He was making excuses, but they were valid excuses.
Robb pursed his lips and led his horse back to the path toward the bordering MacDougal lands.William followed with Lugh and a final glance over his shoulder.
“I’ve heard the Eire woman is a bit peculiar.I would no’ permit my wife to do such a thing without me.”
William barked out a laugh.Och, ye have no idea what peculiar is.“Then ye have much to learn of women, Robb.Ye may believe ye are the final rule in your house once wed, but ye are mistaken.”
“What do ye mean by that?”
William grinned as they made their way to the first set of MacDougal crofts.
“Do ye believe women to be quiet and submissive, doing all their husbands command?”
“Aye.As it should be.”
William had to bite back another barking laugh.“Have ye no’ seen Muire, Sine, or better, Caitir,ever?Who does Cormag listen to above all?Who is the only person to have ever held dominion over my own father?”
Robb shifted uneasily in his saddle.“Weel, ‘tis different ...”
William socked his arm.“Nay.‘Tis no’ different.Ye will see.She lets ye believe ye have command, but at the end of the day, if she is a wise and solid woman, she will show ye the way.A fortunate husband knows there is no greater gift than a willing wife.And a smart husband knows that listening to his wife will get him that gift.”
“Och,” Robb snorted.“Ye are wed all of five days and think ye are the expert of wives?”
“She’s had me in the palm of her hand since the day I met her, and because of her words, we were able to take down a king.Do ye think I dinna know of what I speak?”
William nudged his horse faster, leaving Robb sputtering.From behind him, he heard Robb curse.“Yebaistardknow-it-all.”
The sound of the horse hooves increased behind him, and William urged his horse on, racing to stay ahead of Robb.If they were fast enough, they’d finish with the assigned rent collection in less than two hours and be back for Ailith before the sun crested the sky.
Teagan had brightened as Ailith stepped into her house, and Ailith had the sense that, no matter what Teagan said about preferring to live in solitude, she seemed a bit lonely.Ailith was pleased to bridge that loneliness and spend time with her.And she learned some valuable information about how to use herbs.
The pair left the croft shortly after Ailith arrived to take advantage of the sunnier skies to plant the mushrooms.Teagan had been curious about the spore-spread disease of the twenty-first century and how these pinkish small mushies could combat such a devastating disease.With her inquisitive gaze, she studied the one she held between her thumb and forefinger.
“I’m no’ certain.The scientists did no’ go into too much detail,” Ailith admitted to her.“But it could have something to do with the choking nature of this fungus.It takes over other fungi and kills them.”
Teagan nodded.“That makes sense.I wish we had something like this to combat our flu.Was it as bad as it seemed when I left?”
Ailith was not as familiar with modern American history, but she knew that the flu got worse at the end of the war.It had for the whole world.
“Aye, it was,” Ailith answered.“Until the end of the war in 1918.”
Teagan’s face turned grim as she squinted at the mushroom she carried.“Then let us propagate as many of your mushies as we can.I’d not see your time ravaged like mine was.”
Teagan had brought two small hand spades for digging, and once they reached the pile of stones that William had mentioned, Ailith showed her the best place to plant them – near the grass and moss on the shady northeast side of the rocks.
Then Ailith showed her how to use the spores and brush them over raw earth, how to plant the cap, how to check if tiny roots were sprouting at the base, and, if so, to plant that separately.
With severe concentration, Teagan listened to Ailith’s instructions and went to work, planting the different parts.Between the two of them, they worked quickly, and before long had all the mushrooms Ailith had brought repurposed, and hopefully, growing north of Dunnottar.
As she dug into the earth, she had to push tall, purplish-pink bell-shaped flowers to the side.They were pretty, and in a moment of self-indulgence, she uprooted a bunch of them.They would brighten the room, and she could plant them around the keep.
Teagan clicked her tongue.“What are ye doing with the flowers?”she asked in a terse tone.
Ailith glanced at the flowers, then back to Teagan.“They are quite pretty.I thought of planting them around Drumoak.At home, they attract hummingbirds –”
“And death,” Teagan interrupted with a snort.“Dinna do more than plant those far from food or children.‘Tis digitalis.”
“Och, foxglove?”Ailith asked.
