Page 28 of An English Rose for the Highlander
And a clan truly was just a grander type of family.
“Ye’ll be leaving the shoes outside before ye step foot into the castle, me Lady,” Fiona spoke from behind Rose as she walked up to her, smiling and covered in as much filth as she was. “Or ye’ll be smelling shite no matter where ye step.”
Rose chuckled, using the back of her hand to wipe away the sweat as she used a pitchfork to carry fresh hay to the animals who could eat. They’d needed to discard everything that had been here, Dominik suspecting poison or contamination.
“I think they’ll need to be disposed of entirely.” She lifted her skirts, wagging her foot about as the two of them looked down at the ruined laces of her boots.
“Och, nay. We’ll be able to soak ‘em and clean up. Ye can wear them again and remember just how wonderfully ye served yer clan in them.”
My clan?
The words hit her square in the chest, and Rose had to fight away the swelling emotions. Fiona had taken to her right away, and they were becoming fast friends. But it was something else to be truly viewed as a part of the clan, part of the family.
“Thank you, Fiona.”
“Och, it’s true enough. Ye’ve got the pluck of any strong-headed Scottish woman. Just look at ye.”
“Look at her?” Peggy cut in. “Look at where we’re standing. I do not understand how neither of you is reeling. It’s as if my head is going to plop right off from the smell alone!”
Laughing with Fiona, Rose walked to Peggy, patting her on the shoulder. She was wobbling on her feet, and admittedly, her maid looked a little green around the gills.
“Peggy?”
Just like that, the woman collapsed, landing against Rose’s side. She did her best to keep herself standing upright, walking them to the fence to lean against it.
“Oh goodness.” Rose scanned around the paddock, knowing that Peggy needed to get inside. “Help! Can someone bring her to the castle?”
Oskar appeared from around the other side of the shelter, which was given to the weakened animals, rolling his eyes.
“Aye, me Lady. I’ll see to her.”
As he reached them, Oskar swept Peggy up into his arms, the gesture a show of gallantry that was accompanied by Oskar’s devilish smirk.
“Now, let’s get this whisp of an Englishwoman inside. I do believe the smell has offended her sensibilities.”
The children around them, watching from the other side of the fence, giggled. They pointed at Peggy, muttering childish insults that didn’t mean much. Still, Rose shooed them away, trying her best not to grin as she did. Oskar had put on quite a show afterall. It was impossible to deny that Peggy’s fainting because of the smell was rather on the nose for a proper English lady as far as the children and clanspeople were concerned.
As the man-at-arms carried Peggy away, Rose turned back to the paddock and shelter. The hay was nearly distributed evenly, and the ground wasn’t nearly as putrid as it had been before they’d all chipped in to muck it out.
“Ye did well, lass.” Rose spun around to see Eilidh walking over. “And when ye’re finished there, ye can wash up with Fiona and join me in the kitchen. We’ll have a hearty dinner for all the hard work done.”
“Thank you, Eilidh. I’ll be happy to help.”
Fiona offered a sly grin as Rose nodded at Eilidh, hanging on Rose’s shoulder with a pitchfork in her other hand. The older woman eyed them both before turning away, rolling her eyes.
“I best nae be hearing about any more gossip from the children, Fiona. They daenae need yer assistance in digging it up. I assure ye.”
The two of them laughed, hurrying to finish up with their work so that they might get inside quicker. Rose had no issues aiding with dinner, but there was a hot bath with her name on it waiting to be enjoyed before she was in a position to handle food.
14
Following the afternoon in the fields with the animals, the evening was filled with plentiful helpings of food for everyone who had worked so diligently. Rose was proud to have assisted with preparing the hot meal, and the mood at dinner was lighter than it had been when Dominik and she had first arrived back at the castle.
Gazes of suspicion and superstition still lingered, but they were lessened. Still, as glad as she was about that, Rose knew that the culprit behind the poisoning, for Dominik was positive that it was the cause of the animals’ distress, had yet to be found or even alluded to. No one had any idea who the person might be, and the fact that it could very well be a clansman who disapproved of their marriage remained heavy on Rose’s shoulders.
“Ye did well this afternoon in the fields, lass. The people are grateful.”
Dominik walked Rose back to her chambers, their steps slow and tired, for Dominik had been doing just as much to aid the clan while she was outdoors with the others, scouring the castle for any sign of the poison, questioning people, and much more.
