“He’ll be fine,” Keeley said quickly. “He was resting comfortably when I left his chamber, and Gannon was bringing him up something to eat. I’ll check in on him once we’ve finished touring the keep.”
Mairin nodded and then rose clumsily from her seat. “Come then. I’ll introduce you around to the women.”
Chapter 12
Throughout the tour of the keep and the cottages that dotted the hillside just outside the stone skirt, Mairin kept up a steady conversation. Keeley’s head spun through most of it, but she tried to hone in when people’s names were mentioned.
Mairin didn’t give Keeley’s surname, and many of the McCabes viewed her with suspicion, though some were warm and welcoming.
Christina, a young girl perhaps a year or two younger than Keeley, was vivacious with sparkling eyes and a ready smile. It was nice to feel an immediate kinship with the other woman.
Keeley smothered a smile at the obvious flirtation between Christina and Cormac. Neither could keep their eyes from the other but both fiercely pretended disinterest.
They circled to the back of the keep where a group of children were valiantly trying to scrape up the smattering of snow on the ground. The flakes had stopped falling for now, though a look at the sky told Keeley they would begin falling again at any moment.
One of the boys looked up and when he saw Mairin, he left the crowd of children and ran straight toward Mairin and Keeley.
“Mama!”
The child threw his arms around Mairin while Mairin hugged him close. Keeley watched with interest. Mairin looked far too young to have birthed a child of this age.
Mairin scrubbed the top of the boy’s head and then turned to Keeley, an indulgent smile on her face. “Crispen, I’d like you to meet Keeley. She’ll be staying with us for a while and lending us her healing skills.”
Keeley extended her hand in a solemn gesture. “ ’Tis wonderful to meet you, Crispen.”
He cocked his head and looked up at Keeley. Keeley was surprised to see anxiety flashing in the boy’s eyes.
“Are you here to attend my mama when her time comes?”
Keeley’s heart softened at the worry she heard for Mairin. What a sweet boy. She wanted to gather him in her arms and hug him tight. Mairin looked close to doing the same.
“Aye, Crispen. I’ve delivered many a babe. I’ll be attending your mother when ’tis her time to deliver.”
Relief washed through the child’s eyes and he grinned broadly. “ ’Tis good, that. Papa and I want her to have the best. She’s carrying my brother or sister!”
Keeley smiled. “Indeed she is. Do you have a preference as to boy or girl?”
Crispen wrinkled his nose and then glanced back at the group of children who were shouting for him to return. “I wouldn’t mind a sister as long as she wasn’t like Gretchen. But a brother would be nicer to play with.”
Mairin chuckled. “I think we’ve established that Gretchen is one of a kind, dearling. Run back and go play. I must finish showing Keeley around the keep.”
Crispen gave her another quick hug and then bounded back to the noisy pack in the distance.
Keeley shot Mairin an inquisitive look, not knowing where to start with the questions. Mairin shook her head. “Gretchen is a strong-minded young lady who will no doubt rule the world one day. She is the bane of Crispen and the other boys’ existence. When she’s not besting them in mock war play, she insists that she will one day become a warrior.”
Keeley grinned, easily searching out the girl named Gretchen in the group. She was sitting astride one of the boys, holding his arms to the ground while he shouted his protests.
“Crispen is Ewan’s son from his first marriage,” Mairin explained. “His wife passed when Crispen was but a babe.”
“ ’Tis obvious he holds you in high regard.”
Mairin’s face softened. “I am heavy with a child of my own, but Crispen will always be my first. The child of my heart though he didn’t come from my womb. He is the reason I came to Ewan. He brought me here.”
Impulsively Keeley reached over and squeezed Mairin’s hand. “You are a very fortunate woman. ’Tis obvious the laird loves you dearly.”
“You must stop. You’ll have me all weepy.” Mairin sniffed. “I cry over the least little thing these days. It drives Ewan daft. All his men avoid me for fear of doing or saying something to make me cry.”
Keeley chuckled. “You aren’t the only lass who suffers so. Many of the women I’ve attended find themselves overly emotional. Particularly as their time draws near.”
They continued to walk along the hillside farther from the children and as they circled around the keep, Cormac at their heels, the courtyard came into view. At first Keeley paid little attention to the goings on. Men spent their time fighting. ’Twas the life of a warrior. A man had to be prepared to defend his home at all times.
But then a particular warrior caught her eyes. He wasn’t practicing. He didn’t even hold a sword. He stood to the side with the laird watching as the other men sparred.
“That bloody fool,” Keeley muttered.
“What?” Mairin asked in a startled voice.
Ignoring both Mairin and Cormac, Keeley charged down the hill toward the courtyard, fury bubbling with each stomp.
“Ignorant, stubborn, impossible fool!”
She hadn’t realized that the men had paused the moment she came into the courtyard or that her words flew like arrows. Ewan tilted his head heavenward as if praying for patience while Alaric grinned and put his arms out to ward off her impending attack.
“You were saying?” Alaric asked when she came to a stop in front of him.
“What do you think you’re doing?” she demanded. “I told you to stay abed. In your chamber. To rest! You shouldn’t be outside in the cold. You shouldn’t even be on your feet. How can I tend you when you won’t listen to even the most common sense directives?”
Alaric winced while Caelen chuckled. Alaric shot his brother a dark look.
“I believe the lass just suggested you’re lacking in common sense,” Caelen drawled. “Clearly I didn’t give her enough credit. She is an astute lass, indeed.”
Alaric turned, fist raised when Keeley grabbed his wrist and forced him to face her. Then she rounded furiously on the laird and Caelen.