A Perfect Wife(26)

“My father said he trained my mother, making her a perfect wife. I wish to be that to Malcolm and Duff.”

Bessie cocked her head to the side. All traces of the shy virgin were gone. “A perfect wife? And what is that?”

“A woman who puts the needs of her husband and her clan first. She is always ready to do what he wishes.” She stopped to think. “No, she does what he wishes afore he thinks of it. And a perfect wife is always pleasant and sweet, eager for the bedchamber.”

Bessie snorted like a horse. “From the sounds I hear coming out of yon chamber ye have no problem with that.”

Kiera’s face heated. “’Tis the main reason of wanting a husband, aye?”

“Or two,” added Bessie.

“My father said my mother was perfect. He loved her very much and didn’t hide it. I would like my husbands to love me, so I have to be perfect, too.”

Bessie set down her mending. “Have ye asked the laird and his brother how they wish their wife to be?”

She shook her head. “Their mother died when they were young. They had a stepmother for a few years, one who was kind to them, but she died as well.” She grimaced. “But they rode with my father for ten days and he told them all about my mother, and Silean. I overheard Duff saying my father believed Elizabeth was the perfect wife for a young laird, and Silean for an older one.”

“’Tis impossible to be perfect,” said Bessie. “I watched ye grow, lass. Ye are nay the type to hold back yer voice or yer temper.”

“My mother did.”

“She was loud when she wished. And yer father liked it.”

“But he said he tamed her to suit himself!”

Bessie choked. Kiera was concerned until she realized the older woman was holding back chuckles.

“What?”

“Aye, yer father said he tamed Elizabeth. And she let him think it.”

“What do you mean?”

“Men need their pride more than women do. And because they control our lives, women must do what they can to train their husbands. ’Tisn’t wrong to guide a man with love and caring so it benefits the family, and the clan.” Bessie’s eyes twinkled. “My own mam told me what yer father was like when he married Lady Elizabeth. ’Twas a lot like how Laird Malcolm is outside yer chamber. And maybe inside as well.”

“My father spent a fortnight teaching my husband how to be like him,” she said, grumbling. “I think Malcolm wants to control me, and that far more than my father ever did.”

“The laird let ye be far freer than any, so any husband would want a stronger hand on ye. But Lady Elizabeth and yer father oft butted heads. Lady Elizabeth had much schooling and so helped the laird. Yer father canna sign his name but with an X. ’Tis one reason why he let ye learn from that tutor.”

Kiera shrank from the memory of the man. She’d learned a lot, but there was a price. Her back bore the memory if not the marks.

“How can I learn to train my husbands?”

“Ye can ask me to guide ye, as my mam did yers.” The older woman dimpled. “Lady Elizabeth was not a match yer father wished, ye ken.”

That caught Kiera by surprise. “He didna ask for yer?”

“Afore he married her, he said she was a shrew what needed taming. Lady Elizabeth said she wouldna be tamed. My man told her the taming of a shrew, or the training of a husband, can be the same thing. It wouldna matter who thinks they won as long as my lady got what she wished, and that was a caring husband.”

“How?”

“As the man learns to behave in a way that suits his wife, she rewards him. Yer mother would smile sweetly and mayhaps reward him in their chamber. He thought ’twas his doing, and Lady Elizabeth let him.”

Kiera thought it over. She’d been quite the shrew after her disastrous wedding to Bertie and quick widowhood. She’d had nothing to do, and her plans to move to Kinrowan had been destroyed. When her mother died of a fever she’d had to take over. The duties kept her mind and body active. She’d been happy until her father remarried Silean. The thought of years and years of being no one but the unmarried daughter, and doing nothing but spinning and weaving, had driven her to bitterness. That was gone.

“A woman content with her life has no need to be shrill and bitter.”

“Aye.” Bessie shook her finger in warning. “Each of ye must learn how to work with the others. What do yer men need to learn?”

Kiera thought for a while as they sewed.

“Malcolm thinks he must prove himself as laird. Part of that is having an obedient wife. Duff needs to take responsibility for his actions. He must be ready to step into his brother’s place should something happen to Malcolm. It bothers both of them that they’ve not been trained, nor even exposed to something as grand as Kinrowan.”