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Keir smiled at her. “Ye have my deepest apologies,” he replied with a teasing bow.
His grandmother slapped his shoulder. “If only you meant it.”
Keir felt his heart sigh, reveling in that familiar sense of being home once more. “’Tis been a long journey, Grandmother. We’ve been traveling for a fortnight and are in dire need of rest.” He looked at his parents. “Shall we speak on the morrow?”
His grandmother slipped her arm through his, her gaze directed at Sarah and Katherine. “Aye, you do look in need of rest, my dears.” Then she chuckled. “Please, take no offense. You look quite fetching. I assure you.” Her voice all but drifted away upon the last word, and as Keir looked down at her, he noticed his grandmother’s gaze linger upon Sarah’s braids. Then she looked up at him, and Keir knew she understood.
Clearing her throat, his grandmother stepped toward Sarah and Katherine, taking their hands. “Rooms have been prepared for you… and your little ones,” she added with a wink at Augusta and Dorothea. “Go and rest. Mrs. Murray shall show you the way and provide you with something to eat.” She smiled at them. “Welcome.” She leaned forward, and her voice dropped to a whisper. Still, straining his ears, Keir heard her say, “Do not worry. You’ll be safe here.”
In the next moment, Mrs. Murray bustled over. She had been his family’s housekeeper for as long as Keir could remember. While she was at least as old as his own grandmother, Mrs. Murray had never once thought of slowing down. Indeed, together, the two women ruled the fortress… and the clan, and no one in their right mind had ever minded.
“Welcome home, dear boy,” Mrs. Murray exclaimed in her slightly gruff voice as she rushed past him, not bothering to stop and greet him properly, and pulled up next to his grandmother. Her eyes narrowed in a scrutinizing way as she regarded Sarah and Katherine.
Keir saw a frown come to Sarah’s face, and her eyes found his a moment later, an almost pleading expression in them.
Instantly, Keir moved closer, coming to stand on Sarah’s other side the moment Mrs. Murray opened her mouth to mumble, “Too thin,” with a disapproving shake of her head.
Keir chuckled as dear moments of his childhood resurfaced, and so he leaned down to Augusta and Dorothea the moment Mrs. Murray stepped away to exchange a few quick words with his grandmother. “If ye ever want a treat,” he told the girls, their eyes eager as they hung on every word, “that’s the woman to get it from.” He nodded toward Mrs. Murray.
“She seems a bit… fearsome,” Sarah murmured quietly to him, her blue eyes wide and her teeth occasionally worrying her lower lip.
Keir grasped her hand. “She’s like Duncan,” he murmured. “She growls but she doesna bite.”
Sarah’s hand squeezed his as she leaned closer. Keir wanted to draw her into his arms, yet Sarah quickly retreated, well-aware of their company.
A heartbeat later, Keir’s grandmother once more stepped toward them. “Go upstairs and rest, and I shall have supper brought up to you.” She smiled at the girls. “And tomorrow night, we’ll celebrate your arrival in the great hall.” As Sarah’s and Katherine’s eyes widened with apprehension, his grandmother clasped her hands together, bid them a good night and then resettled herself by the fire, waving his parents and Duncan over.
“Follow me!” Mrs. Murray barked, the sound of her voice startling a frightened gasp from everyone’s lips. “This way!”
Keir squeezed Sarah’s hand, nodding at her to follow the housekeeper. “I’ll find ye later,” he whispered the moment his grandmother called him over, wanting a word with him.
From experience, Keir knew thatwanting a wordmeantwanting every little detail. Indeed, it would be a long night after all! Still, it felt good to be home again.
Chapter Fifteen
MRS. MURRAY
Sarah felt dwarfed as she followed Mrs. Murray up the long staircase with Kate at her side and the girls trailing behind. A look over her shoulder told her that her nieces felt the same, their eyes wide, awestruck as they tried to take in everything at once.
The fortress was enormous, thick stone walls a testament to its original purpose. Yet colorful tapestries, curtains and rugs offset its harsh edges, giving it a gentler note.
As they walked, Mrs. Murray explained about every room they passed and every staircase that led elsewhere. Her gruff voice droned on, and despite her detailed explanations, Sarah knew she would be hopelessly lost if tasked to reach the great hall on her own. Augusta and Dorothea were clearly not burdened by such a notion, for their eyes glowed as though they had just stepped across a threshold into a fairytale world.
“Are there ghosts here?” Augusta asked, bored by Mrs. Murray’s explanation about regular mealtimes and proper attire.
Sarah held her breath, exchanging a concerned look with her sister, as Mrs. Murray broke off midexplanation and turned to fix Augusta with a hard stare.
The girl swallowed hard, only now realizing what she had done.
“What sorta question is that?” Mrs. Murray demanded in a huff. “Of course, there are. What self-respecting fortress doesna have a ghost?”
Completely caught off guard, Sarah and Kate watched as the girls stepped forward, eager for more details. “Have ye ever seen one?” Dorothea inquired, once again slipping into her imitation of a Scottish accent.
Mrs. Murray eyed the girl curiously for a moment before nodding her head. “Aye, I’ve seen the occasional spook.” Instantly, the girls looked about themselves. “Nah, they wouldna dare show themselves during the day and frighten my guests.” She eyed the girls sternly, lifting her right forefinger. “One needa be firm if one is to be obeyed, ye understand?”
Both girls nodded, staring at the old housekeeper.
“If a spook dare frighten ye, come and tell me at once and I’ll put an end to it,” Mrs. Murray promised, her words like a vow written in stone. “Ye hear me? I willna allow ye to be frightened.”
