Her own life had been turned upside down, and yet she thought to help another. Guilt laid him low. “Why did you no’ come to me about the lad?”
“Come to you? You haven’t exactly…You’ve done nothing but castigate, scold, and make your disapproval clear.” She bit her lip and studied the ground. “Why would I come to you for anything?”
Malcolm placed a finger under her chin and raised her face to his. “Your words ring true. ’Tis clear I’ve given you no reason to trust me. Is that no’ the way of it?” God’s blood, but her tiny nod made him feel like an arse. In that moment he realized something else. Her sharp tongue and bravado were naught but bluster to hide how terrified she truly was. Malcolm wanted to snatch her up in his arms and hold her fast. Instead, he raked his fingers through his hair. “I am the worst kind of churl.”
“That’s not entirely true.” She glanced up at him through her thick lashes. “You’ve given me a roof over my head and food to eat, and I’m grateful for both. It’s not your fault I ended up on your land.”
He wasn’t so certain about that. Surely she’d been left in his path for a reason. Malcolm stared out over the loch, pondering how best to rectify the situation. “You must allow me to make amends. Let us begin anew.”
She took a deep breath and let it out slowly. “OK. Thanks for rescuing me from that creep.”
“Creep?” He shook his head. “Your speech confuses me, lass. Though it sounds English, ’tis not wholly the same at all. What do you mean by oh-kay?”
“Where I come from, the word creep is sometimes used to describe someone whose intentions are predatory.” She wrung some of the water from her hair and took another deep, shuddering breath. “OK just means all right, and your speech sometimes confuses me as well.”
“Oh-kay.” He tried the word, letting its strangeness roll over his tongue. Alethia deserved his compassion, and all he’d done was add to her misery. It fell to him to set things right, but how? Malcolm squared his shoulders, his mind racing to find common ground. “I have two sisters. One is older, and the other younger. Helen, the oldest, is married and lives with her husband two days’ journey from our keep, and you’ve met Elaine. Perhaps if you spent some time with my mother and sister, you might feel more comfortable.”
“Oh yes. That would be nice.” Her expression brightened. “I don’t have any siblings, but I do have about twenty cousins, and most of them are boys.”
She smiled up at him, and Malcolm’s knees went weak. “Come, you are chilled to the bone.” He took her arm and started her back toward the bailey. “Why were you in the loch?”
“I wanted a bath.”
“We have a bathing room in the keep. There are lads whose job it is to keep a constant supply of warm water available.”
“How was I supposed to know?”
“Beth did no’ tell you?”
“No.” She snorted. “I don’t think personal hygiene is at the top of her list of priorities, and it was just by accident that I found the…the…”
“Garderobe?” Malcolm found her modesty enchanting. Another question had nagged at him since the day he’d found her, and now seemed like a good time to satisfy his curiosity. “What did you do the day you put me to sleep?”
“Oh. That. I cut off the blood supply to your brain, and you fainted.” She stopped walking and placed her fingertips on his neck, feeling along under his jaw. “Here, feel the pulse?”
Malcolm took her hands in his. They were close to the keep, and he was conscious of his people’s watchful eyes. “Come, we must seek my father. He’ll have questions.”
She tugged her hands free. “I can’t see your father looking like this. I’m a mess.”
Malcolm took in her wet tangles and sand-covered gown. “He will no’ concern himself with your appearance.”
“Maybe not, but it does concern me.” She frowned.
“Hie yourself to your chamber, then, and make yourself presentable. I’ll send Beth to you anon.”
“I have nothing to wear,” she argued. “I only have two gowns, and they’re both a mess.”
“I’ll have my sister lend you one of hers.”
“She’s a lot taller than I am. Let’s wait until I can clean one of mine.” She glanced up at him. “Like maybe tomorrow or the day after.”
Malcolm placed his hands on her shoulders and turned her to face him. “Lady Alethia, do you mean to vex me?”