Page 28 of When the Laird Conquers

“Takes after the Laird,” Iona teased, savoring a few more moments with the baby.

Agnes paused. “Where is he today?”

She had asked earlier if she should make some breakfast for Gordon, but Iona had told her not to bother.

“Och, ridin’ out the borders.” The housekeeper stroked her nose against Lizzy’s downy hair. “Probably chasin’ off that Edwin bastard.”

Agnes gulped. “Do you think so?”

“Maybe.”

“Well, I hope so.” She took a breath, the entire reason she was here suddenly crashing back into her mind. “The sooner Edwin gives up, the sooner I can relax again. Indeed, I just need to know that Lizzy will be safe, and then… all will be well. I might even sleep a full night again, as long as my darling niece obliges.”

“Ye’re a good substitute, lass.” Iona sighed and got up, walking over to carefully place the baby in Agnes’s arms. “I ken it cannae be easy for ye, but this lassie will ken nothin’ but love, and that’s rarer than ye think.”

Tears pricked at Agnes’s eyes, though not the usual kind. These were happier. Tears of bittersweet pride.

“I mean, nae every lass would bring her niece all the way to Scotland just to keep her safe,” Iona added, patting Agnes lightly on the arm. “She’s lucky to have ye, Agnes, just as we’re lucky to have ye.”

Agnes shook her head. “I am the lucky one to have been greeted so warmly… by you and Marcus, at least. You have made all of this much easier, and I am grateful for that. So very grateful.”

Fearful that she was about to weep, she added in haste, “Now, I really must get this rascal bathed and in her crib, or she will scream the castle down by this afternoon.”

Iona dipped to press one last kiss to Lizzy’s fluffy hair. “She might have some Scottish blood in her,” she said, pulling back. “Ye daenae see hair that red unless ye’re here, north of the border… or across the sea to the west, I suppose.”

Agnes managed a smile. “It is a beautiful color. It is just a shame it came from her father.”

“Aye, I willnae argue with ye there.” Iona gestured to the door. “Go on, away with ye, or I might steal her back.”

Feeling lighter in spirit than she had since leaving England, Agnes thanked the housekeeper again and made her swift exit.

“Both of us are going to need a wash,” she said as she walked through the dim hallways with the baby in her arms, silently cursing every uneven flagstone that her foot caught on.

This would be so much simpler with some actual light. It is daytime, for goodness’ sake.

Perhaps it was the lightness of her spirit wanting to see the sun, or perhaps it was the increasing infuriation of constantly stubbing her toe. Either way, Agnes decided that, to action her first rule, she was going to open some bloody curtains.

The rattle of the rings on the curtain pole pleased her as she yanked back the first set… and the next… and the next, leaving no drapes that she passed unopened.

The effect was immediate, despite the rather overcast sky. Light flooded into the hallways, catching the colorful panes of stained glass that she had not had the chance to notice before. Sprays of rainbow shards shimmered across the flagstones and danced against the drab stone walls, turning the castle into something that was really rather magical.

“There, that is much better, isn’t it?” she cooed to Lizzy. “Much less dismal and eerie, I should say.”

Lizzy’s dazzled stare as she took in her refreshed surroundings was all the answer that Agnes needed, whether Gordon liked it or not.

While you are sleeping, little one, I do believe I will open the rest.

The prospect thrilled her as she quickened her pace, no longer afraid of stumbling or tripping now that she could actually see where she was going.

“Oh, what a surprise you will have when you get back, my Laird.”

11

The ride back to Castle Buchlann went by as if time had become honey, moving so slowly, his stallion plodding and pausing to snatch up tufts of sweet grass whenever he pleased. Gordon didn’t even attempt to stop him.

“Ye used to be a prime war horse,” he chided. “Ye’re goin’ to get fat and lazy, and when the next battle comes along, ye’ll have yerself a shock.”

The stallion, Ares, snorted his opinion and kept right on chewing.