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She'd wait until he'd finished and eaten his apple and then suggest they go back to work with the others, Edith decided. In the meantime, she'd just close her eyes for a minute and enjoy the sun warming her skin, and the breeze cooling it.
It was the trundle of the cart's wheels that woke her. Blinking her eyes open, Edith peered at the furs in front of her face and then lifted her head and peered about. Her eyes widened incredulously as she saw the maids and children following the overflowing cart of rushes out of the clearing. They'd finished while she slept, she realized with dismay. Good Lord, how long had she slept?
Her gaze shifted to the sky to see that the sun was high overhead. It looked to be about noon to her. Sighing, Edith sat up, her eyes returning to the departing party again, just in time to see Moibeal look back and note that she was awake. The maid smiled and gave her a wave and then continued to usher the children away.
An excited bark caught her ear then and Edith looked toward the river where Niels, Ronson and Laddie were. The dog was leaping around excitedly on the shore, looking like he wanted to chase after whatever it was Niels and Ronson were throwing into the water. It took a moment before she realized Niels was showing Ronson how to skip stones on the river's placid surface. The realization made her smile faintly. It was something she and her brothers had done as children. This was the only spot on the river where the water slowed enough to allow it.
She watched briefly, marveling again at how good he was with the boy, and then glanced down. All evidence of their picnic was gone, just the furs left for her to sleep on. Edith got up and quickly gathered and stacked them in a small pile. She then headed down toward the water's edge to join the men, smiling and giving Laddie a pet when he rushed excitedly to her side in greeting.
"Laddie!" Niels barked when the dog tried to jump on her. The deerhound obeyed the sound at once and kept his feet on the ground as Edith petted him.
"How do ye feel?" Niels asked softly as she continued forward, the dog now at her side.
"Like I slept while everyone else worked," she said with self-disgust.
"Aye, ye did," Niels agreed easily. "Which means yer ready fer the second part o' yer day."
Edith eyed him suspiciously. "Why am I quite sure ye do no' mean weaving mats?"
"Because yer an exceptionally intelligent woman," he said solemnly, and then glanced to Ronson and Laddie who had moved farther down the shoreline. "Come on, lad, 'tis time to go."
"Aye, m'lord. Come on, Laddie," Ronson said and ran toward them.
"Ye still have no' told me where we are going," Edith said when Niels took her arm and turned to walk her toward his horse.
"What would be on yer list o' things to accomplish? After weaving the mats that the women will have done in no time even without yer help," he added quickly.
Edith reached down to scratch Laddie behind the ear when he moved up to her side and nudged her leg. But her mind was on anything that might need doing at the keep. She'd need to talk to Jaimie about the menu for the next little while, although he'd apparently done well enough without her input these past weeks. She did need to find out what he needed her to buy for him on market day in the village though. But she could do that tomorrow or the next day. Market day was held in the village every week on Saturday. It was now only Monday.
Other than that, things seemed to have progressed nicely in the keep despite her illness. The servants were well trained and knew what to do. They'd also apparently been good about doing the day-to-day tasks without supervision, although she suspected Tormod had something to do with that. She didn't doubt for a minute that he had run herd on them in her absence, which she appreciated. So while she was sure there were other things to do, she wouldn't know what needed doing until she had a good look around. Really, the rushes had been the only thing that had needed urgent attention. The smell of them was unbearable.
Mind you that had made bathing Laddie a rather urgent issue . . . and Ronson . . . as well as finding the boy a clean tartan. Niels could use a bath and fresh tartan too after his night on the moldy rushes, but she could hardly order him to bathe. And then Edith would like to bathe herself. She'd wanted a bath since waking but hadn't ordered one because she refused to bathe in front of the Buchanan brothers and they had seemed to have taken root permanently in her bedchamber. At least Niels had. Rory had spent as much time in Effie's room as her own. And Geordie and Alick had left to ride to MacDonnell, but Niels still insisted she needed his protection and refused to leave her alone, even in her chamber.
"I'd like to bathe and see to it that Ronson and Laddie do as well," she admitted as she watched him quickly roll up the furs and secure them to the side of the horse in a rope sling. He then quickly mounted.
"Perfect," Niels pronounced and Edith gasped as he suddenly leaned down, caught her under the arms and lifted her onto his mount before him.
"Why is that perfect?" Edith asked as she settled sideways in his lap.
"Because we are all going to the loch for a bath," he announced, and then turned and held a hand out to Ronson. "Take me hand, lad."
Ronson hesitated, but then held his hand up and Niels swung him up and around behind his back on the horse. "There's no' a lot o' room with all three o' us on here. Wrap yer arms around me, lad, so ye do no' slide off the horse's arse."
"Ai, yi, yi," Edith breathed. She would never get Ronson to stop swearing as long as Niels kept using such words in front of the boy. His grandmother would surely blame her for this.
"That's right, lad. Hold on tight," Niels instructed, reaching around Edith to grab the reins.
"Mayhap ye should put him in me lap," Edith suggested, shifting to try to look around him at the boy.
"He'll be fine," Niels said soothingly. "'Tis no' far."
Edith nodded, but she also slid her hands around his waist to clasp Ronson's arms and make sure he stayed in place. For some reason that made Niels chuckle. At least that's what she thought he was doing. She felt his stomach move and his breath brush the top of her head, though there was no sound behind the laugh.
"What is so funny?" she asked, lifting her head to peer up at him.
"Nothing." Niels smiled faintly and shrugged. "I was just thinking ye will make a fine mother."
Edith smiled sadly. "I'd like to think ye're right, but I fear I'll ne'er get the chance to find out."
When Niels frowned at her words, Edith lowered her head and rested it against his chest.
"Ronson, make sure Laddie follows us," Niels instructed, urging his horse to move forward.
As Ronson called out to the dog, Edith closed her eyes and tried to clear her mind of the worrisome issue of her future. There was enough on her plate at the moment without thinking about that. They still had to figure out who had killed her father and brothers and tried to kill her. She suspected if Brodie found out they'd been poisoned, he'd find some excuse or other to not return to the keep until the culprit was found. Which meant she had to stay and run the castle in his absence.
Edith couldn't in good conscience leave Tormod to run things alone. He was a fine first, and knew what he was about, but he was getting on in years, and she knew it had been a burden on him to run both the soldiers and the household servants while she was ill. Unfortunately, Brodie was just selfish enough to spend all of his time at court, sending home only for coin if the culprit was never found. He'd drain Drummond of all of its wealth, and leave his people miserable and starving without a second thought. Which left her in a bit of a precarious position. She needed to resolve the matter of who was behind the poisoning so that it was safe enough that Brodie wouldn't have an excuse not to return. But she also needed to be gone before he returned if she wanted to avoid being sent to the Abbey to live out the rest of her days.
Today, in truth, had been a bit of an indulgence. Changing the rush mats in the castle had been a way to briefly escape the keep and delay dealing with the real problem. Edith had felt she deserved the time out after being ill for so long. But
tonight she would have to sit down with Rory, Niels and Tormod and try to come up with a plan to sort out the matter. She'd also pack a bag with what she would need for her visit with Saidh, so that she could leave at a moment's notice should the matter be resolved quickly.
That was the other reason she'd put off tackling the matter right away. She'd sent a letter with Geordie and Alick for Saidh, outlining her problem and her hopes of visiting with Saidh and the other two women who made up her friends to try to find a way to avoid life as a nun. She wouldn't just show up on the woman's door, begging admittance.
