Ceci Giltenan(41)
“Men change, Fingal,” scoffed Niall.
Fingal didn’t argue with him, but the look on his face clearly told Niall he disagreed.
“Will we raid Matheson again to recover our loss?” asked Diarmad.
Niall considered things for a few moments and said, “I think not. Maybe if I don’t retaliate he will stop. If he raids again, we will know he is after a bigger target, as Malcolm suggests.”
~ * ~
Summer waned, and Duncurra brought in a bountiful harvest. The long days began to shorten, growing cold. In October, Matheson raided yet again. Niall rode out the next morning with Diarmad, Cairbre, and several other men to see the site of the raid. He had not returned by early afternoon. Fingal, too, was away from the keep, having left the previous day to lead a contingent of men to Inverness for supplies. It would be several days before he returned.
Katherine worked hard to prepare the household for the long frigid winter to come, when an unexpected chill arrived. Late on that frosty afternoon, the watch announced MacLennan riders approached. Katherine knew Niall would want Malcolm and his party to be welcomed, so she had rooms readied. She also informed Bridie there would be guests for dinner.
Malcolm arrived accompanied by an older woman with dark hair and dark eyes who was both a little taller and heavier than Katherine. She wore a dark green woolen mantle over a wine colored velvet gown and a gold kirtle that appeared to be made of silk.
Malcolm greeted Katherine heartily, taking both of her hands in his and kissing her on the cheeks. “Katherine, ye are looking very well.” Malcolm smiled. He gave her an appraising look and added, “Ye seem to be adapting nicely to the Highlands.”
“Thank ye. It is very good to see ye again, Laird MacLennan,” Katherine replied.
“Lady Eithne MacIan, I would like to introduce ye to Niall’s wife, Katherine, Katherine, this is Lady Eithne MacIan, the late laird’s wife,” said Malcolm.
Katherine had learned little more about Eithne than Niall had told her that evening at Brathanead. Katherine was under the impression neither of her sons felt particularly close to her. Also, she had heard hints Eithne may have played some role in the MacIan’s financial problems. No one seemed to think Eithne would ever leave Edinburgh, so Katherine certainly had not expected to ever greet her in Duncurra’s great hall.
“It is a pleasure to meet you, Lady Eithne, welcome. Please, come warm yourselves by the hearth and have some refreshment,” Katherine said.
Eithne leveled a haughty stare at Katherine before saying, “Katherine, dear, I have heard so much about you. I assumed, as you were a noblewoman from the Lowlands, you would have received proper training in decorum, but evidently not. You will address me as Lady MacIan, and it is unseemly for you to welcome me to my hall.”
Eithne’s insults momentarily stunned Katherine. Over the last few months it had not been necessary to hide her emotions, but she had not buried those skills very deeply. She immediately adopted her long-practiced, unemotional demeanor. “I beg your pardon, Lady MacIan.”
Eithne sauntered into the hall and began giving orders. Eithne’s stiff posture and clear dismissal of Katherine told her Eithne expected a stronger reaction, but Katherine knew this game and played it well. When Edna looked to Katherine for a signal as to whether she should do Eithne’s bidding, Katherine gave her the slightest nod. As Alastair’s widow and Niall’s stepmother, by all rights Eithne held the title of “Lady MacIan.” Therefore, unless Niall said otherwise, she could issue orders at Duncurra. Everyone spent the rest of the afternoon trying to meet Lady MacIan’s demands.
Eithne responded to their efforts by criticizing, correcting, or otherwise throwing barbs, primarily at Katherine. She had spent years honing the skills needed to handle Eithne, but Katherine worried her clanswomen would be hurt. She did her best to be polite, doing everything she could to please her husband’s stepmother. Although he didn’t rush to her defense, occasionally, Laird MacLennan offered a mild chastisement to Eithne. “Now, now, Eithne, don’t ye think ye are being rather harsh with Katherine?”
He did step in firmly when Eithne ordered the staff to remove Katherine and Niall’s things from the laird’s chamber so she could reside there for the duration of her stay, saying, “I’m not sure that is wise, my lady. Niall is laird here.”
“I suppose you are right,” said Eithne, her eyes filling with tears. “My dear Alastair is gone and that chamber will be filled with too many memories. You can put my things in the room next to it. Malcolm, my old friend, it would give me such comfort to know you are near. You should occupy the other chamber on the second floor.” As quickly as they had started, her tears stopped. “See to it, Katherine,” she said imperiously, waving her away.