Page 19

Chapter 5

19 December

Ailie woke with a start, her dream rapidly fading, the images slipping away like rabbits into the brush. She raised her head from the pillow, listening to the sound of boots retreating in the corridor. Her brother and the men must be departing for their hunting jaunt.

She dropped her head to her pillow and tried to call back the dream.

The face belonged to the same man as before, one of the Powell twins, but this time he wore a grin. She couldn’t tell if it was from pleasure, triumph or something else. And she had no idea whether the man was Robbie or Nash.

She was beginning to detect small differences in their natures, not apparent when she’d first met them. She had to observe them for a while to be certain she had it right. It seemed to her that Robbie’s smile sometimes took on the appearance of a smirk. Nash, on the other hand, smiled less, but when he did, his eyes twinkled with mirth.

The bits and pieces of her dream that she could remember included the inside of a dim, hazy tavern, then the sound of men fighting, chairs being knocked over and voices expelling curses.

What could it mean? On the rare occasion she had been inside a tavern, she’d been looking for Will and she remembered none of that.

She shivered as a feeling of disquiet came over her. Sliding out of bed, she lit a candle and padded to her small desk, her fingers brushing across the pages of her diary sitting open. She’d written the last entry just before she’d blown out the candle the night before.

18 December

The English have arrived in Arbroath and still, we remain, giving me reason to believe we will survive the onslaught. After all, ’tis only the holidays we share with them. At dinner, they turned up their noses at the kale, just like Emily did at first. What is wrong with the English palate? They did enjoy the venison and, like Will, the men savored the French brandy. In that, they remind me of Grandfather Ramsay and his ale. Speaking of which, I do believe he is in for a Hogmanay such as he has never known. Our guests are a lively bunch of Sassenachs, the women no less than the men. Mary and Tara seem rather independent, which endeared them to me. The countess is the picture of English nobility, but with a dry sense of humor. Father would approve.

She went to the fireplace and added a log to the crackling fire, watching the flames and listening to the muted sounds. The thought of having a full house appealed to her, even if it meant many more servants and maids scurrying about the place. The young maids’ giggles, she presumed, were for the handsome Powell men and Ormond.

Dawn brought light to her chamber that faced the shipyard. She glanced out her window and then set about brushing her teeth. She had just finished when Rhona came to help her dress.

“A linen dress for the morning would be best as I’ll be making my usual jaunt in the orangery. I will return to change into a woolen gown for the rest of the day. If the weather allows, today we’ll search for the Yule log.”

Rhona took the green linen dress from the clothes press. “Will ye be going to the shipyard?”

“Oh, you remind me. One of the Powell twins asked me to give him a tour this morning.”

Rhona slipped the gown over Ailie’s shift and corset. “Which one?”

“I think he is Nash. Does it matter? I can hardly tell them apart.”

“A handsome pair, to be sure. And unwed, Mistress.”

“As Will would have me be aware. Is the countess up yet?”

Rhona buttoned the back of Ailie’s dress. “I checked before I came here. The fire in her chamber is now burning well, so I expect her to be up soon. I will go there after I leave ye. From my tending to her needs last night, I can see she is a woman who knows what she wants. She likes efficient service and is truly grateful when she gets it.”

“She will be pleased with you, Rhona. Perfection is difficult to duplicate, even in London.”

Rhona picked up the brush but Ailie thought to let her maid attend Muriel. “You go on. The countess will be up by now. Tell her if I finish my morning walk early, I will look for her at breakfast.”

Nash loved nothing so much as waking to the smell of freshly baked bread and coffee. Sniffing the air as he laid in bed, he detected spices and cinnamon threaded among the enticing smells. Fruit scones, perhaps?

His nose, peeking above the cover, was cold, a sure sign the fire had died during the night. One of those silly maids he frightened last night in his state of undress was probably too timid to set foot in their chamber to stir the fire to life.

Only the delicious smells stirred him to rise from his nest in the warm bed. Throwing off the cover, he braced himself against the chilled air and cast a glance at his still sleeping brother in the next bed. Apparently, Robbie had concluded a trip into town to visit the local taverns did not require an early rise. Too, Robbie was never one to be ambitious for the morning. He preferred nightly pursuits. In that, they were truly different, and it had served them well when it came to their work for the Crown.

Glimpsing the pale shafts of sunlight filtering through the curtains, it occurred to him the men going to hunt the geese must have left some time ago. He did not regret his choice to stay behind. Besides, his older brothers would surely elaborate on their morning excursion when they returned.

For his first morning in Arbroath, he had something entirely different in mind. He intended to sample the wonderful breakfast he suspected was, even now, being set out on the sideboard. Then he planned to visit Emily’s orangery to glimpse her achievement with pineapples in the early sun, as she had suggested.

But after that, he would have a tour of the shipyard by the beautiful Ailie Stephen. He had never been so captivated by a woman and learning they had in common a fondness for designing ships only made her more intriguing. Her tenacity reminded him a bit of Nick’s wife Tara, who, as a young girl, had insisted on going to sea with her brothers.

Nash rubbed the stubble on his face and decided he could avoid shaving until evening. Robbie disdained shaving as well so their appearance would not be different. Besides, it suited Robbie’s destination this morning for him to show a bit of beard.