The Highlander's Time

back to the Keep.”
    “All right, I'm following you so far.”
    “Patricia suggests you take everything away from Lila. Her bed. Her clothes save a simple, homespun frock. All her creature comforts but a blanket, pillow, and a mat on the floor. She'll eat gruel or bread and cheese only.”
    “Excuse me?” Lila might not have been suicidal before, but take away everything? She'd pitch herself off the balcony. Dear God, help me .
    “Every time Lila behaves, she gets something back. A reward, shall we say, which will show her the error of her ways. At first you start with the basic necessities such as her bed. In time, she may gain the privilege of joining the table and even going for walks through the village. 'Twill be a long process, milady.”
    “Talk about tough love,” Jenny muttered under her breath. “It makes so much sense it's ridiculous, but I don't know how Lila is going to deal with this.”
    Father Thomas sat beside her on the bench. He patted her hand in what she suspected was his way of cushioning of the truth. “Milady, it has to be done. Milord cannae have his household in chaos. The Clan will view him a weak leader if he cannae control one woman.”
    Weakness, what the Highlanders determined was a huge character flaw, especially in their leaders. “I see.”
    “The Clan is giving you the benefit of the doubt for you are newly married and a stranger to our ways, but they willnae give him the same benefit.” A pause stretched between them. “He is Laird.”
    Hoisting herself off the bench, Jenny wiped her hands down her gown. A chill raced up her arms. She sent a quick prayer to heaven for courage and another for the plan's success. “Fine.” She squared her shoulders. “I'll need help moving her furniture.”
    “Would you prefer I spoke to her, milady?”
    “No, I have to do it.”

    ***

    Iaen stretched out the aching muscles in his neck. Due to the continued foul weather, he was late—very late in returning to Castle Kincaid. Still, he'd seen Graham's body home to the border. There he met with the Laird of Clan Wulfson. The Norse clan who'd settled Scotland's western coast, were affable at times but warring most others.
    He'd been welcomed with a frown, which he expected, and a clasping of arms. The new Laird, his cousin, kept a wary eye on him, but agreed to see Graham on the final leg of his long journey to hallowed ground. Out of respect and shared blood, Iaen accepted the invitation to spend the night in the closest village.
    The trip home turned hazardous as the snows blew in on a stiff breeze off the coast. Squalls slowed the journey to a crawl. Finally, a senight and three days since he'd left, he relinquished the reins to his stable master. Worn to the bone from the long trip, he hungered for the warmth of a fire in his hearth and a cup of mulled wine. “How goes it, Kevin?”
    “Well, milord. Per you orders, the dike has been shored up as best it can. We've found cottages for all but Patricia's family and a few stragglers. Milady has made them welcome in your stead.”
    “Milady is well?”
    “Aye,” Kevin answered as he escorted Iaen into the Keep. “She's missed you mightily, but she's taken to her duties with zeal. The Clan is pleased with her for she's taken on the great responsibility of taming Lila. She's also kind to a fault to our displaced clansmen.”
    “And your blushing bride?”
    “We suit,” Kevin informed him, his tone bland, noncommittal. “Charlzie, despite her advanced age, is more a maid than a matriarch. It hasnae been easy for her, but she's coming around. If 'twasnae for milady's example, Charlzie would have collapsed the first day.”
    “You're displeased?”
    “Nay, milord. I am disappointed in Charlzie's resolve.” He hesitated as he opened the Great Doors. “Not only is she like to laze about half the day if I let her, she also explained to me that she is infertile for the next season. She went on to tell me that in the future they have surgical procedures that keep women from conceiving. Can you imagine such a thing? I cannae believe she'd willingly deny her husband bairns. I think her wild story is more her way to keep me out of our bed.”
    Iaen frowned at his second-in-command. Kevin's tone warned him all was not going fit or fine in his cottage. For a moment, he considered ordering Kevin and Charlzie to move into the Keep where he would watch over them, then denied the urge. If the mood between the couple grew dire, he'd do so,