Page 25 of Kilty By Association
Elspeth peeked out to see Craig shrug in agreement as the man across the table nodded, grinning.
The redheaded woman sitting on the man’s other side frowned thoughtfully. “As long as ‘tis done with scientific inquiry, I see nae reasonaughtcould be considered inappropriate.”
As Coira called out something which made the other laugh, Doughall leaned closer to Elspeth.
“That is Lady Wynda, the fourth—nay, third—och, I forgettheir ages. She’s one of Coira’s younger sisters. She’s married to Pherson, the Oliphant falconer.”
He used his eating knife to point to the slender man with the braids. “That’s his daughter, Wren, a sweet thing. She didn’t speak for the longest time—or walk either, to be fair. Wynda helped with both concerns, and now the wee one can run and play with the other bairns, and sometimes doesnaestoptalking.”
Elspeth raised a brow. The lassie across the table looked about eight, and completely normal.
Doughall nodded. “Pherson was here hiding from trouble, but it found them, and brought Wynda into his life. She’s brilliant, and the one to ask about Oliphant history.”
Conversation swirled around them, but Doughall continued to tell her about the rest of the Oliphant sisters.
“The next-auldest to Coira is Nicola, who is now Lady McIlvain. She was our healer until she trained a replacement, and she met her husband—who was a King’s Hunter who went missing—when she was called to heal him. He’d taken a blow to the head and couldnae recall his name.”
“I remember that,” Elspeth gasped. “The story was all over court. His father stepped down and he’s the new laird now.”
“Aye, and as part of their adventure, they’ve adopted a bairn—he’s a bit aulder than yer youngest. Although Nicola writes that they have their hands full with all Ramsay’s younger siblings.”
Elspeth swallowed a bite of the excellent mutton. “I can imagine. I remember hearing ‘twas a large family. And the next sister?”
“Ah, that would be Robena.” Doughall shot his daughter a glance, then lowered his voice when he explained to Elspeth. “She cut her hair, chased after her lover, and competed in the Highland Piping competition dressed as a lad. I dinnae ken the whole story—and ‘tis glad I am for it!—but the clot-heid hadbeen promised to marry another lass, and the King allowed him to marry Robena instead.”
“Oh, my goodness, the Oliphants dinnae do marriage simply, do they?”
“No’ at all,” Doughall snorted. “My courtship with Coira was almostnormalcompared to the rest of them. Lady Fenella is married to Brodie, who arrived with Laird McClure—both of them were Hunters. Brodie is standoffish—”
“I heard,” Elspeth said drily.
“And Fen is shy, so it took a cooking competition to get the two of them to work together. Laird McClure, meanwhile, fell in love with Leanna, Coira’s youngest sister, after an adventure which included finding a skeleton in the secret passages.”
“Secret passages?” Elspeth blurted, mayhap a little too loud, because everyone turned to look at her. She dipped her chin and lowered her voice. “Oliphant Castle has secret passages?”
Beside her, Robbie jumped in his seat. “Secret passages? Where?” he asked, looking around.
From across the table, Wynda chuckled. “There’s a few in this verra room. They snake throughout the castle.”
“Are they dangerous?” Robbie breathed.
“We used to have a donkey who roamed through them, and he’d find all the dangerous parts so we could block those off.”
Craig, who held a piece of bread in one hand, nodded. “Ye’d be surprised how much noise a trapped donkey can make. I got called in a few times to help free the puir beastie.”
Shaking her head, Elspeth managed not to laugh, certain this was a joke. “Does anyoneelseuse the secret passages?”
“Och, aye,” Wynda agreed. “I live down in the village now with my family, but I’m certain Craig could give ye a tour of some of them, if ye’d like.”
The part of Elspeth which remembered the joy of riding bareback, or balancing atop the battlements barefooted, turned excited eyes to Craig. “I’d like that.”
“Me too!” piped up Robbie, and her hand found his under the table, glad to be able to share this.
“Me too!” bellowed Katharine, and Elspeth winced.
But it was the little girl across the table who dissuaded her daughter. “If ye go, ye might see the ghosts,” she whispered.
Katharine’s blue eyes went round. “Ghosts?”
