Page 14 of A Laird and a Gentleman

“You’re rounding up sheep today?” Mistress MacInnes asked as she lowered Mariam’s blue riding habit over her head and began to tighten the laces at the back. “Do you know how to herd animals?”

As the laces tightened, Mariam emitted a sound somewhere between a laugh and a gasp. “Nay. But I have seen it done before. How hard can it be to ride behind the beasts and force them to go the way you want them to?”

Nessie laughed. The sound held only joy and no ridicule. “I’m sure you’ll figure it out, especially with m’laird to help you.” When the laces had been tied, Nessie helped Mariam into a matching woolen jacket before placing a hat upon her head. “There, now you are ready to meet the day. Shall we?” Nessie motioned toward the door.

Again, Mariam nodded. It was time for her to prove to Cameron she was indeed sorry for her behavior at the trial of Lachlan Douglas, and that there was some worth to her yet.

At the bottom of the stairs, Mistress MacInnes left Mariam to attend to her own duties. She hadn’t taken two steps toward the great hall before Hobbins, the steward, came forward from that chamber. He was a slender man, with wayward wisps of gray hair and a sparse mustache. “M’laird waits for you outside.”

With a nod, Mariam made her way to the inner courtyard. Dawn was beginning to lift, giving shape and substance to the gray walls of the castle. Clouds of mist were all that remained of the overnight rain. Even so, the excess moisture dripped onto the gravel in a steady drizzle to create puddles everywhere. The wet-cold seemed to seep right through her woolen riding habit as she approached the lone figure waiting for her.

Cameron was dressed in a belted plaid kilt. He was well armed with a saber in a sheath at his side, a horn-handled dagger belted to his waist, and a basket-hilt broadsword strapped onto his saddle.

“We are herding sheep, not going to war,” Mariam commented as she stopped beside him.

“It’s best to be prepared for anything in these uncertain times,” he replied as he swung up onto his horse, then waved his hand toward the chestnut mare she usually rode beside him.

Did he know something she did not? Was that why he had prepared himself for battle? She studied his features, searching for a sign as a sudden sense of unease came over her. Was it the dream she’d had last night, or something else that suddenly set her on edge?

“Shall we get started?” Cameron asked interrupting her thoughts.

Mariam frowned. “Mistress MacInnes had said you wanted a light breakfast before we left.”

He patted the saddlebag on his right. “I thought we would enjoy a repast along the way since the animals are in a field some distance from here. It may take us some time to get there.”

Mariam walked to her horse and gently stroked its muzzle. “Shouldn’t we wait until the mist lifts?”

A faint smile touched Cameron’s lips. “You’ve been riding these fields for the past year. Are you suddenly frightened you’ll get lost?”

“I’m not frightened. I was trying to be practical.”

He chuckled. “When have you ever been practical? Mount, and let’s be on our way.”

Mariam glared at Cameron as she swung up onto the horse’s back with ease. If he wanted to take the risk, who was she to stop him? “You go on ahead. I shall follow you.”

His brows rose in surprise. “The trail is wide enough for two.”

If she rode beside him, then he would know she searched for whatever it was that had caused her unease upon entering the courtyard. “I fear I won’t be good company this morning. I’m still tired and somewhat fuzzy.”

“Did you not sleep well?”

For a moment she considered telling him about the second dream she’d had, then changed her mind. Would he even believe her if she told him that what she saw usually came true? Finally, she responded, “Nay. I had too many things on my mind.”

His expression softened. “You need not worry about today. That you are attempting to do something for others is proof enough you can change.”

Mariam stared at him, totally at a loss for words. She had not expected him to forgive her so easily.

He laughed softly at the stunned look on her face. “Come, let’s get started. And if you won’t ride beside me, then at least keep close.”

“I will.”

He kicked his horse into a trot. They traveled in silence as the early morning sun rose higher in the sky, bathing the fields in light and turning the grass emerald. The sea of green stretched out before them in endless waves. They’d eaten their breakfast as they rode.

“We are about halfway there,” Cameron said, breaking the stillness as he brought his horse alongside hers.

“Why do you keep the sheep so far from the castle?” she asked, truly curious.

“The fields in close were being overgrazed so we moved them to a place farther out that had been ignored for an entire season.”