One & Only (5 page)

“Nay, not alone. Cait will go with
you. Will that make you feel better?”

“Aye, my lord, it does. I thank you.
Will I see you again? Will I live afar?”

He took her hand, gently squeezing
it. “Aye, very far. The Highlanders are unusual people. They don’t like
outsiders and keep to themselves. We would not be welcomed. You’ll be one of
them and therefore not accessible to us. We are assured of your care and won’t
worry for ye.”

Bree inferred there was more to what
he had told her. “I heard you speaking with the soldiers, and I …”

“The laird wouldn’t have called for
you if there was danger.” His voice rose in agitation. “I know the reason you
were placed with us, Bree, until the lairds were ready … Yet I must have faith
you will be safe.”

“What readiness do you speak of?”

“These are matters of men and do not
concern you.” He patted her hand.

“I’m to leave then and never
return,” Bree said dejectedly.

“My lady, pray, can you not offer
comfort to the girl?” he said to his wife with a bit of bite to his words.

She heard her mother’s quiet sobs
and Bree knew if she dared to look at her, she too would lose her decorum and
weep as well. Seeing someone cry always brought tears to Bree’s eyes. She
couldn’t help feeling sorrow when someone wept. Alas, Lady Millie’s sorrow was
not caused by Bree’s marriage announcement or the woe of sending a daughter
away. Her sorrow was caused by her own selfishness. She’d never once comforted
Bree in all the years she’d lived there, except to assure herself of a lavish
meal and food with which all others envied. If Lady Millie had adoration for
her, it was certainly not because of her love of Bree, but for her talent in
the kitchens.

“I shall go and ready then for my
departure.” Bree didn’t wait to be dismissed. She hastened to the door and ran
down the stairs to her chamber at the back of the manor. Tears streamed her
cheeks and she released all her heartbreak.

After opening the hide covering on
the window casement inside her chamber, she leaned on the stone ledge and
looked out at the view. The summer dusk hadn’t cooled the land and still the
heat warmed the stone. Bree was fond of the manor, for it was the only home
she’d ever known. As if to memorize every tree, every slope of the land, every
rock, she gazed and swore never to forget where she had been raised.

How she came to be with the
Champlains was unknown to her. She didn’t remember where she came from or who
her parents were. Accepting her fate, she never questioned it. Her earliest
memory was of Cait giving her a bath in the kitchens.

Bree was sure she’d done something
dreadful to have caused her family’s banishment. Because of that, she vowed to
be as good as she could be so she wouldn’t be sent away again. Lady Champlain’s
acceptance came with pride when Bree had shown a talent for making delicious
meals. From a young age, Bree learned to curb any yearning for affection from
her mother. She hid her carefree spirit from everyone, well except for Rhys and
Cait.

As she began to pack a trunk to take
with her, she realized she hadn’t much of belongings. The trunk was half full
with two overdresses, a cloak, and three pairs of stockings, all given to her
by the baron. She had no jewels or mementos, or anything of real value.
Switching the trunk for a satchel, she placed the items inside.

Cait entered her room and closed the
door with a quiet thud. She leaned back against it and scoffed. “I brought ye
some food. Ye must be starved.”

“I cannot eat a thing.”

“You shall waste away. Come and at
least eat some fruit. Verily, I don’t know how you can be such a marvelous
cook, when you hardly taste what you make.”

“If I ate everything I cooked, I’d
be much rounder than I already am.”

Cait set the food beside her. “Och
ye have a lovely body. I see the way the men look at ye. You have turned into a
beautiful woman.”

“They don’t look at me like
anything. You see what ye want to see.” Bree giggled at her friend’s comment.

“Well, I never heard such bawling in
all my days. Lady Millie is beside herself weeping and carrying on. Serves her
well for being so selfish and cruel to ye. All she keeps saying is that she
will like to wither away from lack of decent food. Mayhap she should’ve learned
to cook. ‘Tis doubtful anyone will come to fill your position.”

Bree took a piece of bread and broke
it in two, and handed a piece to Cait. “She wasn’t cruel, Cait. She was kind to
let me stay here all these years. I should be grateful.”

“Bah, grateful. Gracious, you
deserve to be away from here. I must discuss with you what I overheard the
baron speaking of. At first they argued over your departure, but then my lady
had no choice but to understand the baron’s command.”

“You received the news? Aye, I’m to
be wed. I fear of what’s to come, Cait. I don’t even know whom I to marry,
never even met him. What if he is a toad?”

Cait laughed snidely. “Ere he a
toad, ye could crush ‘em with your foot. I did hear the news, Bree, and am
pleased to be leaving with ye. Baron Thomas said he didn’t want you to be
alone. He is a good man to send me along with you.”

“I never feel alone when I’m with
you.”

“Do you not remember how fearful you
were when ye first came?”

“I do,” Bree said with a weak smile.

Her friend sat next to her, setting
an arm around her shoulder. “You were so little. I had to coax you to come to
me. Ye were a frightened thing. The men who brought you to us were quite
fearsome. Baron Thomas bade me to take you to their private chamber and to stay
there until they left. I did what he said and ordered a bath for you and
instead took you to the kitchens.”

“Aye, I do remember that. You have
always been kind to me.”

“I stayed with ye and then Lady
Millie came … I didn’t understand, Bree. I wasn’t aware of why ye came to us. I
overheard the baron telling Lady Millie about it a few minutes ago. He made a
pact with those men to keep you here until they came for you. Laird MacHeth
entrusted your care to him and Baron Thomas said ye would assist in unseating
their king. For what reward I know not, but the baron would not do so without
some form of payment. Likely for protection since they are so close to the
border.”

Bree didn’t recall the name of
MacHeth nor of the events Cait spoke of. “I overheard my lord speaking to the
Scots messengers. What you say is true. It matters not now.”

“Nay, I suppose it does not.”

“Am I related to this MacHeth? Do ye
deem they cared for me?”

“Whether you are related or not,
remember they sent ye away, Bree. Still, this man is not honorable. I would be
wary. Baron Thomas said the MacHeth clan had an uprising and the old laird was
killed. If this MacHeth was the man who sent you here, I worry why he now wants
you returned. I wonder what this marriage brings him and why he would need ye
to revolt against his king.”

Her tone implied she should be
afraid, and the more her friend revealed, the more fearsome she became. For as
long as Bree could remember, Cait had listened to her worries. She always gave
sound advice too. Though she was a few marks older than she, Cait had the
wisdom beyond her age. If anyone knew about matters of love and men, Cait
certainly did. She was promiscuous and often they shared a laugh at some of the
situations Cait found herself. But she was intelligent on many matters too and
Bree cherished her guidance.

A knock sounded at the door and she
bid entry.

“That will be your bath. I asked
them to bring it here instead of the kitchens so we can talk privately,” Cait
said. “We have much to discuss.”

A few men brought a small tub.
Behind them, several more men came and poured steaming water into the basin. Rhys
waited outside her chamber and then entered when all the men had left. As tall
as the doorway, he leaned against the frame and stared at her, unmoving.

“Rhys, pray, what has your tongue?”
Bree had never seen him looking so severe. “I shall miss you more than anyone
when I leave.” A sudden sadness came to her. For she’d always thought she would
wed Rhys and become his wife, bear his children, and cook for him. Childhood
dreams would never come to be.

“And I you, Bree. Wish I could find
a way to keep you here.”

Bree glanced at Cait who turned to
look out the window. An uncomfortable mien came over them. “I wish that were
so, too, Rhys.”

“Before you leave, I must tell ye,
Bree … I have always loved ye. I would have wed you when I finished my
apprenticeship. Now you are lost to me.” Rhys pulled her into his arms and
kissed her. He kissed her long and passionately.

Bree had never been kissed so
ardently before and if she thought the girlish kiss she’d given him earlier at
the lake compared, she was positively mistaken. His lips weren’t unyielding
now. They were soft and giving. The strangest thing happened; he stuck his
tongue in her mouth and moved it around hers. She’d always dreamed of being
kissed so fervently. Bree waited to see what he’d do next, but he ended the
kiss too soon.

When Rhys pulled back, he looked
into her eyes and nodded. “Take care, fair, Bree.”

She stood dumbstruck by his kiss and
before she could say a word to him, he left. Gazing at the door, Bree couldn’t
seem to make her feet move.

“Bree, come, let us get ye bathed
and we can continue our discussion.”

With a shake of her head, she came
out of her reverie. Bree undressed and sank into the warmth of the water. She
moaned when her sore muscles gave a slight throb. Woe came upon her and she couldn’t
hold back her sobs. “Now he tells me he loves me.”

“Ah, my poor girl. Ye will never
forget your first love. You do know that your father would never have allowed
ye to marry Rhys? Barron Thomas would have considered him far beneath your
station, Bree.”

“Mayhap, still I am fond of Rhys and
shall miss him. I am worried, Cait. What if I do not find this man I am to wed
to my liking?”

“Everything will be well. I have
been considering this matter and have thought of a way you can escape this
marriage. That laird is vile and you cannot marry his choice of men. Lord knows
who he’s marrying ye to. I heard the baron say the MacHeth claimed to be family
when he brought you.”

“Why would MacHeth return for me? If
I am important to him, why would they have brought me here?”

“Who knows why, Bree? Whoever you
are, the MacHeth Laird needs ye. We were told by the baron to treat ye as if
you were the king’s daughter when ye arrived. He said you were a special girl
and should be loved by all. We all thought ye adorable and the baron was fond
of ye. He didn’t reveal much to his wife about you or why ye came at the time.
But MacHeth aims to start a war and with you in the midst of it. I know not if
he is your family for true. He is likely lying.”

“I don’t remember my family, Cait,
or the MacHeth. All I can discern is they didn’t want me. I always thought I
had shamed them and they had banished me.” The thought of war turned her
stomach, but what her family had done caused much more dissension.

“You could never shame anyone, Bree,
especially at such a tender age. You couldn’t have been more than four or five
years when you came.”

Bree saddened by all the talk and
sunk lower in the tub. “I wish I remembered more, but I was young. I fear I was
disheartened, Cait, and longed to forget.”

“My poor sweeten. There is a way to
thwart this MacHeth. I have it on good authority the Gunns hate the MacHeths
and they would smite them any way they could.”

“What has that to do with me? My
father knows he’s sending me to these people, and I must accept he wouldn’t put
me in harm’s way.” Once again she’d be sent away. Bree wasn’t sure she could
make her way as easily as she had when she came to stay with the Champlains.
Being little, she just followed the rules and never spoke out of turn. Surely,
that helped to win them over and kept her secure.

“You are in danger, Bree.”

“Wish I could just stay here where I
am safe. Verily at least I am loved here.”

Cait scoffed. “Loved? Aye, for your
cooking not much else. You are nothing but a kitchen maid to the Champlain’s.
All ye do is slave for them, Bree, morn, noon, and eve. You should find your
place, a place where you can be happy and loved as ye should be.”

“But I am happy here. I get to cook
in the kitchens and no one bothers me.”

“I know you enjoy cooking, Bree, but
there is more to existing than cooking all day.”

Bree felt the sting of Cait’s words
for she spoke the truth. “I suppose I should go.”

“Aye, ye must, but not to MacHeth.
My cousin is a Gunn. We can ask the Gunns save you.”

“I cannot risk others. Why would the
Gunns care if I were to wed a MacHeth?”

“Because stealing a MacHeth’s
intended would be most insulting.” Cait smiled smugly, as if she knew secrets
Bree wasn’t privy to.

Bree shook her head at the
absurdity. “’Tis a dangerous a game, Cait. The Gunns might be worse than the
MacHeths. I don’t want to borrow trouble.”