nearly buckled her knees.
“All hail my lady of Aldergh!” shouted Wee Davie, with such unbridled joy that Elspeth burst out with a giggle, and the crowd followed the boy’s lead. “All hail my lady of Aldergh!”
Chapter
Twenty-Six
Hours later, Malcom’s sweet words still sang through Elspeth’s heart like a gleeful song. But of course, she didn’t have the chance to tell him so because he was ushered away the instant he finished his announcement.
With apologies, he kissed Elspeth on the forehead and left her in the care of an older woman by the name of Cora. He bent to whisper something into the maid’s ear, then winked at Elspeth one last time before taking his leave, and like a wee child being deprived of a parent, Elspeth longed to leap at him and beg him not to go.
And nevertheless, whatever anxiety she’d felt over his departure soon diminished because she found herself surrounded by ladies, all vying for her attention, each one more nervous than she.
She met Cora, whose husband was the steward in Malcom’s absence, her daughters Ellyn, Mary and Agnes, and then she also met the ladies who worked in the kitchen—Margery, Ava, Meggie and Rhoslyn. Of course, there were more, but it would take time to learn everyone’s names.
Enduring the nervous giggles from the young girls, Cora gave Elspeth a quick tour of the premise and then led the cluster of women into the separate kitchens, where the maid then relinquished the chatelaine’s keys to Elspeth, and ordered her ladies to get back to work in preparation of the evening’s meal. But, of course, they had guests in house, and the lord himself was newly returned—with a bride no less!
Listening to Cora go on and on about the customs of their house, Elspeth clutched the chatelaine’s keys, praying she would rise to the occasion, because she’d never been taught any of the particulars of managing a household, great or small. There was so much to learn—what food to serve, which supplies to buy, which crops to plant or harvest, what clothes to make and mend, which areas of the house to clean first and last, which supplies to make, and how. Fortunately, she knew well enough how to read and write; the rest she would investigate.
But she soon realized she hadn’t much to worry over, because despite the lord’s absence, she found the castelto be in wonderful keeping. Fresh rushes were already strewn about the floors, the tapestries were clean and well-tended, and there were no cobwebs in the corners.
The kitchens, too, were well kept, and the garden was large, if lacking. And this was the one place Elspeth excelled.
Once the tour was over, Cora sent her giggling daughters away and led Elspeth up the stairwell to the lord’s chamber. There, she proceeded to show Elspeth the coffers Malcom had told her about, each one filled to bursting with garments and jewelry that had once belonged to Malcom’s grandmother.
“All these are Lady Eleanore’s,” Cora said, opening the largest of the chests and removing a beautiful silver chatelaine’s belt, meant to be worn about the waist.
