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Giorsal stared at her blankly for a moment and then said slowly, "Is an oblate no' a girl meant to become a nun when she's considered old enough to take the vows?"
Annabel nodded and it seemed to confuse Giorsal.
"But how could yer parents send ye there to be a nun when ye were to marry me brother?"
Annabel grimaced. It seemed she had to tell the whole tale.
"SO YER THINKING to set a guard on her at all times until ye find out if it's your uncle or Fingal behind these attacks?" Bean asked. "Even in the keep?"
"Aye," Ross said firmly. "He may ha'e only attacked when she was outside the walls ere this, but I'll no' take chances with her safety. He might strike within the walls next when he realizes she will no' be out where he can get to her."
"Yer no' going to let her go beyond the bailey?" Bean asked with surprise.
"I'll no' be letting her leave the keep until we settle this thing," Ross announced.
"Hmmm," Bean said dubiously.
"Hmm what?" Ross asked with a frown.
Bean shook his head. "I'm thinking that'll no' go over well at all."
"Why?" he asked with surprise.
"Well, I do no' ken Annabel well, but I ken Giorsal would never put up with a guard on her at all times," Bean said dryly. "Hell, she would no' even put up with it for a day. As for restricting her to the keep . . . I can no' see her liking being a prisoner in her own home."
Ross relaxed and waved that away. "Annabel is no' Giorsal. 'Tis for her safety. She will be fine with it. 'Sides, she will be busy running the keep and my servants. There is no reason fer her to be out in the bailey."
"We will see," Bean said looking amused.
Ross felt doubt claim him briefly, but then scowled and pushed the doubt away. Annabel was a sensible woman, wasn't she? Surely she would see the sense of taking precautions.
"WHAT A HORRID old bitch!"
Annabel gasped at that proclamation from Giorsal and lowered her sewing to glance worriedly to Seonag, only to see the maid nod solemnly.
"Aye. A nasty old bitch," she agreed, continuing to stitch the hem she was working on. " 'Tis a wonder ye turned out so sweet tempered after being raised by a nasty old cow like that abbess."
Annabel sat back and peered from one woman to the other with wide eyes. This was not the response she'd expected when she'd confessed that her clumsiness and constant failures at the abbey were the reasons for her whippings. Or that it was also why she had still not been allowed to take the veil, so had been available to marry Ross when Kate had run off with her lover.
"Well, that settles it then," Giorsal said with satisfaction.
Annabel hesitated, but then asked uncertainly, "What does it settle? And what exactly is it that is settling it?"
"Ye were destined to marry Ross," Giorsal said as if that should be plain as day.
"I was?" Annabel asked dubiously, not sure how her being inept would lead to that conclusion.
"Aye. 'Tis why ye never fit in at the abbey," Giorsal explained. " 'Twas so ye'd no' take the veil. Ye were no' meant to be a nun, Annabel. Ye were meant to be Lady MacKay."
"Aye." Seonag nodded as if it were as obvious as could be to her as well.
Annabel simply stared at the two women for a moment, and then shook her head. "But do you not see? I was not to marry Ross. Kate was. She is the one who was truly contracted to marry him."
Giorsal snorted at that. "Nay, he was to marry you, no' Kate."
"But the contract--"
"Oh, devil take the contract," Giorsal waved it away as unimportant. "Ross is a good man, he deserves a good wife like you, not a light-skirt who runs off with the first cock that crows."
When Annabel made a strangled sound at this description, Giorsal slapped herself in the forehead, and then said quickly. "I'm sorry, I should no' call yer sister a light-skirt. I just mean that--"
"Nay, 'tis all right," Annabel waved away her apology. She understood how Giorsal felt. She loved her brother and wanted the best for him, and the best was not a woman who would ignore a binding contract, go against her parents and run off to live in sin with another man. Annabel also understood that she hadn't meant to offend her with the words. But what Giorsal didn't seem to understand was that she was not a much better prospect, though for different reasons.
Taking a breath, she considered her words and then admitted, "But do you not see? I am not much better. I was not trained to be a wife and lady of a large castle like MacKay while at the abbey. I illuminated texts and worked in the stables."
Giorsal waved that away as unimportant. "Ye can learn all ye need to ken easily enough. In fact, ye're partway there already."
"I do not see how," Annabel admitted, almost afraid to hope the woman was right.
"Well, if ye were illuminating texts at the abbey, ye ken how to read and write," Giorsal pointed out.
"Aye," Annabel acknowledged.
"Then ye can help school the pages," she pointed out.
"What pages?" Annabel asked with confusion.
"Well there are none at MacKay at the moment because there was no lady of the keep to train them. Now there is. You." She smiled brightly. "They need to be trained in music, dancing, riding, hunting, reading and writing and arithmetic. O' course, Ross will take care of the hunting, but ye can manage the rest."
"I fear I have never danced, and I am not trained with any musical instrument," Annabel admitted unhappily.
Giorsal shrugged. "Ye can hire a teacher for those and learn yerself. And ye should be a fair hand at the writing, reading and arithmetic."
"Aye," Annabel agreed, brightening. "And I am a fine rider too."
"Er . . ." Seonag said, and then paused abruptly.
"What?" Annabel asked.
The maid hesitated, but then set down her sewing with a sigh and admitted, "I overheard the men talking on yer riding skills, me lady, and they seemed to think they were no' so fine. They said ye bounced about on the mare's back like a sack o' turnips."
Annabel winced and then explained, "We were not supposed to ride the horses at the abbey. I used to volunteer to walk them out to the far pasture, and as soon as I was out of sight, would mount up and ride them bareback. Sometimes I would slip out at night to ride too, but I couldn't risk anyone hearing so took them bareback then as well. I have never ridden sidesaddle." She pursed her lips and then said, "Those are a horrid contraption."
"Aye," Giorsal agreed with distaste. "I prefer astride too, and bareback is even better."
Annabel grinned, both surprised and pleased to find they had this in common.
"She'll do fine with riding," Giorsal assured Seonag. "We must tell Ross to get rid o' the sidesaddle. He should not fuss too much about it," she added, and grinned at Annabel as she said, "Fortunately, he had me fer a sister and I broke him in on things like that fer ye."
"Aye, that's truth," Seonag announced.
Annabel chuckled along with Giorsal at the dry comment from the maid, but then Annabel's laughter faded. "Aye, but I am sure there is much more to being chatelaine than training pages and I know not what that is."
"The rest is easy enough too," Giorsal assured her. "Ye must oversee the servants; Cook and his staff, the housemaids, spinners, weavers, embroiderers and--" She paused suddenly and glanced to Seonag with a frown. "Speaking o' which, why are we doing this? The embroiderers would have made short work of it." Clucking, she added, "And the weavers could have produced new material for a new gown for Annie rather than her having to wear Mother's old clothes."
Annabel glanced to Seonag, interested in hearing the answer herself. She hadn't realized castles had spinners, weavers and embroiderers. They'd had women at the abbey set to each task, but she had left Waverly as a child and hadn't returned for long enough as an adult to know if they were in Waverly Castle. Certainly, she hadn't seen or heard of them here at MacKay.
