A Perfect Wife(25)

They worked for a while. Kiera thought back of what she knew of the woman.

“You never found yourself a husband, nor did you have bairns.”

“The laird was so much a man I wouldn’t settle for less.”

“So when he asked you—”

“Nay, lass. I asked if he wished some comfort. He needed to be held. He, ah, couldna...” She cleared her throat. “Nay with me. Mayhaps there were others after.” She flapped her hand, blushing furiously. “I may be the only grown virgin at Kinrowan.”

“Mayhaps there’s others, just as choosey. You are a prize for the right man, Bessie, if ye wish one. ’Tisna sommat to be ashamed of.” Kiera went back to her work. If she was killed and her husbands were distraught, she would want them to have someone to hold in the night. “I’m glad my father had comfort, no matter what kind.”

“He ne’er wished for another while yer mother was alive, though he did look. I’ve told a good number to cover what might fall out when they bend over!” Bessie, chuckling, looked up from her needlework. “And I’ve told a few here the same about yer MacDougals. When Malcolm got to Castle Leod he said little and, though he looked, he kept his hands to hisself. Duff, now, he would smile and wink, and still does, but ’tis for flirting, not for wanting.” She leaned forward. “Both of them want only ye, my lady. All ken it.” She sniffed in disgust. “Some willna choose to believe it and will get their faces slapped!”

“Bessie! Malcolm and Duff would never slap a woman!”

“Nay, lass, but Mistress Hetty, Cook, and I would!” Bessie gave an abrupt nod in emphasis. “’Twould be an insult to ye, my lady, and to all the female servants. If one tried to seduce yer men she’d be lucky not to be sent down to the village.” Another nod. “Not that yer men would give in. As I told ye, they want ye, and none other.”

Her outrage changed to a look that made Kiera squirm.

“I’ve heard some of what goes on in here, my lady. Or comes off,” she added with a smirk. “They wish to command ye, aye? Have ye on yer knees afore yer laird husband?”

A rush of heat flooded Kiera. “Bessie!”

“’Tis why I willna settle for a weak man.” She fanned her face with her mending. “Somethin’ about a man with fire in his eyes makes this old lass’s heart flutter.” She dropped her voice. “Her heart, and other parts, not that I ken what it feels like.”

Kiera squirmed on her stool, trying to hide her reaction to what they’d recently done. She gave up. “Aye. And when there’s two of them!” She fanned herself, making Bessie chuckle. “Are there any you fancy here at Kinrowan?”

This time it was Bessie who squirmed.

“Aye,” she whispered. “But he willna wish such as me.”

Kiera thought of the senior men. Fergus, the steward training Duff, was too old. Todd, the marshall in charge of anything to do with horses or moving things, was too shy. There was one man who was often with Malcolm. The keeper was in charge of security for the castle and all about. He was a soldier, an older man who was scarred though his back was straight, his eyes keen, and his demeanor commanding. Like many old soldiers, he’d never married.

“Ramsay, the keeper?”

Bessie blushed like a fourteen-year-old wishing for her first kiss. “He looks so strong he could pick me up in one arm though I be padded like full saddlebags on my arse.”

“Pick you up, toss you over his shoulder, and swat those saddlebags to make you kick and squeal,” replied Kiera.

“Aye. As the laird and Master Duff have done more than once to ye.” She sighed. “But he’ll not see me. I’m inside with ye and he’s out with yer men.”

Kiera groaned at the reminder. “I canna wait until St. Michaelmas when we’ll all be outside. I’m praying for good weather. We’ll find a way to get the two of you together.”

“He mayn’t want a thing to do with me. A keeper is a very important man.”

“And so is the lady’s maid to the laird’s wife. He might think you are too high for him.”

Bessie grumbled to herself for a few minutes. “Mayhaps he doesna wish a wife. He has enough family in Kinrowan that if he’d wanted one, he could’ve found one.”

“And mayhaps he kens his family too well. He might wish for a wife who sees him for who he is now and not the lad he used to be.”

“Aye, there is that.” Bessie perked up, humming as she worked.

Kiera decided to talk to Duff to see if Ramsay was interested in a wife. And if so, if he’d even seen Bessie. She’d let on how Bessie was shy. That would no doubt surprise Duff as Bessie had no problem telling the men off to protect her chick. And that got her thinking on something she’d wanted to ask.