AllFreeNovel
Share Us
‘And who might you be?’ he said, in a rough but kind voice.
‘My name is….’
‘This is Kenna,’ said Conall rushing up. ‘She is my saviour from my misfortunes Murray and our honoured guest, and she needs to eat,’ he said, grabbing her hand and dragging her towards the high table before they could ask any more questions.
All the way down the hall, the stares of Conall’s clansmen dug into her, and Kenna wanted to run from the people and the fire and the tables laden with food, back to the shadows, where she need not be ashamed.
Conall drew a chair out for her.
‘I can eat in the kitchen,’ she said.
‘No, Kenna, your place is here, beside me.’
‘I need to wash. I’m filthy, Conall.’
‘And I say you need to eat. So sit,’ he commanded.
The meal seemed to last a lifetime. Conall was obviously jubilant at being back home, and he was attentive and kind to her, as were Murray and Ilene. They made every effort to make her feel welcome, though it was obvious they were bemused by her presence.
Conall did not seem to want to recount his ordeal in any detail. He merely brushed aside the questions of his brother-in-law Murray and his sister Ilene. ‘Later, I will tell you all, but now I just want to enjoy being home.’
‘Where you belong,’ said Murray, clapping a firm hand on his back.
‘Where I don’t belong, where I’ll never belong,’ thought Kenna, viewing with dismay the grandeur of the hall and the people around her. This place was a world away from Sgathach Dun, a place of beauty, power and wealth, an overwhelming place.
The hall she sat in was huge, three or four times the size of her father’s and hung with colourful and costly tapestries. The rushes on the floor were fresh and fragrant, and there were so many people in it, their collective bodies and the huge fires turning the room warm and cosy despite its size. The food laid out was far more than she was used to, and the yeasty smell of fresh bannocks filled her nostrils, yet she had no appetite. In fact, she felt sick, her limbs like lead, heart thumping in her chest. She wanted to flee as fast as her tired legs could carry her.
Thankfully the hall, initially quiet on their arrival, burst into noisy conversation as soon as they sat down. She was undoubtedly the object of some of it and probably viewed with suspicion and derision. One young man, in particular, could not take his eyes off her. How dare he stare so! Just because she was dirty and bedraggled gave him no right to look down his nose at her. Kenna met his grey-eyed stare with her own, expecting him to turn away, ashamed, but to her surprise, he smiled right back at her in a kindly way and with a sort of understanding on his face. Kenna looked away and kept her gaze down on the table from then on.
She was surprised by the laughter and ease of the occupants of Dunslair. They did not sit in tense silence as did her clansmen at Sgathach Dun, waiting for her father’s angry bark to fall on them. They were not timid and careful. On the contrary, the room was filled with loud banter and smiling faces. Suddenly she could see where Conall got his self-assurance. With Clan Campbell behind him, how could he not feel the world was his to command? How foolish of her to feel such dismay at the grandeur of Conall’s home. She should be happy, for she was safe, free of her old life and the misery of it, the uncertainty, the cruelty. So why did she feel as though Dunslair could never be her home?
Conall and Murray were talking, heads close together, and Kenna caught the name Moncur. Shame made her ears burn. Every now and then, Conall would turn and force food upon her and refill her ale cup. Though he was kind, he felt further away somehow.
His sister Ilene spoke softly and kindly to her, but her words passed in a blur.
‘We shall find you some clothes, and you can have a wash,’ she said.
‘You are with child?’ asked Kenna.
She cradled her stomach proudly. ‘Probably another son, for that man over there cannot provide daughters, it would seem, but I will love this son as I love my others, though they are as exhausting as him.’
‘How old are your children?’
‘One is just weaned and the other three now.’
‘So close together.’
‘Aye.’ She laughed. ‘I should tell Murray to stay away from me to give me some respite - that is, if he would listen to my telling him and if I could bear to be without him. But I cannot, so on I go and perhaps, one day, if I’m lucky, we will tire each other out.’
Murray leaned back in his chair. ‘What are you speaking of?’
‘Your charms, my love,’ she replied.
He frowned, and Ilene giggled like a girl. ‘Now we have injured his vanity, Kenna. He will fear we are finding fault.’
Ilene’s easy manner made Kenna feel a little more relaxed, so she turned back to Murray.
‘How did you get that scar?’
