Plead Forgiveness (Loyalty Series) (31 page)

“I see ye are as affected by Lady Ella as the
blackguard.”

Startled, he turned to his father. “Aye.” He paused
for a moment then added, “She saved Gabriel’s life when she took his whipping.
Mayhap yers as well when she aided the Macleods in battle against the English.
After all she’s done, how can ye send her back, especially when ye ken how she
was treated?”

Osgood was visibly shocked.

“She deserves better, Father. This should be her home
and the Macleods her family.”

Turning serious, Osgood asked, “How did ye learn so
much about her?”

“Ye and mother talk verra loudly when ye think Thea
and I are asleep.”

Osgood snorted, then put his hand on his son’s
shoulder and said, “’Tis true she has nae been treated kindly by her own. I
canna say more except have faith in yer laird.”

“Aye, Father,” he replied with a smile. He understood
what his father was unable to tell him. As he took Righ to his stall in the
stables, he felt confident that Lady Ella would become a Macleod very soon.

Leif was just finishing rubbing Righ down when Ella
came into the stables with Apollo. “You have done well this morning. After I
see to his wounds and he has a small respite, you can continue working with
him.”

“Aye, milady. I look forward to it.” He would have
continued, but Lady Esme strolled into the stables.

“Ye both did a marvelous job with Righ, and I canna
wait to see my son’s faces when they see what changes ye brought to spirited
horse. They thought it would take months to accomplish what ye did in two
days.”

Leif straightened his shoulder with pride, then
responded to the well-respected woman, “Thank ye, milady, but the credit is due
to Lady Ella alone.”

Both women smiled at his humble confession.

“The credit is due ye both,” Lady Esme gently
admonished, then gave him a look that said not to argue. “But now I must insist
that Lady Ella take a wee rest.”

When the kind, but stubborn older woman saw that Ella
was about to argue, she added, “This is nae a request, young lady.”

“Aye, milady, but please allow me a moment to apply
the salve to Righ’s injury.”

Lady Esme nodded, then strolled out of the stables as
she heard Leif’s childish laughter.

Ella threw a wet rag at him as soon as the commanding
woman took her leave.

“I saw that,” a voice came from the doorway of the
stables, startling both Ella and Leif.

Gavin’s mother smiled at the surprised pair, then
strolled out once again, hearing their joyous laughter in her wake.

The sun was high in the sky indicating midday when
Ella enjoyed the luxury of a lavender scented bath in the new chamber she’d
been given. It had been explained by Lady Esme that the chamber she had used
the past two nights actually belonged to Gavin. Since he was due to return, she
would be given the unoccupied chamber next to his.

Quite embarrassed, Ella did not argue with the new
arrangement and gave in to the older woman’s gentle ministrations in assisting
her to bathe.

She had been shy about revealing her back to anyone
the day before, but now it seemed silly to be so modest, especially since Lady
Esme had already seen the bloody stripes marring her skin.

Smiling at seeing the newfound trust blooming between
her and her future daughter, Lady Esme said, “Ye seem verra happy today.”

“Aye, it has been a wonderful day,” Ella admitted, but
the joy in her eyes faded when she added, “Laird Gavin will return today. And
on the morrow he will take me back to England. I look forward to seeing my aunt
and uncle again.”

“Ye love them verra much.”

“Aye, I do.” Lost in thought for a moment, she then
said, “Last eve, afore falling asleep, I thought how wonderful it would be …”

Lady Esme finished for her, “For them to come live
here with us. . . and ye.”

Ella nodded, keeping her head bowed.

With gentle fingers Lady Esme tipped her chin up, then
said, “I pray for the same, my angel.”

“You remind me of my mother.”

Lady Esme had learned from her son that Ella had not
disclosed anything regarding her parents and that it was a sensitive subject.
With a soft, maternal voice she said, “Tell me about her.”

“She was so beautiful, kind and loving,” Ella began,
fully animated. “Like you, she knew my thoughts before I spoke them. We would
talk for hours about everything and anything. This may come as a shock, but I
was quite a talkative child.” She giggled when Lady Esme gave her a look that
said she wasn’t the least bit shocked by her statement.

“Mama loved to help people and often stated it was her
purpose in life, that and having me. I truly believe she had a gift for seeing
the good in people and events.”

Ella smiled as her thoughts filtered back to a day
long ago. “I remember one afternoon, when my parents were teaching me how to
ride, we were caught in a atrocious storm and forced to seek shelter. Papa
explained that he did not want to risk injury to his wife or daughter. He took
us to a nearby cave that was gloomy, but warm and dry. Then for hours, Papa
entertained us with glorious stories of Vikings and dragons.”

“When the storm passed, we emerged from the cave to
find our mounts gone. Papa was none-to-pleased to have to walk the entire way
back home and ranted that the afternoon had been wasted. Mama just laughed and
said that any time spent with family, is time well spent, nae matter the
circumstances.”

“Mama went on to say that good things can come from
the most miserable experiences. Papa stared at her wet hair and dress for a
moment, then told her she looked like the most beautiful drowned rat he had
ever seen.”

Lady Esme chuckled, but did not interrupt.

“We laughed too, even Mama. Just before reaching our
home, we came to the bridge that we had used earlier that day and had intended
to use again. But, the bridge was nae longer there.”

“What happen to the bridge?”

“When we looked over the ridge, we saw that it had
collapsed into the water below. Shards of wood were scattered around the bank
and boulders that lined the river. But, that was not what sent chills down our
spines.”

“What did ye see?”

“Three dead horses. Our horses,” Ella replied.

“My God, that could have been ye.”

“Aye, Papa said the same. He kissed Mama afore he
asked me what I learned from this experience. I said that I learned that Mama
was always right.”

Lady Esme burst out laughing thinking of a young Ella
telling her father such a thing, even though it was true.

As she assisted the young woman out of the tub, she
said, “Yer parents sound like fine people. I wish I could have met them. I
would have enjoyed learning about what a hoyden ye were as a child.”

“Hoyden!”

“Aye, ye heard me correctly. I was much the same when
I was a young lass, boisterous and a wee bit unruly. Naught wrong with that
'tis my way of thinking.”

The two women continued to talk, laugh and enjoy each
other’s company until an hour later when Lady Esme tucked Ella into the bed,
insisting she nap for an hour or two.

She bestowed a kiss to her forehead, then reluctantly
left the chambers, predicting that Ella would need to be well rested when she
was told Gavin’s intentions for her future.

There was much to be done before the evening meal, so
she rushed off to find Maeve and begin the ordeal of planning her eldest son’s
wedding.

It would not be the wedding she had hoped for Gavin,
but he reassured her that a more traditional celebration would be planned for a
later date. She understood that he needed to wed and bed Ella as soon as
possible, otherwise within a sennight English royal soldiers would come and
take Ella from them.

She was also concerned about the difficulty her son
would have convincing Ella, and more importantly bedding her if she was
unwilling.

As a child, Gavin had witnessed his father take
unwilling women to his bed. He and his brothers never forgave their father his
bloodlust after battles and vowed long ago to never follow in their father’s
footsteps.

Gavin returned by mid afternoon, warmed and hopeful by
the bright summer sun. His mother and Bowen greeted him and his brothers, then
led him to the hall to inform him all that had occurred in his absence.

All was ready for his wedding this eve, which included
a private supper, reserved for only family and the blackguard. The chapel and
his bedchamber had been made prepared for the ceremony and bedding. Eva had
sent with her brothers a package for Ella containing a gown suitable for the
ceremony, as well as a number of other items her new sister would need.

As Gavin listened to his mother, a serving girl poured
him another ale, then before leaving she patted Arth on the head. Yesterday, we
he noticed that Arth had not followed him to the Mackenzie’s stronghold, he
assumed the wolf dog went off to hunt. Obviously, Gavin assumed wrong. He now
realized that Arth must have returned to Doran Castle to be with Osgood, Edric
and Nicholas.

Lady Esme was explaining Colban’s good fortune and
that he would be completely healed in less than two months, when Arth’s huge
body leaned into her legs. She affectionately put her arm around him and
stroked his black fur as she continued retelling the story.

Gavin raised his hand to silence her, then swept the
same hand toward Arth and asked, “Mother, would ye like to explain? When I
left, ye feared this dog as if he were Satan himself, but now I find him
cuddled up to ye like some damn lap dog.”

“First,” his mother began, “ne’er raise yer hand to
silence me again. I taught ye better than that.” Ignoring her son exasperated
look, she continued, “If ye had nae interrupted, I would have explained that
Arth and I are now good friends.”

The smile on her face told Gavin she was enjoying this
too much. “How?”

“Ella.” She gave only one word, as if that was
explanation enough for her change in heart.

“I see.” He didn’t of course, but he figured when she
was gone Bowen would explain.

“What else has occurred during my absence?”

“I will let Bowen explain the rest while I see to
baths for ye and yer brothers,” she excused herself, leaving Bowen to inform
her sons about Lyall. As she took her leave, she passed Osgood, Edric and
Nicholas just entering the hall.

The threesome smiled, noticing that Arth followed
close on her heels and that she did not seem to mind her new shadow. When they
were seated, Bowen explained about Arth.

“The other women have begun to accept Arth as well,
but he only follows Lady Ella or my wife around the keep.” Bowen chuckled as he
issued that statement and the other men were soon to follow.

“Gavin, I fear we have been replaced,” Tavish began,
“but, I dinna mind over much. To nae see fear in mother’s eyes is well-worth
it.” He saw that his older brothers heartily agreed with him.

Noticing that Osgood, Nicholas and Edric seemed
unusually anxious, Gavin instantly recognized that something was amiss. Turning
back to Bowen, he said, “I advise ye to convey all that has occurred since I
departed.”

“Afore ye left we discussed Lyall and agreed that he
should take over Colban’s duties in the stables,” Bowen reminded his laird.

“Aye.”

Osgood decided he should be the one to explain. “I was
taking Lady Ella to Colban’s cottage when I was asked to demonstrate something
to the younger warriors training in the bailey. She was content to wait on a
nearby bench until I completed the task. When I turned to check on her a brief
moment later, I saw her running in the direction of the stables. As I chased
after her, I heard the sound of a horse being whipped.”

Paen interjected in his usual low, menacing voice.
“Righ?

Osgood nodded, then continued, “When I reached the
stable yard, I saw Ella rip the whip from Lyall’s hands, tie it in a knot and
sling it onto the roof of the stables. She cursed Lyall for his ignorance,
called him a beast, and a variety of other ignoble names.”

Paen smirked at hearing Ella’s defense of his horse.

Gavin was not smiling when he growled, “Continue.”

Osgood was fully aware that his laird would hit the
roof at hearing the next part, so he braced himself as he related, “Lyall
grabbed her by the front of her tunic, lifted her off the ground and slammed
her into the wall of the stables. He kept her suspended in the air, then froze
when he felt the tip of her dagger on his throat, just afore I hauled him
away.”

Edric broke in to explain fully and in detail the
conclusion of the story. He did not withhold Lyall’s words to Ella or that she
lunged for him, and would have attacked him if Osgood had not thrown her over
his shoulder.

Gavin’s anger became a scalding fury, and his face a
glowering mask of rage. That someone had dared to touch her, to hurt her and
that it was one of his own men only intensified the seething storm inside him.