Page 13 of Sighs of the Highland Wind
“I told you. I am not.” Her voice was firm when she said, “Look at me, Ewan.”
This time Maxwell remembered the name he had adopted and met her piercing green gaze again.
“Why do you not want me to be good to you?” she asked, frowning in puzzlement.
He dropped his gaze again and sighed.
“You saw what I really am, Kenna. I am not worthy of your kindness.”
She was silent for a moment, and he turned away.
“Why do you think so badly of yourself?” Kenna asked at last. “Do you not think you are worthy of kindness or are you just feeling sorry for yourself? Everyone deserves to be treated well.”
“No. I am definitely not wallowing in self-pity. There are things in my life that would shock you if I told you about them.” He was suddenly angry with himself. “I am putting you in danger staying here, am I not?”
“Yes, I suppose you are,” Kenna admitted. “But I chose the risk, and I will smuggle you out as soon as I judge that the time is right. Now, I must go, or everyone will be wondering where I am. Try the clothes on. By the way, I did not steal them…not exactly.”
He was about to ask what she meant, but he was too late as he watched her hurrying outside, locking the door behind her.
The clothes Kenna had brought consisted of a fine cotton shirt, a sturdy woolen coat and breeches, a cloak, and a stout pair of leather boots. The breeches fitted him in length but not in girth. The arms on the shirt fitted him, but again the waistline was rather generous, and he judged that the former owner must have been a much plumper man than he was.
However, he could make do by tightening the trousers with his belt and tucking the shirt inside, he supposed. They were better than what he had been wearing.
He was very pleased with his new outfit and kept the clothes on as he waited for Kenna to come back. It did not take him long to realize that he was going to have a long wait. He lay down on thebed and sighed in bliss. It was the first soft surface he had lain on in months, and he closed his eyes.
Within minutes, although he had risen from his bed on the floor only a short while before, Maxwell fell asleep with a smile on his face. He dreamed of a beautiful woman with green eyes.
6
Amongst other things, Kenna’s duties included the mending of the laird and lady’s clothes, which was how she had acquired the former laird’s old garments. She often took these to her chamber to sew, and it was a duty she enjoyed. She had also taken over the teaching of some of the servants’ children, and her favorite duty was telling them bedtime stories. Sometimes she read these from storybooks, and sometimes she made them up, but the children always loved them and consequently loved her too. The feeling was entirely mutual, and although she had no definite plans to marry, Kenna could definitely see herself as a mother.
That night, however, she was distracted and a little distant, which the children noticed immediately. She was standing by the window after reading their story, thinking about how she was going to smuggle any food out of the kitchen. This was the time before she checked that all the bedrooms were tidy before the laird and lady retired, that she devoted a little attention to each child before kissing them goodnight.
“Kenna, are ye a’ right?” a little boy of five, John Dunn, asked her, frowning. He looked genuinely worried, and Kenna felt ashamed.
“I am so sorry, Johnny.” She smiled at him and placed a soft kiss on his head. “I am fine. I was daydreaming, that is all.”
John grinned at her. “My mammy tells me off all time for daein’ that!”
He yawned, then smiled at her. He was missing his two front teeth, as were many of the children of the same age, but instead of thinking them ugly, Kenna thought they were enchanting.
“Oh, dear! Time for bed.”
Kenna shepherded all the children into the care of their mothers and wished them goodnight before dashing off to check the bedrooms. It was always her last task before she went to bed.
Kenna was so desperate to get back to Ewan that she carried out her tasks in a hurried, slapdash manner in half the time it usually took her. However, she was so used to doing the same job that she could have done it in her sleep, and she was fairly certain that she had left nothing out.
Right,she thought.Now for the hard part.
The hard part was sneaking some food out from under her mother’s nose without her noticing. Kenna had devised a plan already, but she did not know if it would work, and she had no believable excuse if she was caught.
She took a pile of mending and put it in a basket, leaving plenty of space for the food, then went into the kitchen where her mother was preparing dough for the morning bread. The other kitchen maids had gone to bed for the night, so they were alone.
“You are very early,” Flora remarked suspiciously. “Were some o’ the rooms shut already? Laird an’ Lady gone tae bed?”
Kenna shrugged. “No,” she replied. “I just managed to do things more quickly tonight.” She flopped down on a chair, rubbing her forehead.
“What is the matter, darlin’?” Flora asked worriedly as she knelt down by Kenna’s side. “Are ye no’ well?”
