An Unexpected Destiny (Completed)

Dancing in Machstown

Robin and I arrive in Machstown with hardly a word between us. It is just after dawn and we ride to the rendezvous tavern as shops are opening up and men beginning to leave their homes to go to the fields. Ferdinand is smoking a pipe I didn't know he had on a bench outside the door of the tavern. I wave warmly to him, relieved to find his shoulder bandaged underneath a jacket. My shoulders also sink as the tension from the barbed words exchanged between Robin and I last night vaporizes-- no longer do we have only one another for company.

Ferdinand waves back while Robin nods. I think he might smile, but then I watch for too long and he notices, so his lips remain in a line. When we dismount and the stableboy takes our horses away to the stable next to the tavern, Ferdinand teaes Robin for a less enthusiatic greeting of his own kin than I, the lady of a different clan, gave. Robin says "Lady Agnes has a cheerier temperament than I do. A result of a kinder lot in life."

Ferdinand stops puffing and raises an eyebrow before glancing at me. I sigh and cross my arms. So we were back to formalities, hmmm? I could do as I normally would: ignore and forget, but I am too perturbed by his self-pity to let it go. I shrug off my cloak and clearly address Ferdinand alone. "Sir Robin is obviousy very unaware of my true lot in life-- not that his is insignficant by any count. Yet there are others who have had worse, I am certain."

If Robin was a bottle of Coke shook up, his lid would be close to popping loose. His face turns a dark red and his hands clench into fists. Ferdinand's pipe slips out of his mouth and into his hand at my words, but he quickly forgets them when he sees Robin's face; he must be afraid Robin might hit me, because he stands up and hastily murmurs "Weary are both of you. Come, Isen and --"

"Agnes!" A voice cries the same moment the tavern door is flung open. The stench of beer and sweat floods out of the doorway and makes me want to put my cloak over my nose. In the doorway stands MacLeod. His hair is combed and his clothes clean-- as much as they can be; they are old and have been worn more times than they have been washed. I don't doubt my clothes will turn out the same way someday.

"Greetings, MacLeod," I say and smile. The explosion of bottle Robin drowns to fizz and now he stands there with sizzling eyes and ears.

MacLeod rushes forward and clasps my hands. "Lassie, you are certainly a sight for worried, weary eyes." He nods to Robin, the first time he has acknowledged his young leader. "I hope that rascal has treated you well and has refrained from being a thorn in your side."

Robin rolls his eyes and becomes interested in the dirt beneath his boots. I think he does this because MacLeod's comment might have actually hurt him. To hurt was not MacLeod's intent of course, but it still could have been a stab. I still am irritated with the man, and I will always bristle at any unjust accusation towards Dunbroch or the royal family; nevertheless, I do not want MacLeod to think-- especially if Ferdinand tells him about Robin's reaction to my comment-- Robin has been a terror to me. He may not be a gentleman like Alistair and the rest of the company, and he may have a terrible temper, but he still has shown that he has some form of respect of me. As long as he repsects me from a distance even with occasional sneers I can deal with it. I cannot be loved by everyone-- I don't want to be loved by everyone.

"No, no," I tell MacLeod, "Robin was a gentleman." Upon Robin raising his head and MacLeod's face of disbelief, I add: "A wee irritating yes, but a terror, no." MacLeod laughs and offers me his arm, which I take, and leads me into the tavern. Robin follows, leaving Ferdinand happily puffing on his pipe.

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Less than an hour later, after I had greeted a bruised yet enthusiatic Jude and quieter Isen, I stand in a room with a small bathtub filled halfway with steaming water. The two girls who had made the bath for me told me to wait a bit because the water was very warm--fresh off the stove. I had offered to help them carry pots and buckets of the water since it is after all my bath, but they said it was their job and would't let me. I think it has to do more with the fact that MacLeod, before I could stop him, introduced me as his lady cousin to the tavern owner and his wife.