Richard was losing patience. “Would someone mind explaining why my wife is so proud of me brothers?”
“We worked hard today,” Colyne said as he stuffed a bit of fish into his mouth. “I learned how to thatch a roof today.”
Seeing his cousin’s confusion and distress, Lachlan stepped in to explain it all. “’Twas Aeschene’s idea. Yer brothers not only thatched a roof today, they also helped to weed a few gardens, chopped wood, carried water,” he paused to recollect what else he’d been told.
“I milked a cow, too,” Colyne added with a mouthful of food. “Do not forget that.”
Stunned, Richard stared at his brothers for a long moment. “Raibeart, is this true?”
“Aye,” he replied proudly. “We also gathered rushes for auld Maudie and widow Flora.”
Still not fully grasping what he was being told, Richard said, “And what pray tell did ye do to deserve such punishment?”
“They did it all voluntarily, Richard,” Aeschene told him.
“Ye jest.”
Hurt on behalf of her new brothers-by-law, she said, “Nay, I do not jest. They were quite happy to help.”
Richard shook his head in dismay as he rolled it all over in his mind. The only voluntary thing his brothers ever did was get into mischief.
“They want to help make yer keep and holdings beautiful again,” Marisse told him. “They want to help ye, m’laird.”
None of it made a damned bit of sense to Richard.
“’Tis true, cousin,” Lachlan said with a proud smile.
With a shake of his head, Richard went back to his meal. “I give it a day or two more before those two are back to makin’ trouble.”
Aeschene took his statement as a personal affront. “If ye expect the worse that is what ye will get.”
Puzzled and a bit irked with her tone, he glanced up from his trencher.
“Have faith, Richard, in yer brothers. For ’tis certain they have all the faith in the world with you.”
As much as he hated to admit it, he knew to a certain extant his wife was right. However, she had only been here a few days. He had years of experience trying to keep his brothers from killing each other, or worse yet, someone else with one of their shenanigans.
“Pardon me, but I am more used to me brothers fightin’ like cats and dogs and getting into more trouble than a group of drunken Highlanders visitin’ Edinburgh for the first time.”
“I can assure ye, Richard, that those days are gone,” Aeschene told him pointedly. “And I believe Colyne and Raibeart would give ye their words on that as well.”
He scoffed openly before glancing at his brothers. His stomach tightened when he saw the hurt in their young eyes. Clearing his throat, he said, “Be this true? Would ye give me yer word that you’re done behavin’ like heathens?”
“Aye,” Colyne replied.
“My word is my bond.” Raibeart sat taller, the solemnity in his voice rivaling that of an aged Highlander.
Richard accepted their promise, but inwardly, he firmly believed their good intentions wouldn’t last long. Still, he had to give them praise for at least making the attempt.
With their dinner finished, Black Richard sat back in his chair, rubbing his stomach.
Raibeart stood up and patted Colyne on his shoulder. “We have a long day ahead on the morrow,” he told him. “We should get to bed.”
Richard waited until they were half way up the stairs before he leaned in and whispered into his wife’s ear. “Are ye certain ye have not drugged them?”
Aeschene rolled her eyes. “Richard, really.”
“An exorcism mayhap?” he asked playfully.
“Must ye look a gift horse in the mouth?”
He chuckled and gave her hand a gentle squeeze. “Ye have no idea the trouble those two have gotten into over the years.”
“Of course I do,” she told him. “I had to listen to complaints all day long.”
“What do ye mean?”
She rested an arm on the edge of the table. “We went from cottage to cottage, offerin’ our help in any way we could think of,” she began. “And at each cottage, I had to listen to people tell me how the boys had caused them trouble or harm in the past.”
“Ye went from cottage to cottage?” he asked.
“Aye, we did. After I learned from Marisse that many of the cottages were in disrepair, I came up with the idea to help.”
“And ye thought usin’ the two heathens was a good idea?” he asked with a raised brow.
She chose to ignore his insult. “Anyway, once I listened to their complaints and then explained my plan - to keep the boys so busy they would not have time to get into trouble ... Well, everyone was quite keen on that idea.”
From the other end of the table, Lachlan said, “Rather ingenious, aye?”
“Thank ye, Lachlan,” Aeschene said with a proud smile before turning back to her husband. “I have learned ye like to use chores as a form of punishment.”
“Aye, I do. Those lads have scrubbed more chamber pots in the past few years than I would care to count.”
“Well, instead of usin’ chores as a punishment, I thought it might be best to shine a different light on the matter. The boys truly wish to have a purpose, to feel part of yer family and clan.”
He found her comment rather irksome. “Are ye sayin’ they dunnae feel part of my family?”
“Aye, I am,” she answered honestly. “But ’tis only because they have never felt they had a true purpose, ye ken?”
His stomach began to bubble with anger. “Nay, I do not ken.”
Aeschene sighed as she drummed her fingers on the table. “Please, do not be angry. I am simply sayin’ I ken how the lads feel. For a very long while, I did not feel part of my family. I wanted so much to have a purpose, to feel as though I was contributin’ instead of bein’ a burden.”
While he could very well understand how a blind person might feel that way, he couldn’t understand how his brothers would arrive at similar conclusions.
“They ken ye love them,” she added. “But even young lads need to feel a sense of purpose.”
Mayhap she was right. Richard thought back to his childhood, of fostering with the MacDougalls. Not once did he ever feel he didn’t belong or wasn’t an important part of the family. He’d been kept too busy to even consider such feelings. Still, he did feel rather angry that Aeschene, who had only been here a few days, and who was also relatively blind, had been able to see what he hadn’t.
Why hadn’t he been able to see it?
“Ye have been far too busy rebuildin’ all that was lost and destroyed,” she said. Reaching out, she found his arm and gave it a gentle pat. “Ye be a right fine laird, Richard and we all ken ye have done yer best with yer brothers.”
There was no condescension in her tone, still, he felt irritated. He should have figured out what was best for his brothers, not this woman who was a relative stranger.
It occurred to him then that he could use her idea to his own advantage. Colyne and Raibeart would be kept busy, but they would also be able to keep a watchful eye on Aeschene.