Casting a quick glance at the red-haired women,though, Tess couldn’t help but speculate if her own mother wasanything like Lady Fiona. She wondered, too, if the same kind ofhappiness would have filled Ravenie Castle if her father were stillalive and Tess had never been taken away.
She had no answers.
Moments later, her hostess led Tess up awinding stairwell. The young woman held her breath as she enteredthe Roundtower Room that she was to inhabit during her stay atBenmore Castle.
“’Tis absolutely exquisite.”
“I remember thinking the same thing,” Fionawhispered, standing beside Tess in the doorway.
The room was large and airy, with leadedglass windows that kept out the cold, but still provided a sweepingview of the hills outside. The base of each window was corbelledwith a bow-shaped oak sill wide enough to sit on. A fireplace hadbeen prepared for an evening fire, and a large canopy bed withrichly embroidered curtains sat against an inner wall. The floorswere made of oak as well, and an ornate handmade rug covered onlypart of the burnished wood.
“I have kept everything the same.” Fionatook hold of Tess’s hand and drew her to the middle of the room.“’Tis delightful how much you and I have in common.”
“Do we?” she replied, surprised.
Lady Fiona nodded, helping Tess out of thecloak and drawing her down beside her onto the bench near a smalltable.
“When I was a child, I was torn from my family, aswell. Drummond Castle, where my mother and I lived, came under theattack the same night I was to meet my father for the first time. Ileft there, that night, knowing that I might never see…my parentsagain.” Her voice wavered slightly, but Fiona’s fingers was warmand steady as she held Tess’s cold hand. “And like you I was raisedsimply, without the comforts and finery that life in a good familyoffers.”
“But you were a king’s daughter. I…”
“To those wonderful nuns who raised me, I was acastoff, no different than you were to the couple who raised you.”She patted Tess’s hand affectionately. “But I don’t want to talkabout myself right now. The only reason I brought up my own youthwas for you to know that I understand what you are going throughright now. I was the same way. And trust me when I tell you that itwill pass.”
Tess stared at their joined hands. “I…Iamsonervous. There is so much that I don’t remember or know. So muchthat I am lacking in my education, and manners, and in whatever‘tis that makes a young woman behave properly. I was delighted tohear that my mother is alive. But now I am terrified to think Ishould be a disappointment to her.” Tess knew she was babbling, butshe couldn’t stop herself. “And we sent a message to her as soon aswe came ashore. For all I know, she could arrive here any day, andI just know she will see right through me.”
“Believe me when I say that I understand yourconcerns about seeing Lady Evelyn. But you should know right nowthat she will not be displeased with you as much as she is withus.” Fiona touched Tess gently on the knee before she could voicean objection. “One thing no one has told you yet is that yourmother has a deeply held prejudice against the people of theHighlands.”
“But she married my father,” Tess blurted out.
“Aye, an arranged marriage. But before that she wasEvelyn Fleming, and she was brought up amongst her kin in theBorders area to the south of the Lowlands, almost to England,itself. They say her heart never left there. Many believe, for allthe years that she lived at Ravenie Castle, she never reallyaccepted her life with your father. To her, all Highlanders werebarbarians, and she hated her time there.”
Feelings of disappointment cut deep into Tess atthis news. From Colin’s chivalrous manners on Isle of May to thewarm reception she had received from the rest of the Macphersons,these were warm and compassionate people. But even as thesethoughts formed in her mind, another disturbing notion struck her.She was a Lindsay and a Highlander, too. Did that mean that LadyEvelyn hated her, too?
“I’ve never met your mother, but your father was agood friend to my husband. The few times that I had the pleasure ofmeeting with Sir Stephen, I was quite taken with his pride in you.”Lady Fiona squeezed Tess’s hand gently. “And this is what youshould remember, Tess. You look like him. You have his spirit. Youshould be proud of the strong person you are and your ability tosurvive as you have. ‘Endure with strength’ is your family motto,and you have lived up to those words. ‘Tis quite obvious to me—ifonly from my three sons’ response to you—that you are a pearl ofgreat worth, Tess. Don’t allow anyone to tell you otherwise.”
CHAPTER 10
“Have I ever asked you two for anything before?”
Alexander and James glanced at each other firstbefore turning suspicious faces toward their youngest brother. Thecrowd of men around them laughed.
“Aye, you have,” the eldest answered. He was sittingon Colin’s legs. “You’re forever asking.”
“Every time you start losing, you beg like a bloodyfriar,” James added. He was keeping Colin’s arms and hands pinnedto the dirt floor of the stable with great difficulty.
The two had carried him off to the stables as soonas their mother and their guest had disappeared into the GreatHall. A homecoming tradition since the boys’ childhood, theirwrestling matches had always been cheered on by the castle’sinhabitants. They’d been the source of more than a few wagers overthe years, as well.
With the older brothers firmly in control, the menstarted dispersing.
“Have I ever asked you two for a favor before?”Colin repeated.
The two Highlanders again glanced at each otherbefore nodding in unison.
“’Twill not work, fox.” James shook his head at theyoungest brother. “After all the trouble you caused me when theMacgregor lassie was here at Michaelmas.”
“And remember the story you told that bonny Frenchcreature I had my eye on at Falkland Palace last summer?” Alexandergrowled. “Something about my wife and two sickly bairns being dueto arrive at the castle at any moment, if I recall.”
“If you think we will show you any mercy…”
