She had never seen anything like it. They had a bath at Whitmore Manor, but it was cramped and lackluster. There was no majesty, no stunned silence at the sight of it. Like much else that was in the manor, it served a purpose and nothing more.
Shona helped her undress and step into the warm water.
Despite the heat, Beatrice couldn’t help but shiver. A tingle spread through her limbs, tucked into a place inside her that she couldn’t access. It was as if a surge of power had bolted through her. That same pressure she had felt flowing out of Leo when he had stood close to her in the hallway shook her limbs and made all the tiny, fine hairs on her body stand on end.
Shona poured a pitcher of water over her head and raked gentle fingers through her hair. “We’ll have ye looking bonnier than ever.” She spread the soft waves and coils of auburn bronze over the surface of the water. “It willnae take much to make ye look lovely, I can tell ye that.”
“Aye, but she’s young,” said an older maid while stoking the fire. “Remember how bonnie we all were when we were her age.”
“Daenae kid yerself, ye old hag,” Shona laughed. “I daenae remember ye ever lookin’ as lovely as Beatrice here.”
The maids went about their duties, and Shona helped Beatrice out of the cooling water after she was done washing and plaiting her hair. They walked back to her bedchamber side by side, rather than one or the other leading.
“I’ll find ye something soft and beautiful to wear,” Shona said as she opened the door.
There was an odd scurrying noise, and the drapes wavered as if a strong wind had just blown through the room, but everything else was still. Beatrice paused, looking around to check for anything unusual.
Shona didn’t seem to notice. She was clucking on about the perfect dress and how lovely Beatrice was going to look at dinner.
Under the drapes, Beatrice spotted a pair of boots in the same position as the ones she had seen beneath the tapestry in the Great Hall. She crept closer, not wanting to let the hidden know that they were spotted until she was ready to strike. The floorboards creaked under her feet, and she watched the small boots shift as if ready to dart out.
“And who’s hidin’ in me chambers?” she growled playfully as she dove forward and grabbed Effie, holding her inside the drapes. “And why are they hidin’?”
Effie shrieked and wriggled, happily caught. When she managed to squirm free of Beatrice's grasp, she jumped out from behindthe drapes, her hands clasped over her mouth and her mop of hair bouncing like a golden red sunburst around her head.
Quieting, the little girl studied her.
“Ye’ll be havin’ dinner with us tonight,” she said after a long silence.
Obviously, she hadn’t been quiet just to mull over that, but Beatrice accepted it. It was natural that the child was curious about a new stepmother and Beatrice was only glad that Effie felt safe and comfortable enough around her to seek her out.
“Aye. What do ye think we’re havin’ tonight?” Beatrice asked, bringing her knees to her chest and folding her arms around them.
Effie pursed her lips again, her face contorting in deep thought. “I hope it’s something special,” she said. “If we have a guest, it’s only polite that we have more than just boiled cabbage and potatoes.”
“Ye daenae like cabbage and potatoes?”
“Nay. They stink like death.” Effie stuck the tip of her little tongue out of her mouth and pressed two fingers to her nose. “Father tells me those smelly things are good for me.”
“Me father used to say the same thing to me about broad beans,” Beatrice commiserated.
“But ye had to eat them?”
“Sometimes.” She leaned forward and cupped a hand next to her face, as if whispering a very important secret. “Other times, I’d just throw the damn things on the floor.”
Effie clapped a hand over her mouth in an attempt to stifle a hearty peal of laughter.
“Let’s get ye ready for dinner, lassie,” Shona said, interrupting their coarse clucks of laughter. “On yer feet. I’ll cinch ye up.”
“I want to walk with ye to the Great Hall,” Effie told Beatrice as Shona tied up the back of her dress.
Smiling, Beatrice took the little girl’s hand and they walked together.
CHAPTER TEN
Leo had been waiting longer for Beatrice to arrive than he had expected. Was she still primping and preening herself or had she got lost on the way? Surely, Shona and Tyler would not have left her wandering so long.
The door to the Great Hall was half open, and his ears pricked up at the sound of small footsteps before he saw Effie approach the table.
