Page 10 of Married for a Highland Debt
“I understand,” the other woman said kindly. “And I know that what you see on the outside when you look at Ninian is a sullen, moody man with a short temper. Let me assure you that he is not like that inside. Inside he is tender, but he keeps a ring of steel around his heart. But if you give him a chance, he will be a very good husband to you. If he is unpleasant to you in any way, come to me. But talk with your family first, and find out what they have to say about it. Will you do that?”
“I will,” Bettina replied. “But I am under no illusions. I am a convenience, and that is all.”
“You certainly did come at the right time,” Alison agreed. “But my nephew could take his pick from a dozen eager young things around Inchgarvie, despite his reputation as a man made of granite. He likes you, and that is the truth, and by the way, so do I. And as I can tell you myself, you do not need a grand passion to make a good marriage. Now, go and talk to your family.” She smiled warmly at Bettina.
“Thank you, mistress,” she breathed, then fled.
5
Seeing Bettina walking towards the house from the window, Kairstine opened the door and rushed outside, then threw herself into Bettina’s arms. Bettina dropped the basket she was carrying and hugged her sister, laughing.
“Are you glad to see me?” she asked.
“I am,” Kairstine answered, hugging her even more tightly. “I have missed you so much, and there is no one here to help me with the laundry!”
Bettina giggled, then followed Kairstine into the house. Until that moment, she had forgotten what awaited her inside. The hallway, which had once held two mahogany tables with crystal vases on them, was now bare of furniture.
The dining room was now bereft of its rosewood table and chairs and the massive oak dresser that had stood against the wall. None of the hand-knotted Turkish silk rugs, which had adorned the polished wooden floor, now showed off their splendor. Bettina thought that it was a mercy that the oak planks on the floor could not be taken up, or they would have been sold too. The walls were bare, and the lovely pastoral landscapes that had adorned them were gone, no doubt hanging on the wall of some greedy baron who did not appreciate their sentimental value to her family.
“Do you have enough food?” Bettina asked as she walked into the kitchen, which was as bare as the rest of the house since the abundance of copper utensils had been sold and replaced by a few cheap iron and tin ones.
“We have been very sparing with it,” Kairstine admitted. “But Da has been working outside the village chopping wood for some of the farmers. He has grown a beard and looks like a tramp. Mostly he sleeps in barns since he is not always able to get home, but he is fed, so we do not have to worry about that.”
“How much money does he bring in?” Bettina asked dryly.
“Enough so that we can begin to pay off our debts,” Kairstine answered, sighing. “But Bettie, there will be no new dresses for either of us for a very long time, if ever.”
“Kairstine, if we never have any more new dresses, we will still be alive,” she sighed. “But if we cannot eat, we will die, and I will not let that happen.”
Bettina began to unpack the basket. Kairstine immediately stuffed a stale bannock into her mouth and savored it as if it was the first one she had ever tasted. When she had swallowed another bannock, a piece of dried-up cheese, and a wrinkled apple, she stopped and patted her stomach.
“I feel better now,” Kairstine sighed, smiling.
“We need to find some meat for you. You are too thin.” Bettina studied her sister. Kairstine had always been slim, but now she was positively waif-like.
“Father brought in a brace of rabbits the day before yesterday,” Kairstine told her. “The farmer’s wife, Cathy Thomson, gave them to him, so we ate well ’til last night. I know we should have tried to make it last longer, but we were both so hungry. I kept the bones for soup.”
“I brought some vegetables from the kitchen gardens,” Bettina told her, grinning. “The cook, Lizzie, helped me smuggle them out. She has become a real friend to me, Kairstine. All the ladies in the kitchen have. Some of the chambermaids have taken against me, but they always stand up for me.”
“That is good to hear,” Kairstine said warmly.
Just then, they heard the creak of the back door opening, and in walked a filthy, shabby creature with a bushy gray beard and a face that was crusted in dirt. He was wearing the remains of what had been a warm cloak, a tattered pair of hose, and a ragged gray shirt that had once been white. William Hamilton was a shadow of his former self; he too had lost weight, and Bettina could see that the skin of his hands had dozens of cuts, scratches, and bruises that had been caused by wielding axes and by splinters being driven into his flesh.
“Bettie!” he cried joyfully, as he opened his arms and smiled at her widely.
Bettina took a step back and raised her hands in a silent warning that he should stay away from her. She had not realized ’til that moment how much she despised him, not because he looked as if he had just crawled through a midden, but because of what he had done to them.
“Do not come near me, Da,” she growled.
She thought that if he hugged her, she might clench her hand into a fist and hook him underneath his chin so that he fell backward onto the floor. There would be nothing that would give her more pleasure at the moment.
The smile on her father’s face slid off his face and was replaced by a look of bafflement. “Bettie, I know that I am not a good man, but surely you do not despise me as much as that?” he asked plaintively. “I know I have been weak, and I have wronged you grievously, but I am trying to make amends for my sins. See?” He held out his hands so that she could see the marks of his hard work, but Bettina copied his gesture and showed him her calluses and burn marks, then watched his face droop.
“We all work hard, Da,” she pointed out. “Kairstine takes in laundry, I work in a kitchen, and you chop wood, but none of us would have had to do any of this had it not been for you.”
William sat on the floor for want of a chair, then put his face between his knees and began to weep silently.
“Spare us the tears and self-pity.” Bettina’s voice was scornful as she threw him a bannock. “You brought this down on all of us, you self-centered—” She broke off, ashamed of the word that she had been about to say. “There are a few more crumbs over there.” She pointed at the bag of food. Now, I have something to tell you. Sit down, Kairstine.”
