Page 27 of To Wed a Laird
Nell studied her for a moment. “What dae ye mean?” she asked, then she checked herself. “I am sorry, hen. It’s none o’ my business.”
“No, please, Nell. I want to tell you, but I have no idea how much the Laird knows, so I need your word that you will say nothing to him about it.” Her voice was pleading.
“He willnae hear anything fae me, hen,” Nell assured her. “Ye have my word.” She patted Rose’s hand.
As she looked into Nell’s kind eyes, Rose knew without a doubt that she could trust her. “We lost my mother ten years ago,” she said sadly.
“She died giving birth to my little brother, who did not survive either. We were all devastated, needless to say, but my father completely went to pieces. She had been the love of his life, and he could see no future without her. After that, he became a different person. He used to be a kind, attentive and loving father, but he suddenly turned into a selfish, neglectful man who had no thought for anyone else but himself.
He began to drink, and made friends with other men who took advantage of his vulnerable state and introduced him to gambling. Gradually he whittled away all of our family’s money, and although he had a thriving business trading wool and silk from Europe, he gradually lost everything.
He began to sell our possessions; the furniture, paintings, even our evening dresses. Gradually, he let go of our household staff till we had only a few servants left. When he sold ourmother’s jewellery we knew that the situation had become untenable.
Then Father sent me here. Well, more like sold me here. I hated him for it at first, but now I am very happy here, and I think—I hope—I have made a difference. Much of what I earn goes to support my sisters, but I am still not sure how much of that is lost to my father’s gambling.”
Nell felt infinitely sad for Rose, whom she had come to love like a member of her own family. Now she leaned forward and took Rose’s hands.
“You have made such a difference tae wee Elspeth,” she said, smiling. “Even Cormac says so. I was never blessed wi’ a husband or bairns, but I think o’ them as my own family. Now I hope you will let me be your mother. I can never take the place o’ your real Mammy, of course, but I can support an’ help an’ love ye.”
“Love me?” Tears sprang to Rose’s eyes as she looked at Nell’s kind face. “Thank you, Nell. I feel the same about you.”
Then she hugged her, and Nell returned the embrace.
“Come tae me wi’ any problem,” she said fondly. “I will always be here tae listen. Ye have made me happier an’ a’, hen.”
She stood up and took the empty tray away, then ordered a bath for Rose, frowning as she looked down at the torn hem of her dress. “We will have tae have that mended,” she observed.
“I cannot sew well,” Rose said regretfully. “But perhaps it is time I learned. I cannot afford a new dress.”
“I have a better idea,” Nell said. “I am teachin’ Elspeth tae sew. Why dae ye no’ dae it together? She would love that.”
“That sounds amazing,” Rose agreed, laughing as she imagined the look on Elspeth’s face when Nell told her that they would be working together.
Presently, the bath arrived, and Nell helped Rose into it, carefully keeping her bandaged foot out of the water, then washed her hair and took away the tray and her dress.
Rose lay back in the bath, luxuriating in the warm, scented water, which not only helped to soothe the ache in her ankle, but also the one in her spirit. The letter from Claire and Amanda had been a wonderful surprise, but what had helped most was being carried in Cormac’s strong arms.
That was an experience she would happily relive again and again. However, she knew that it would likely never happen again, but she smiled wistfully and sighed in resignation. Oh, well, she could always dream.
Nell came back to help her get dressed, before she gave Rose another tight hug. “Anythin’ ye need, mind,” she reminded her.
“Thank you, Nell.”
Rose felt a rush of warmth inside her at the old woman’s caring words. She had found a true friend, and for that, she was eternally grateful.
Instead of getting back into bed, Rose somehow managed to sit at the table to write a letter to her sisters, which she had to admit was long overdue, since she had been so occupied she had neglected them sorely.
Rose sat down with a glass of wine Nell had brought with her. “A wee treat after a bad day,” she said, smiling as she kissed Rose’s forehead and left.
It took her a while to come up with the right words, and Rose threw away three drafts before she was happy with the results.
My dearest sisters,
I hope you are both surviving and thriving without me. I miss you both dreadfully, but in a strange way I am really enjoyingmyself, although at the moment I am laid up in bed with a sprained ankle.
I fell off a horse and caught my foot in the stirrup—not serious, but really annoying, as you know that I hate to be cooped up for long. Still, I will survive!
Scotland is not at all what I expected. The weather is rather cold and damp, but the countryside is absolutely stunning. The servants in the castle do not like me very much, probably because I am English, but I really do not care about them.
