Page 135 of Moon Craving

Una appeared to take the laird's directive to heart this time and spent time each

day familiarizing Abigail with the domestic working of the fortress. Abigail's suggestions

for meals and changes to the great hall were accepted without rancor, though she soon

realized doing things as they had been done in her father's keep was not always possible

or desirable.

One thing she stood firm on, and that was a rotating invitation to each of the

clanspeople and their families to dine with their laird. Talorc noticed immediately that

different clan members now joined him at the long banquet table for evening meals.

Rather than get angry, he had thanked Abigail for thinking of it and made sure he spent

time speaking with each evening's special guests.

While her husband trained his forces and oversaw improvements to what Abigail

already considered an impenetrable fortress, Guaire helped her to become acquainted

with the clan's many industries. Not only did the Sinclairs keep several herds of sheep

and harvest the wool for their own use, but they produced goods for trade with other clans

as well.

Their blacksmith and his two apprentices provided services for the surrounding

clans, and Guaire boasted that other Gaels came from as far as Ireland to trade for the

weapons Magnus forged. Despite the fact that its own laird did not sleep in a proper bed,

the Sinclair holding even boasted a carpenter and his apprentice son.

Abigail was more than a little impressed by their hard-working creativity and told

Guaire so. He nodded, "Aye, we've a good, strong clan, but we can thank the sound

leadership of our laird for a lot of it."

A burst of pride warmed Abigail's insides to be married to such a fine man. She did

not know what her sister Emily had found so lacking in Talorc of the Sinclairs, but Abigail

thought him to be a king among men. Her feelings for him grew steadily with each passing

day and her plan to rejoin her sister became a secondary consideration to the hope of

staying with the man she was coming to love permanently.

All was not blooming roses and sunshine among the Sinclairs for her, however.

Hiding her affliction became increasingly difficult the more people she came to know and

the greater the clan's acceptance of her grew. Every night she went to bed thanking God