Page 29 of Defy the Highlander

Tynan set the bucket down and the water sloshed out of it. “Cook is in the yard,” he said, rushing over to the hearth. “But there’s broth. I saw her boil the bones.”

Lilia went over to the hearth, getting her face steamed as she peered into the bubbling pot. “M’lady will want some of that,” she said. “Is there bread?”

Tynan wasn’t really a kitchen servant, but he spent enough time there that he knew a great deal about it. He began rushing around, finding bread and a half-wheel of tart, white cheese.

“Here,” he said, ripping off chunks and handing them to Lilia. “I think there’s pie left from last night. The pie with the apples and onions in it.”

Lilia nodded. “If you can find it, I’ll give it tae m’lady.”

Tynan banged around, looking in the larder that was off to the side of the kitchen. As Lilia found a tray for the food she was collecting, she called over to him.

“Did ye find the pie?”

“Nay!” he called in return. “But I found stewed sausages!”

“Bring them.”

He did, trotting over to her with his hands gripping a covered wooden bowl. He carefully gave it over to Lilia. As she peeled back the cloth to take a look at the contents, he watched her closely.

“Can I ask ye a question?” he said.

“Of course ye can.”

“Where’s Brody?”

She paused. “What made ye think of him just now?”

The child cocked his head curiously. “He’s not in the stables anymore. Angus said he had tae go.”

She smiled. “Ye like him, don’t ye?”

The boy shrugged his skinny shoulders. “He’s nice tae me,” he said. “He lets me watch him shave.”

Lilia chuckled. “Aye, he’s nice,” she said. “But Angus was correct – he had tae go.”

“But why?”

Lilia wasn’t sure she could really explain it because the child didn’t need to know the details with Colly and the hay shelter. She knew that Tynan had visited Brody during his stay at Hawkhill and, given that the boy didn’t remember his own father, perhaps there was some father-figure adoration for Brody in that sense. Someone for a lonely little boy to look up to because, God only knew, there weren’t any men of Brody’s quality at Hawkhill.

She put her hand on his head affectionately.

“He had tae go because he’s a busy man,” she said simply. “He could only stay with us a short while. But he may come back someday. Now, what else can ye find for m’lady? Are there any sweets?”

She diverted the child’s attention and he scurried off again, hunting for more food. He found little red apples and a rice porridge with apples, raisins, and honey that Cook had made for supper.

The porridge was sweet and Lilia began spooning it into a wooden bowl as Tynan found more wine for Lady Currie’s meal. Whatever alcohol that was in her chamber was usually exhausted by this time of day. As she arranged the tray and he went to hunt for a clean bowl for the broth, a figure entered the kitchen. Glancing up, Lilia could see that it was Colly.

She braced herself.

“I found broth for m’lady,” she said before the old woman could utter a word. “There is also a rice and raisin porridge that is sweet. She asked for sweets.”

Colly, surprisingly, didn’t answer. She made her way over to the table where Lilia was collecting the food, a move that made Lilia uncomfortable because the hearth was right behind her. She wouldn’t put it past the woman to try and shove her into the fire. As Colly moved in to inspect the tray, Lilia moved away.

She didn’t want to be in striking distance.

Behind Colly, Lilia caught sight of Tynan as the boy appeared with a bowl. When Tynan’s eyes widened at the sight of Colly, Lilia faintly shook her head at him and he sank back into the shadows.

She didn’t want the child to become a target of the old woman’s vitriol.