Lady Eilean

Chapter 18

The next day, I snapped and shook out sheets as I changed bed linens throughout the castle. Eager for anything to keep me warm, distracted, and busy, I begged the laundress to give me a task. The day was bitingly cold and I would have frozen to death at my desk tabulating figures. Despite the drop in temperature, bright sunshine taunted me through the wide windows as I freshened up the guest rooms.

"Good morning, my lady," Calum said, looking in on me as I stripped a bed.

I jumped with surprise, "Oh! Hello." I placed my hand over my heart as it pounded.

Calum bowed to me, his face twisted in a knowing grin, before leaning against the doorframe casually. "When they told me the Mistress of the castle was preparing the guest rooms, changing linen is not what I envisioned."

"Let me guess, you thought I'd be laying sprigs of lavender on pillows or arranging becoming flower bouquets?" I said with a huff, brushing stray hair away from my face.

"Something like that," he chuckled.

"We all help here," I said plainly. "I see you were let into the castle at last. I hope a night in the courtyard was not too unbearable."

Calum shrugged, "I am a soldier, or I was. A night in icy mud is nothing. Your laundress, on the other hand..." he laughed, "I might need some time before my skin hardens up again. She inflicted a very harsh scrubbing."

Pulling open a clean, starched sheet, I laughed. "Yes, she has very exacting views on hygiene. Beware, sir, if she does not think the servants are collecting your laundry with enough regularity, she will skulk into your chambers and take them for a proper washing."

"I will be on my guard, lady."

I looked up, shaking my head. "Please, call me Eilean. I think you can tell by now that I do not stand on ceremony."

Calum surveyed the room, me in it, and the bedclothes in my hands. "I don't know what would have given me that impression," he said wryly. "But I will agree only if you call me Calum. Or High Lord of the Mountain Vistas, if you feel so inclined."

"Is that a proper family title?"

"No," Calum laughed, "I just wanted to see what I could get away with."

I jerked my chin, "Lift the corner of that mattress and I might let you get away with more than you ought."

With a scandalized look, Calum obliged. I tossed him a corner of the sheet and he tucked it in. "I came to thank you for the clothes, and your hospitality. These are the first new rags me or my men have had in over a year. It does something for my soul, having a clean, proper outfit."

Eyeing him up and down, I noted the clean clothes and brushed hair. Pulled from my brothers' closets, his garments were a touch too formal. No one had been so well dressed in Stormway in years. I looked down at my threadbare dress self-consciously. While I by no means missed the scratchy and restrictive gowns of the past, it would have been nice to have a dress cut from something other than lumpy, beet-dyed wool.

"I understand," I said quietly. After yesterday's courtyard introduction, I had combed and braided my hair properly for the first time in months. It felt... nice. Crossing the room, I picked up a few clean quilts from a basket. I laid them out across the bed.

"I told you yesterday that we could not shelter you for long. I must rudely ask you how long you intend to stay."

Calum grabbed the side of the quilt closest to him and smoothed it down. "Not too long, I do not want to be a burden. Forgive me for saying it is obvious you are struggling."