Wee William's Woman, Book Three of the Clan MacDougall Series (29 page)

In the days since the ceremony, some things had changed. She was learning to read, along side her brother and sister. They were fully recovered and now allowed to play out of doors along with the other children. Elise had no problems making friends. John, however, was a bit slower to warm up to the idea of Scotland being their new and permanent home. Nora could only hope that with time and kindness, he would eventually adjust.

She had moved into the women’s solar, along with Elise. Their pallets were side by side and the room was in sharp contrast to the women’s solar at Castle Firth. This one was bright, sunny, and warm. The walls were draped in beautiful tapestries; the women were kind and graciously tried to teach Nora and Elise a few words in Gaelic.

But other than that, nothing else had changed. She had noticed that all the men did their best to stay completely away from her. She found that very unsettling and could not fathom why they behaved in such a manner.

Where the women were fun, generous, helpful, the men all acted as though she carried a pox! All save for Wee William, Daniel and David, and the other men that had brought her to Gregor. They were the only men to speak to her.

So here she was, standing before Angus McKenna, asking for his help. She held no idyllic notions that she’d ever find a romance like the one between Aishlinn and Duncan. She needed to think logically about the entire thing. Mayhap, if Angus were to spread the word that she was in fact seeking a husband, the men might treat her differently.

“A husband?” Angus looked positively baffled. “Ye want me to find ye a husband?”

Nora could not understand why her request seemed so foreign to Angus. It wasn’t as if she had asked him to pull the moon down from the sky so that she might have a better look at it. For a moment, she began to wonder if she weren’t breaking some Scottish social protocol that frowned upon such a request.

“I am sorry, m’lord, if my request is out of order,” she demurred. She had her hands clasped in front of her and prayed he could not see them tremble.

Angus blinked again and looked at his council. Fergus had a peculiar grin to his face, and the other men looked as though they were fighting to keep from laughing. Nora found the entire ordeal very unsettling. She was about to beg for their forgiveness and run from the room when Angus stood up.

“I see. Ye want a husband. Do ye have a particular man in mind?”

Nora shook her head ever so slightly. Truth be told, she’d rather Wee William were the one to offer his hand. But since he’d not shaved his beard or showed any outward signs that he wished to be anything more than friends, she assumed he had no romantic intentions toward her.

“Nay, m’lord. There is no one in particular.”

She took note of the glances that were cast between the men on the other side of the table. They whispered to each other in Gaelic and a few of them chuckled. Nora wasn’t sure she wished to know what they were saying and decided there was, perhaps, bliss in being ignorant.

“What kind of man do ye seek, lass? What kind of husband do ye wish fer?” Fergus asked.

Nora swallowed hard and gave his question some thought before answering. “Well, m’lord, I’d prefer a man who will not beat me.”

Her statement caused a bit of an uproar. There was much growling and scowling. One of the men stood up and said something to her in Gaelic. Thought she had no idea what he was saying, there was no mistaking his anger.

Angus ordered them all to be still. “Lads!” he boomed. “Remember, the lass is Sassenach. She comes from a land where men beat their wives far more often than they bathe!”

Nora took offense to his statement. “M’lord, I can assure you that not
all
Englishmen beat their wives! My father never laid an angry finger on my mother.”

Angus looked and sounded sincere in his apology. “Fergive me, lass. But we find beating a woman or a child a most disgusting action. Such a deed is not only frowned upon here, ’tis grounds for expulsion. To suggest there be a man among us that would hit a woman, well, ’tis about as likely as yer king voluntarily givin’ Scotland her freedom.”

Nora regretted the fact that she had insulted the men. However, she did not regret the fact that she wanted to make it abundantly clear that she wanted a kind husband. “I do apologize, m’lord. I meant no disrespect. Please, forgive me. I was married to a very harsh man for more than a year. He thought nothing of beating me, for even the slightest transgression.”

She truly disliked admitting that fact openly to this group of strangers. Nora wanted to leave that part of her life far behind her.

“I can understand yer worry lass,” Angus voice had softened. “Ye can rest assured that no matter what MacDougall man ye might marry, he will no’ lay an angry hand to ye. Ye have me word on that.”

Nora thanked him with a smile before continuing on with her list of requirements. “My other requirement would be that he would allow my younger brother and sister to live with us.” That would be the only deal breaker she could think of, that would keep her from marrying someone. “And I want his promise in writing, before we’re married, that he would allow it.” She would not be tricked into marrying another man who would quickly turn John and Elise away.

Angus nodded his head as he crossed his arms over his chest. “I do no’ see where that would be a problem. Do ye have any other wishes?”

Aye, I wish for a man who can make the roof of my mouth tickle when he kisses me,
she thought to herself. There would be no way she could say those words out loud. “He must be kind and want to have children.”

Angus nodded. Thus far, her demands could easily be met by any number of available men. “Anything else?”

Nora could think of several other things she’d wish to find in a husband, but could not put them to voice. “Nay, m’lord. I have nothing else.”

“Well, then,” Angus said as he rubbed the palms of his hands together. “I shall spread the word that ye be lookin’ fer a husband. Yer a bonny lass. I do no’ think it will take long to find ye one.”

Nora hoped that he was correct and that when the men learned she was seeking a husband, they might begin to treat her differently.

She thanked each of the men and left the room, feeling a bit better than she had when she had first entered.

Fergus was the first man to break out into raucous laughter and was quickly joined by the rest of the men in the room. “How do ye think Wee William will respond to this bit o’ news?” he asked Angus.

Angus was not able to answer the question. He was too busy trying to catch his breath. The lass hadn’t a clue what her request was going to do to Wee William. “I dunnae! But I wish to be there to see the look on his face!”

“I wonder how many men are brave enough to offer fer her!” Thomas Gainer said with tear filled eyes.

Wee William had come to see the clan council a week ago, asking for a bit of land to call his own. He was quite willing to pay for it. The clan had refused his offer of money and instead gave him piece of land not far from Aishlinn and Duncan’s home, as a reward for his many years of fealty and service to the clan.

When they had inquired as to why he wanted the land, Wee William explained that he was not getting any younger and that he would not always be able to fight as a warrior. He was simply making plans for his auld age. And he was absolutely adamant that it had nothing to do with thoughts of marriage.

The laughter finally began to subside and wagers were placed as to just how many days were left before Wee William shaved his beard. Others placed bets on whether or not Wee William would have an apoplexy at the news.

Angus gave it four days before Wee William shaved his beard, where Fergus gave him a week. “He’s too damned stubborn fer his own good, I tell ye. He’ll be able to hold out fer a week, but no’ a day longer.”

Angus called for a messenger to let the men in the clan know that a certain young woman was actively seeking a husband.

“She did what?” Wee William’s angry voice thundered across the training fields. Everything came to an abrupt halt. Men began heading toward Wee William and Rowan to learn the source of his anger.

Rowan fought hard to take on a serious demeanor, but he found the look of terror blended with fury on Wee William’s face, comical.

“Aye, Wee William. She went to Angus and in front of the whole council, she asked him to help her find a husband.” Rowan had to bite his cheek to keep from laughing. “And they agreed to help her.”

Wee William glowered at no one in particular. He was furious with…well, with the entire world. He would have sworn, not more than a few moments ago, that he had his feelings for the lass completely under control. Apparently, he had misjudged his heart.

Nay, he could not blame his heart. ’Twas Nora’s fault. Somehow, she had managed to cast a spell upon him, had bewitched him in some manner, to make him feel this way. He swallowed hard and considered it.

“What about her mournin’ period?” The thought had come to him so quickly, the words spilled out of his mouth before he could rein them back in.

Rowan raised both eyebrows. “Angus says there be no reason for the lass to be in mournin’ if she has to lie about her feelings. He said it would be an affront to the good Lord to make her pretend to mourn a loss she welcomed. And ye ken how Angus is about lyin’.”

A year. Was it really too much to ask for? He believed that after a year of Nora in mourning, he’d have his feelings for the woman so under control that when or if this day had come, he’d be better able to deal with it. He also knew that the men would have to stay away from her, what with her being a widow and all.

His plans for the next year flittered away like autumn leaves in the wind.

“Don’t ye think it’s a bit soon fer her to be lookin’ fer a husband?” Wee William asked.

Rowan feigned incredulity quite well. “Nay! The lass
needs
a husband. She needs a home fer brother and sister. She wants bairns of her own, Wee William. She canna live in the castle fer all her days!” He clicked his tongue and shook his head for added emphasis.

If she wanted bairns of her very own, that meant she’d have to join with a man. It was too much to hope for another immaculate conception. His stomach roiled at the thought of someone other than himself giving her that which he could not admit to wanting to give her.

The image of a naked Nora, lying in the arms of any other man, brought forth a rage he had never quite experienced before. Before he realized what had happened, he flipped the trestle table onto its side, the contents spilling to the ground, crushing the casks of ale and tankards in its wake.

The crowd that had formed began to cautiously walk away. Wee William’s face was twisted into an ugly scowl. His chest heaved as sweat trickled off his brow.

“If one man so much as blinks at Nora, I will tear him apart, piece by bloody piece and feed the bits to the scavengers!”

There wasn’t a man present, or another who would hear of it later, that did not believe every word he said.

Nora could not make sense of it. The men were behaving worse than before she had asked Angus to find her a suitable husband. There was simply no denying it.

Earlier that morning when Mary asked her to help take bread and meat to the men on the training fields, she had happily agreed. On her way to the fields however, two men actually jumped behind the bushes that lined the walkway. One of the stable boys crossed himself, mumbled something in Gaelic, and then raced back into the stable, slamming the door behind him.