Highland Devil (Murray Family #22)(25)

The promise of a bath got Mora moving right along with Lady Annys. She  desperately wanted to wash away the dust of her travels. Although she  was listening carefully to what Lady Annys said as they went up the  stairs, a lot of her mind was fixed firmly on getting her dusty gown off  and sitting in a bath. Then she suddenly realized Andrew was not at her  side.

"Where did Andrew go?" she asked Gybbon.

"Oh," replied Annys, "the boy has gone off with my son Benet and my  maid's boys so that they can show him where he can clean up. Is that all  right?"

"Of course. I was just startled as we have been kept close for the whole journey and then he was gone."

Annys nodded and pointed to the room for Gybbon, who thanked her and  hurried inside. To Mora's surprise the woman then led her into the room  right next to his. A slightly older, more buxom woman was just setting  down a bucket of water next to a large wooden tub.

"Joan, this is Lady Mora Ogilvy, just arrived from Sigimor's manor with Gybbon."

"Greetings, m'lady. Your bath awaits."

Before Mora could say much more than thank you, the two women left and a  young girl entered to help her get out of her clothing. Mora gladly  accepted the offer to clean the clothes, but then shooed the girl away  and stepped into the tub. A sigh of pure pleasure escaped her as she  sank into the water. She cleared her mind of all thoughts of her  troubles and decided to simply enjoy her bath. Sadly, the troubles would  still be there when her bath was done.

She sniffed the soap she scooped out of the dish and smiled at the soft  scent of lavender. Her mother had loved that scent, she thought with a  pang of sorrow as she washed herself. Freya came to stand with her paws  on the edge of the tub and Mora suddenly recalled that she had brought  in her bag.

"How did ye get out?" she asked the animal as she began to wash her hair. "I thought I had secured the bag closed."

Freya reached a paw out and touched the water, then shook her paw dry.  Mora laughed, only to have the cat do it again. Then she crossed her  arms over her breasts when her door opened, but it was just the young  maid.

"Oh, m'lady, I am so sorry." The girl started to move toward Freya. "I  dinnae ken how it got in here. I will just toss it outside."

"Nay! 'Tis fine. The cat is mine. Is having it inside with me a problem?"

"Nay! I just thought it was one of the stable cats and it had somehow  wandered in here. I came to see if ye needed your hair rinsed."

"Aye, now that I think on it, I believe I do."

She allowed the girl to finish the washing of her hair and then the  rinsing of it. When the girl started to dry it for her, Mora wondered  how she had managed without such luxury for so many years. She then  sternly reminded herself she was not some grand lady who lived in a  walled keep.         

     



 

"I will lay out your clothes, shall I?" the girl said even as she started toward Mora's bag.

"If Freya will allow it." She stepped out of the tub and began to dry  herself off, watching as the girl cautiously approached the bag, which  Freya sprawled on top of.

Freya moved and Mora almost smiled at how the girl sighed with relief.  She wrapped her hair and then walked over to where the girl had picked  out her clothes before she picked up her shift and put it on. The girl  hurried to do up her laces. In no time at all Mora was fully dressed in a  gown she did not recognize and suspected her hostess had brought her in  one. Mora thought how very easy it would be to become thoroughly  spoiled by having servants to flutter around.

"Thank ye," she said to the girl, then reached for the drying cloth that had been wrapped around her head. "What is your name?"

"Mary. I was the first here, so it is just Mary." The girl took off the  drying cloth and started to dry Mora's hair even more. "There is Red  Mary because of her hair color, Old Mary, and Big Mary. Being just Mary  isnae such a bad thing."

"Nay, I would have to agree with that."

She allowed Mary to lead her to the fireplace and sit her on a stool  while the girl slowly combed out her hair before the warmth of the fire  that dried it even more. As Mary braided her hair, Mora decided she was  getting too warm and hoped the girl worked quickly. She moved away from  the heat as fast as she could when the girl said she was done.

Leaving Mary to deal with emptying the bath and forcing herself not to  feel guilty about that, Mora stepped out of the room. Freya quickly  trotted out to join her, and Mora sighed. Eating with her had obviously  been a big mistake as she was not sure she could keep the cat away now.  When she walked into the hall, she saw Gybbon near the head of the table  and wondered where she should sit. Then he gestured to her to come and  sit by him. Freya beat her to the place right next to him on the bench  and Mora tried to ignore how both he and the man he was speaking with  grinned at her.

"If it troubles ye, I will remove her," Mora said.

"Nay, I have been warned. Cats dinnae bother me. My son walks around  with one all the time. 'Tis why I am stuck in a chair much of the day at  the moment." He waved at his bandaged foot, which he had rested on the  bench set near to him. "I am Harcourt Murray, Laird of Gormfeurach."

"Ye just love saying that, dinnae ye?" teased Gybbon.

"I worked hard for it. Pleased to meet ye, Mora Ogilvy. I believe I met  your father once when I visited Payton at court. Nice mon. Verra sorry  for what happened to him and your mother."

"Thank ye. He must have been young then as I can ne'er recall him mentioning that he had actually gone to the court."

"He hated it nearly as much as I. Ah, food. The one thing I am allowed  to do," he muttered as he frowned at Annys, who just ignored him.

Mora hid her smile and watched as Gybbon put some meat on her plate. It  troubled her that she felt no great urge to eat for she knew she should.  As Harcourt and Gybbon taunted each other, she picked away at her food  and thought that it was too warm in the hall. By the time the sweets  were served, she could barely keep her eyes open and decided she needed  to excuse herself. Saying all that was expected, she rose and walked  slowly to the door. Taking a deep breath, she was only two steps into  the hall and turned toward the steps leading to the next floor, when  blackness swept over her so quickly she had no chance to make a sound,  even when she hit the hard stone floor.

Gybbon heard the soft thud and stared in horror at Mora sprawled on the  hard floor. He leapt up and ran out with Annys hurrying after him, but  to his annoyance, the foolish cat got to Mora before any of them. He  resisted the urge to shove it out of the way and picked Mora up,  standing as Annys checked her head for any wound caused by the fall to  the floor.

"Fool animal," he muttered while he stared at the small cat sitting on Mora's chest as he carried her up the stairs.

"Nay, Gybbon. The cat is worried. I think Mora has spoiled it a bit."

"A bit? Nay, dinnae frown, Annys. I actually like the animal. Now, I just wonder where Andrew is."

"He is eating in the room where we feed the children, but I think he may  have heard something because someone is running this way fast."

"And we ken it isnae Harcourt," he said, and Annys laughed.

"Mora!" Andrew cried out, and Gybbon thanked Annys for catching the boy  before he slammed into him. "Easy, laddie," he said to Andrew.

"She just fainted, Andrew. That is all," Annys said as she stroked back  the boy's curls. "We just need to wake her and find out what made her  swoon." She looked at Gybbon with narrowed eyes and he shook his head,  knowing she suspected he may have bedded down with Mora.         

     



 

Gybbon set Mora on the bed and stared down at her, then frowned. She  looked pale, but on her cheeks were two growing flags of red. She had  shaken off the fever, he thought, as he felt her forehead and found it  hot.

Annys also felt her forehead and frowned. "She has a fever, mayhap even a bad one. Is she ill?"

"Nay. She got a bad wound and became a little feverish, but it passed  and the wound healed. Jolene just said she shouldnae ride for a week or  so."

"Good advice. Weel it has come back. Out." She gently pushed both Gybbon  and Andrew out of the room, then hurried to the head of the stairs to  bellow for Mary and Joan. The two women came running up the stairs and  then all three disappeared into Mora's room. The door was shut firmly  behind them.

Gybbon looked at Andrew and patted the boy's back before leading him down the stairs. "She is in good hands, laddie."

"What happened?" asked Harcourt when Gybbon sat back down beside him.

"Her fever has come back."

"Annys will fix that and, if she cannae, we will send for Jolene or one of our own healers."

That eased Gybbon's worry and he turned his attention to an anxious  Andrew. He had to do a lot of talking to the boy before he calmed down  and finally went back to be with the other children. Gybbon stayed long  enough to finish his meal with an outward calm. It was strange that she  had gone down with a fever again, and Gybbon realized that he faced  strange with little calm at all.