“What dost ye think they will do if they dinna find Magnus or his men here? Tis his trouble, nae mine — I am unsure how tae guard against a danger I daena understand.”
I looked around at the men in the courtyard, most of them were going back tae their duties, completely unconcerned. Strangers were a common enough occurrence, they had nae idea of the danger the castle would be in if those strangers were time travelers and had been armed with modern weapons.
If they were time travelers it would be easy for them to have foreknowledge of who was here and how little we were protected.
Och nae.I looked around at the walls.
If the strangers were after Ash, there were not enough guards, this was not enough protection.
Every man in Balloch was not enough. And Sean wasna here. Liam was capable of guardin’ against ordinary trouble, but Sean understood how tae deal with Magnus-level trouble.
I said, “If their aim was tae locate Magnus and they dinna see him, they might just leave. But if their aim was tae cause trouble with me... maybe they dinna see me. They dinna see Ash, that is good, but all they hae tae do is ask one man from Balloch at the local tavern, ‘Is Lochinvar at the castle?’ And they’ll know.”
“What dost ye think they would do with that information?”
“If they ken I am here, if they ken Sean and Magnus arna here, we ought tae prepare for an attack.”
He exhaled. “Aye, we will double the guards and send men tae follow them, tae watch their movements, but Lochinvar, ye canna stay long, ye need tae go.”
“Aye, I agree. As soon Quentin and James return, I will take Ash away. Speakin’ of, I need tae go check on her.”
“Will ye tell Lizbeth that all is well enough, I will see her at dinner.”
I climbed the stairs tae the nursery.
CHAPTER 11 - ASH
THE NURSERY, BALLOCH CASTLE - MAY 27, 1710
We sat for a moment as the babies calmed, then to start a conversation, Lizbeth said, “Lady Ash?—”
I said, “Would it be too much to ask that you call me simply Ash?”
“Of course, Ash, how is it ye haena married the lad Lochinvar yet?”
I said, “Oh, um... I...” It was an odd question, Lochie and I had literally just met, like there hadn’t been enough time to marry him, and we had sort of decided to carry on as if we were... “I think Lochinvar believes we are married already, we just...”
“I daena ken much about where ye are from, Lady— I mean,Ash, and Kaitlyn assures me that tis verra different there, but Beaty and Sophie hae told me that there are some things which are constant — ye marry a man if ye want tae share yer life... for instance.... And I daena want tae offend, but how under the heavens does the lad Lochinvar believe he has married ye if ye daena ken if ye are married?”
I winced. “I don’t know, he told me that we pressed our thumbs together and?—”
She laughed merrily. “The lad Lochinvar has told ye that he pressed his thumb tae yers? Twas covered in spittle?” She shook her head, frowning teasingly. “He told ye that was enough?”
I nodded. “I don’t know, I thought that was how it was done.”
“Och nae, sweet Ash, tis not the way, not for Ladies, not for Lairds, not for the brother of a king. What Young Lochinvar kens of the world is not much, but he ought tae ken this, ye hae tae marry in the church, be bound in front of God, and it must be marked in the record, or it daenacount.”
“Oh. I didn’t think of it that way, I guess I thought the fact that we meant it was enough.”
“How long hae ye known him?”
“Mere days.”
“I hae known Lochinvar for a time, he is a handsome lad, and brave tae the point of foolhardiness. I thought him useless, but he is a champion of m’brother, Young Magnus, and over time, as he brawled and carried on in the courtyard of the castle, I watched him and learned that he is a loyal and gallant knight, but... he was an orphan. Ye canna forget it causes trouble in their minds, ye ken, Ash. Young Magnus was a bastard, it caused him a great deal of trouble. All of us are the children of Lady Mairead, och nae, that has caused us a great deal of turmoil. I wouldna wish that trouble on my enemies...” She paused and the corner of her mouth went up, “Well,mostof my enemies. Some would deserve Lady Mairead and much more, but Lochinvar — he is an orphan, this is much farther beyond the trouble. He inna aware of his power, he wasna held tae his place, when he was first brought intae Magnus’s fold he dinna understand his position in the family. At times he has caused a brawl with men three times his size and he won, but it canna rest easily upon him that he causes more turmoil than calm.”
I gulped.
She said, “He is in many ways a big bairn, he needs direction and guidance, and ye seem tae be willin’ tae take him on, and when he looks at ye — ye can see that he wants ye tae give him the guidance.”
