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Bright red had always been the color that suited Janice best, and now, as she lay in her bath, she gazed at the lovely creation that had been laid out on the bed for her. She felt excited to be wearing it but had often felt a little uneasy, even conscience-stricken, wearing expensive fabrics like satin when ordinary people had to wear patched linen clothing. Consequently, she kept her wardrobe of evening gowns very small and was happy to wear the same ones over and over again.
Her maid, Anne, followed her eyes as she looked at the new dress. “Mistress,” she said briskly, “I hope ye are no’ feelin’ bad because yer da bought ye a new dress? Most lassies would be jumpin’ for joy.”
“But Anne, so many young ladies have—”
“Nothin’, mistress,” Anne said, shaking her head. “How many times have I heard ye say that? Ye deserve a new dress, an’ if I might be sae bold, I dinnae want tae hear any more about it. Yer da paid the seamstress vera well for it, an’ she is a widowed woman wi’ five children who needed the coin. I hope that makes ye feel better.”
Janice stood up and let her maid dry her and help her into her chemise and the bright new dress, then pin up her hair in the style she always used for the most formal of ceilidhs. When she had finished, Anne stood back to survey her handiwork.
“Mistress, I have never seen ye look sae lovely!” she breathed, clasping her hands together and laughing. “Ye must be in love. Are ye?”
Janice felt herself blushing furiously. “Of course not, Kitty! There is not one single young man at the dinner tonight with whom I would like to spend five minutes!”
Kitty, who had known Janice since she was a child, had always been at liberty to speak freely. “An’ what about the ones who arenae at the dinner, mistress?” she asked with a sly wink. “Like the big handsome lad ye went out wi’ this mornin’? Dinnae think naybody noticed because we a’ did.”
“I was just helping him out,” Janice mumbled. “Now, where are my pearls, Kitty?”
As her maid, with an old-fashioned look, went to fetch her jewelry, Janice took a look at herself in the long mirror in front of her. Kitty had been right. There was a glow about her tonight, something she had never seen in her reflection before. It was fanciful, of course. It was obviously because of the color of the dress; she had not dressed up for Bernard since he would not be at the feast. Maybe she would pass him on her way to the great hall or find him on the turrets, or—what was she thinking?
She shook her head to clear it before Kitty came back with her pearls and matching earrings, then daubed some perfumed oil on her wrists and behind her earlobes before she pronounced her mistress ready.
Janice gave Kitty a tense smile before she left, hoping, as she made her way down the corridor, that she would bump into Bernard. However, there was no sign of him, and she had resigned herself to her fate and turned in the direction of the great hall when she was summoned by her father to his private parlor.
Breathing a sigh of relief, she entered the cozy room where the laird was sitting by the fire, for once not poring over a ledger. He looked up as she entered and gave her his kind smile, the one he kept especially for her. He looked weak and very tired, his eyes becoming more shadowed and wrinkled every day.
“You sent for me, Da?” she asked as she kissed his cheek.
“Yes,” he answered. “I have decided to offer you the position of estate manager officially, so you will have some sort of credit for all the hard work that is about to land on your shoulders.”
“Thank you, Da.” She threw her arms around his neck and gave him a hug, careful not to make it too tight so that another fit of coughing would start. “I will not disappoint you, and you never know… Perhaps whoever becomes laird will take an interest and surprise us all.”
The laird gave her anI’ll believe it when I see itlook.
“I want you to promise me that if the work ever becomes too much, you will take on an assistant.”
“I promise.” She stood up. “Are you coming to dinner, Da?”
The laird nodded wearily and stood up. Janice felt infinitely sorry for him and hoped that her brothers appreciated the effort he was making. She took her father’s hand and led him into the great hall, where a loud cheer welcomed them inside.
This time, as they went toward the head table, no one stopped Janice from taking her place at it. She was surprised when her brother Andrew pulled a seat out for her so that she could sit, and she thought hopefully that they might behave with a little more decorum that night. However, it was not to be. They behaved like children, spraying each other with wine, pretending to be drunk and falling asleep on the table, all the while making the most risqué jokes and roaring with exaggerated laughter.
Janice felt like crawling under the table with mortification and knew that it must be even worse for her father. Fortunately, just as she was about to lose control and scream at them, the musicians began to play a country dance and the melody drowned out the noise of the twins’ antics.
“Would you like to dance, Da?” she asked, raising her voice over the music.
She stood up, glaring at her brothers as she followed her father onto the dance floor. Fortunately, the dance was a slow one, and they were able to move at a sedate pace through it, changing partners every few steps. But even so, at the end of it, Laird Stewart was breathless.
As they moved back to the table, Janice was glad to see that the twins had moved away to sit beside some young ladies who would hopefully tolerate their infantile behavior. She looked worriedly at her father.
“Have you not done enough for this evening, Da?” she asked. “Surely you can find an excuse to slip away? I can take your place for a little while.”
The laird shook his head firmly. “I have an announcement to make, and I must do it tonight, Janice. This whole circus will soon end, and I will be very glad. I do not know why I never thought of it in the first place.”
“Your voice is too weak, Da,” she said firmly. “I can make the announcement for you.”
The laird thought for a moment, then nodded. “You are right, Daughter,” he conceded, then he proceeded to tell her what to say.
