Page 136 of Highlanders for the Holidays
Besides, yer given me daughter a home, a lovin’ home, and fer that, I would work me fingers to the bone from sunup to sundown to repay ye.
He cleared his throat. “Lass, we eat three times a day here.”
“One will be fair enough m’laird, fer I would nae want to be beholden to ye fer more.”
A rather strange expression fell over his face as if he were struggling with something. “I think I shall see to furnishings now. Will ye be all right here for a time?”
She nodded enthusiastically. “Aye, I will.”
He gave a nod and slight bow before quitting the room.
* * *
There was nota doubt in his mind who Onnleigh truly was. He might not have known everything about her, but he was certain she was the babe’s mother. The moment he stepped into the doorway and watched from the shadows, he was quickly able to put the pieces of the puzzle together.
To begin with, on the first afternoon when he discovered the babe, Braigh had come to his study. That was when his brother saw the child for the first time. When he saw the little tufts of red hair, he declared, “I think I ken who she might belong to.”
He went on to explain to Connor and Ronald what he had witnessed the day before at the wishing well. “She was a right pretty girl, with flamin’ red hair. That basket,” he said with a nod toward where it sat on Connor’s desk, “was at her feet.”
“Do ye ken who she be?” Connor had asked.
“Nay, but there was somethin’ familiar about her. I do ken she is not someone we see here often. I dunnae ken her name, just that she be familiar.”
Deciding it best to keep things quiet for a time, he sent his brothers out again to see what they could learn about the fiery red-haired lass. As of that very morning, they were no closer to learning who she truly was.
Secondly, he watched from the shadows as she fed the babe at her own breast.
When she’d introduced herself, it took a moment for recollection to set in. Grueber… the name was familiar. Why did he know that name? He hadn’t heard it recently, of that he was certain.
A quick glance at the clothes she wore—an old brown tunic over a course green skirt with many patches, hanging loosely on a small frame that had not seen good food in some time—told much. And then, when she declared that all her worldly possessions were in that small bundle? Aye, as poor as dirt she was. But no amount of poverty could take away from her beauty. He had not been attracted to another woman since his sweet Maire. But this wee lass, with her auburn locks and bright blue eyes and smile that lit the room like the midday sun? She stirred something deep within him, something that had been dormant and quiet for far too long.
Why could he not remember seeing her within the walls or in the village outside the keep? Not wanting to embarrass her, he decided to not ask that burning question. Nay, he’d find out what he needed to know through other methods.
So he left her in the small room off his bedchamber and immediately went in pursuit of his brothers. He’d assign Ronald to keep a close eye on her. Not because he didn’t trust her, but because he worried she would take the babe and leave. From the dark circles under her eyes and how scrawny she appeared, he did not think she’d last long on her own.
