Page 11 of To Wed a Laird
When Rose arrivedat the door of Elspeth’s bedroom, she did not enter right away, but stood outside for a few moments trying to calm down, since she was terrified of the reception she was going to receive. Elspeth had already thrown missiles at her—what would she do next?
Finally, she plucked up the courage to knock the door softly and venture into Elspeth’s chamber. As usual, she had to pick her way across the floor because it was covered in toys that had no doubt been launched from across the room, since some of the dolls’ faces were cracked and scratched.
Rose could not see well, since the room was still dim, as the curtains had not yet been opened. However, she could just about make out a lump under the blankets on the bed, and as she approached, it stirred and shifted away from her.
“Good morning, Elspeth,” Rose said brightly.
She waited for a response, but there was none, so she walked to the window and drew the curtains, flooding the room with light. The weather was lovely, the torrential rain of the day before having disappeared completely. It was rarely cloudless in Scotland, as Rose had learned, but today there was only a slighthaze over the sun, and she could feel its heat reflecting from the window.
“It is such a lovely day,” she went on, as she turned and made her way towards the bed. She sat down on a chair beside it, and could just see Elspeth’s eyes peeking out over the top of the blanket. “Did you sleep well?”
The only reply to this was a grunt, but at least it had broken the silence. Rose went back to the window and looked down at the activity in the courtyard below. She saw Cormac speaking to one of the guards, who laughed at something he had said, and Rose felt a spear of jealousy stab through her. Why could he not laugh with her? She had a sense of humour too, but all she had received from the Laird were frowns.
Suddenly, she realised how foolish she was being. Cormac MacTavish was not her friend, but her employer. He had no obligation to be her companion; it was enough that he was civil to her, which he always was.
She sat down next to Elspeth again and began to hum a little tune, looking around herself at Elspeth’s drawings on the wall and her toys on shelves around the walls. She was amazed that there were any of them left whole, but she was sure that they were repaired or replaced often; after all, Elspeth was a Laird’s daughter and could not be short of playthings.
Rose wondered if any other little girls came to play with Elspeth, or if there was anyone that she visited. Surely, she must have some friends? It would be very strange if she did not. Rose had always had her sisters, of course, but there were always dozens of other girls and boys, mostly children of her parents’ friends, running around, especially at weekends.
Those were such carefree days,she thought, with a twinge of sadness.If only I could have them back.Then suddenly, she jerked herself back to reality. She had a job to do, and here she was, sitting daydreaming the time away and neglecting Elspeth.
She stood up again and gave a theatrical sigh. “Well, as it is such a lovely day, I was hoping to go out for a walk instead of doing sums, but if you would rather not—” Rose turned her back on Elspeth and began to walk across the room to fetch her writing materials.
That was when she heard the sound of the little girl jumping out of bed and picking up a dress from the floor. Rose was about to point out to her that it was the same one she had worn the day before, but decided to say nothing. Neither did she mention the fact that Elspeth had not washed, but that could always be done later, she thought.
Elspeth did not ask for help, but Rose assisted her anyway by fastening the buttons at the back of the dress, then helped her to put her shoes on. As she gave the little girl a final look over to make sure she was neat and tidy, Rose thought she saw a hint of a smile at the corner of her lips. She certainly looked a lot less gloomy than she had the day before.
“Ready?” Rose asked, raising her eyebrows. Elspeth nodded, and slipped her hand into Rose’s as she reached out to open the bedroom door.
Rose blinked in astonishment as she felt Elspeth’s touch, but she smiled at her, and Elspeth hesitantly smiled back.
As they walked outside, Rose passed the servants as she had done before, yet now, since Elspeth was with her, they were full of smiles and waves. She did not waste her energy being angry, however. She was responsible for Elspeth and answerable only to the Laird, and that was all that mattered to her.
They emerged into the bright daylight, and Elspeth led Rose over to the garden, which extended outwards a considerable distance from the castle. Many of the herbs and vegetables used in the castle grew there, and this was where they saw Nell, who was on her knees planting seedlings in the kitchen garden.
She looked up as she heard Rose and Elspeth approaching and got to her feet, smiling widely as she saw Elspeth’s and Rose’s joined hands. She said nothing about it, however, but asked, “So ye have come tae help me?” She dusted her dirty hands on her apron. “Well, I didnae expect any help, but ye are most welcome!”
Rose and Elspeth exchanged glances. “I have never planted anything in my life, Elspeth,” she said. “Have you?”
Elspeth shrugged. “No,” she replied. “But it cannot be too hard. I would like to try it.”
“Ye’d better get tae work, then,” Nell said briskly. “I will get ye an apron. Your Da will have my hide if ye get a’ dirty!”
They laughed, and Nell patted Rose’s shoulder in a gesture of approval and smiled as she went to fetch aprons for both of them. For the first time, Rose felt as though she was truly making progress with Elspeth. Perhaps she would succeed where the others had failed—then she reminded herself that it was still early days, and there was a long way to go.
The apron was, of course, far too big for Elspeth, but somehow they made it fit by folding it up and winding the ties at the waist around her three times. Elspeth was fascinated by this process and looked down at herself. “I look silly,” she said, giggling.
“No more than I do!” Rose answered.
Elspeth looked her up and down. “At least your apron fits!” she said, still laughing.
“Are you two finished actin’ the goat?” Nell was standing with her hands on her hips, pretending to glare at them. “Get tae work!”
She knelt down on the soft earth again, indicating that they should do the same, then she showed them how to dig holes with their trowels and plant seedlings in them.
“What are we planting?” Elspeth asked curiously.
“This is a herb called parsley,” Nell replied. “It goes in a’ your stews an’ soups, an’ we sometimes put it intae a sauce for meat.”
