Page 47 of The Mad Highlander
“Everyone is always talkin’ about war.” Robyn stuck her needle through the fabric and pulled it back through, focusing on her needlework but still engaged in the conversation. “Everyone always thinks there will be a war, but it doesnae ever happen.”
Iris looked at Margot, and the woman had a knowing look in her eyes. She had seen war but was hesitant to talk about it before her daughter. Iris didn’t look away. She didn’t want to hear about war but needed to prepare herself for it. Iris was hopeful that Robyn was right.
“I’ve never been in a war,” Robyn stated, still looking down at her embroidery.
Iris looked down at the form taking shape on her piece of stretched cloth and pulled the needle through again to stitch another morsel of purple that would eventually be the flower atop the sprig of heather. There was something relaxing about embroidery. Still, it did little to ease her heart after the Laird had talked of war.
“There have been wars,” Margot stated. She had not gone back to stitching after Iris had asked the question. “Most were long afore ye were born, Robyn. Some happened when ye were a wee bairn, and ye willnae remember any of it.”
“Faither fought in wars, didnae he?” Robyn asked.
“Aye, he did,” Margot replied.
Robyn continued to work her needle through the fabric, and Margot remained still with her needle in hand.
Iris cleared her throat. “What, eh… what was it like?”
Margot gave Iris a look that told her she shouldn’t have asked the question, but for the first time since they had started working on their floral projects together that morning, Robyn halted her work to listen, too.
Margot cocked her head and looked out of the window. The sun came in at an angle so as not to blind them while still providing ample warmth for the room.
“It’s nae for the faint-hearted; that’s all I will say.” Margot continued to look out the window.
Iris’ eye was drawn to one of the large tapestries on the wall displaying the landscape of the Highlands. There were no people depicted in the threads, but she couldn’t help but feel it was somewhere where a battle had taken place.
“We willnae be part of it, though,” Iris said.
“The men will fight, but some women have been kenned to fight alongside the men. Ye willnae have to fight, and neither will we. We will be safe in the castle.”
The answer did not put Iris’ mind at ease. “While Cayden is out fightin’.”
Margot did not answer. She sat in silence, her brows dropping a little. They might be safe in the castle, but they would all mourn if Cayden should fall in battle.
“If we lose the battle, they might storm the castle,” Robyn pointed out.
“Robyn!” Margot snapped. “How about ye concentrate a little more on yer needlework and nae on what will happen to the castle. I’m gettin’ tired of this talk about war and fightin’. We are supposed to be havin’ a pleasant afternoon together, and ye are all talking nonsense. I willnae have it in me castle. Do ye hear me?”
Iris was stunned. She had never heard Margot talk with such vigor and anger before. Robyn was shocked, too, and did not move for a second. When Robyn dropped her cloth and thread, Iris expected the young woman to run from the room. She did not. Instead, she ran to her mother to embrace her.
Margot trembled in her daughter’s arms. Iris should never have asked the question. It was obvious a lot had happened before Robyn was born and in her younger years, and it was not something Margot ever wanted to talk about. Iris had only hoped to have her mind put at rest, but she was more scared than ever.
“I’m sorry,” Iris said. “I shouldnae have brought up the subject.”
“It’s nae yer fault,” Margot soothed, even though she was the one who was crying. “There hasnae been a war for a long time, and I trust Cayden to keep it that way.”
“Are me ears burnin’?” Cayden asked as he entered the doorway. “Ye werenae talkin’ about me, were ye?” He looked around theroom to see three women who looked distraught, and his mother was in his sister’s arms. “What’s wrong? What happened.”
“Naythin’ happened,” Margot admitted. “We were only talkin’, and ye ken how I can get sometimes. Reminiscin’ about the past is all.”
“What can I do?” Cayden asked, stepping into the room.
“I’ll be fine,” Margot admitted. “Keep doin’ what ye are doin’. Ye lead the clan well, and that’s all ye can do.”
“Is there news about…?” Iris looked hopefully at Cayden.
“Nay, I don’t have any other news. Hunter just left, and I will leave in two days. Before that, I thought we might—” Cayden looked back at his sister and mother, who were both staring at him. “I thought you might like to take a walk and have a picnic this afternoon.”
Robyn leaped to her feet. “Oh, Cayden! Are ye goin’ to take her to the spot by the river? The one I told ye about? Oh, Iris, it is perfect there! Ye will have a braw time, and mind that I told him first. He’s nae the one who kenned about the place first. I kenned about it a long time before him.”
