But Rory pressed on. He couldn’t return to the stronghold without Cora. Even if that meant she returned over the saddle instead of sitting in it.
*
“Thank ye.”
Cora froze. There was something about Faolan’s voice that just seemed to affect her deeper than anyone else’s had.
He saved yer life…
Or at least he’d assisted in making sure she didn’t die of exposure.
He was in the doorway, filling it with his bulk. Cora straightened up, having just placed the bread for the next day near the coals of the fire with cloth wrapped over the bowls.
“Supper was…” Faolan seemed at a loss for words. “It was a fine evening, to be sure. We have no’ had many such nights since coming here.”
“The fare was simple,” Cora remarked.
Faolan looked around the kitchen. “Yet it was clean. It’s not that I am blind to the condition of this kitchen, but I am tasked by Laird McKay to build these towers. And the women they send here are the ones who are being punished with banishment. So, they are less than diligent. Even more so when they see there are no good prospects among me men. The ones here are the ones without family connections to help them secure better duty. The others…? Well, I do nae have the time to discipline them.”
“Oh,” Cora responded. The filth suddenly making far more sense.
Faolan grinned at her. “Do nae be so astonished, lass. We might be a rough lot, but we are no’ savages who do nae understand what a lump of soap is good for. A clean house will mean naught if we do nae have walls to protect ourselves.”
She looked at him once more, this time seeing the way his beard was cut and trimmed. His hair might be shoulder-length, but it appeared to have been combed and washed. He was simply using all of his attention on the building. The men had little reason to do anything else.
She glanced at the hearth, and when she looked back to where Faolan had been standing, he was gone.
She shrugged, then turned to make sure the coals in the ovens were blanketed by ash to keep them slowly smoldering until the morning. A quick check in the copper ensured there was plenty of water in it to last until the morning. Dawn was a very bad time to discover there was no hot water in the kitchen. The remote tower might be rough, but it had a very large copper set into stone and plaster, so a fire might be laid beneath it. As far as essential items in a kitchen went, the copper was a cook’s best friend. Properly managed, it would always allow hands to be washed and dishes to be cleaned.
The last thing she did was mix up a batch of what would become the following day’s bread. Helping hands would have been very appreciated, but on her own, it was well past sunset when she finished. Cora untied her apron and hung it on a hook before giving a very satisfied nod at the condition of the kitchen.
The men were all clustered in the hall. A few were playing dice as the rest enjoyed being off their feet.
Cora was looking forward to getting off her own. She’d rarely been so tired. Now that her mind was not brimming with tasks to complete, fatigue was rushing in consume her. The very act of walking to the base of the stairs seemed taxing.
Well, there was a fine bed waiting for her. She grasped the rail and began climbing the stairs. She pulled at the end of the strip of fabric that she’d wound around her head and tugged it free while making her way up the tower. She smiled as the air hit her hair and the door of the chamber came into view.
She opened the door and walked inside. The sight of the bed pleased her greatly. Moving closer to the table, she realized someone had filled the washbasin with clean water. Steam rose gently from a kettle, and a lump of soap was waiting near the basin along with a comb and a small square of linen to wash with.
Aye, she’d truly taken too many things for granted before. The simplest of comforts laid out for her was more pleasing than all the pretty dresses she had stored in her wardrobes back in the Mackenzie stronghold. To be able to wash the soot from her face and nape before climbing into bed was going to be heavenly.
But her gaze landed on something else sitting on the table beside the basin. A shirt was there, folded neatly and pushed to the edge.
She suddenly looked toward the bed.
How could she have forgotten it was Faolan’s bed?
How?
For all that she believed herself a woman fully grown, in that instant, she was certain she was about fifteen winters at best and back in the grip of that awkward time between childhood and her body changing into an adult.
Cora turned around so fast her skirts spun out. Her feet made hard sounds on the floor as she all but ran toward the door. Thank Christ she’d come to her senses before making use of the wash water. It was there for Chief McKay.
And so was the bed.
She was through the door and down the first few steps before she controlled the urge to run. Her steps were echoing inside the stone walls. Cora forced herself to stop and draw in a few breaths. There was no need to appear at the bottom of the stairs looking like a startled virgin.
The words suit ye well enough at the moment.
Cora groaned and ordered her mind to behave. She grasped the rail and descended the rest of the steps.
“Is there aught else ye require, Mistress?”
Cora jumped and landed on the bottom of her skirt. Off-balance, she fell back and would have landed on her backside if Faolan hadn’t reached out to grasp her forearm. The connection between their flesh was jarring once more. It froze her breath as she locked gazes with him.
How was it possible to be so very aware of another person?
“Mistress?” Faolan inquired as she remained silent. “Where are ye thinking to go with the light fading?”
Cora came to her senses in a rush. Heat flickered in her checks as she drew in a stiff breath and released her grip on his arm. Faolan took a moment longer before he opened his hand.
“Best for ye to return abovestairs, lass.”
His tone was low, but there was no missing the ring of authority in it. He’d straightened up from where he’d been leaning against the wall. Now, his bulky frame was completely blocking her path to the kitchen.
“That is yer chamber.” Cora detested the way her voice came out in a near squeak. She swallowed and tried to gather up her composure. “I will sleep on the bunk in the kitchen.” She nodded. “Aye. Pray, forgive me for not thinking the matter through.”
There were two bunks built right into the thick walls of the kitchens. It was a common enough arrangement for whoever was expected to rise first and begin making the morning porridge. A good position for many who didn’t want to worry about being warm, for the cooking fires would make certain the kitchens remained cozy throughout even the bitterest of winter nights. A roof overhead and a full belly. Common blessings in a world where life was often very harsh.
“For now, ye will sleep abovestairs.” Faolan made his decision clear. He lifted his hand and pointed behind her. “Do nae appear down here until first light, Mistress.”
His words were resolute. As was the hard bulk of his body placed so very solidly between her and the kitchen.
“I cannae take yer chamber from ye, Chief McKay,” Cora argued. “I will sleep in the kitchen and be grateful.”
“Ye are Laird Mackenzie’s sister,” Faolan spoke gruffly. “Propriety will be observed.”
“Sleeping in yer bed is no’ precisely correct.”