Page 40 of To Wed a Laird
“Do you like Scotland, Rose?” Elspeth asked suddenly. “Is it nicer than England?”
Rose thought for a moment. “It is… different,” she answered at last. “My home is very flat, with lots of trees. Scotland is mountainous and there are far fewer trees, but I like them both in different ways. Can I ask you something now?”
Elspeth nodded.
Rose took a deep breath. “Why did you not like your other governesses?” she asked.
Elspeth’s face fell suddenly, and she looked away, as if trying to hide the expression of sadness in her eyes. Tears began to leak from her eyes, and she wiped them away with the heels of her hands. She was silent for a long while, picking nervously at the edge of the old blanket they were sitting on.
Rose felt wretched. She had obviously touched a nerve, and brought back memories Elspeth would rather have forgotten, but it was too late to take back her words now that they had been spoken.
“I am so sorry, Elspeth,” she said sadly, taking her hand. “I had no wish to make you sad.”
Elspeth turned and looked at her, then shook her head. “Mammy taught me how to read and how to count, and she taught me how to speak proper English without making mistakes. I wanted to learn how to speak French because I heard that they used to be our friends, but she laughed when I told her that because the French helped us to fight against the English. She could not speak French, so she was going to get a tutor for me. But you can speak French.”
Rose nodded. “Because of my mother. Her name was Juliette.” Rose realised that they were wandering away from the topic, and said, “But we were talking about your other governesses. There must have been something about them you didn’t like.”
Elspeth looked irritated suddenly. “They were all so strict. I didn’t like any of them. They were not nice, like Mammy was. I wanted her, not anyone else. Then you came along.” She looked up at Rose, and suddenly, her blue eyes lit up. “You are just like her in a lot of ways, so… so I let you help me.”
“Are you happy that you did?” Rose asked, smiling. She was fairly sure what Elspeth’s answer was going to be—after all, she had been at the castle for months, but she was still nervous.
“Yes, I am,” Elspeth replied, as she took Rose’s hand in her own. “You are good and kind, Rose, just like Mammy. You don’t shout at me when I throw something, or complain to Da.”
“Why did you want to throw things and break things?”
Elspeth shrugged. “It made me feel better.”
“I understand,” Rose replied. “I felt the same when my mother died, but I had my sisters to talk to.”
“I want to be good for you because I like you, Rose,” Elspeth said, smiling.
“Thank you, Elspeth.” Rose’s voice was warm and husky, and her eyes filled with tears as she reached out and pulled Elspeth into a warm embrace. “Thank you for letting me into your heart.”
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
That afternoon,when all the food had been eaten, Rose and Elspeth lay on the grass while Rose told her stories about the mischief she and her sisters had made when they were younger.
“Claire is four years younger than me,” she said. “But we are not very like each other at all. I am a little more calm than Claire, but Amanda is quieter than both of us.”
She thought for a moment. “We always liked playing with our pets. We had two big dogs called Sam and Mickey, and two cats. They were both girls and were always having kittens. I think we once had about two dozen kittens in the house at one time. We were constantly tripping over them, but they were so beautiful, nobody minded.
Of course, we had to find homes for them; otherwise, we would have been overrun with cats. But there were always quite a few running about, so at least we never had a problem with mice. And during the winter, we used to sneak the cats into our beds to keep us warm.”
Elspeth giggled. “You and your sisters sound as if you had a lot of fun,” she observed. “Tell me some more stories.”
She listened while Rose told her about the tricks her sisters had played on her, and the trouble they had caused.
Elspeth was fascinated. “Did you ever do bad things to them?” she asked eagerly.
Rose looked outraged. “Of course not!” she said. “I was an angel, I still am!”
Elspeth burst out laughing and rolled over to lay her head on Rose’s shoulder. “You are the baddest angel I have ever met,” she cried.
Rose hugged Elspeth again and thought how wonderful it would be to have a child of her own with Cormac, then put the thought out of her mind. He had been careful to avoid a chance of getting Rose with child, withdrawing from her before he came, but nothing was ever certain.
She looked up at the sky, where dark clouds were gathering, heralding the arrival of a storm. Elspeth followed her gaze and frowned, then sighed and sat up. “I like being with you, Rose. Don’t leave.”
Rose smiled. “I like being with you too, Elspeth, and I have no intention of leaving,” she said warmly.
