The Scottish Bride - Catherine Coulter [50]
“Not more than ten minutes,” Mary Rose said. “Too long, but I managed to catch onto a tree branch and pull myself out. Everything is all right now. Don’t worry, it would have been difficult to drown, the stream isn’t deep enough, even now when the banks are nearly overflowing.” Surely Erickson realized that, surely he would never have left if he’d feared she could drown.
“But you couldn’t go home?”
“I rode immediately to Vallance Manor. Then I realized I couldn’t go inside.”
She saw that Meggie was frowning. Obviously she wanted to know what was going on, she wanted to know why Mary Rose couldn’t stay at Vallance Manor. How to explain to a little girl that this man would have raped her if she hadn’t jumped into the stream? That he was there at Vallance Manor when she’d ridden there, and she didn’t know why? She closed her eyes. “I don’t feel very well, Meggie. Do you think I could just lie here for a little while, perhaps sleep a bit?”
“Yes, Mary Rose. I will go play chess with Papa. Perhaps it will distract him. Perhaps he will forget that I am keeping something from him.”
“You know he won’t,” Mary Rose said, never opening her eyes. “I will leave just as soon as I am able,” she added, and wondered if she would have to walk out of Kildrummy Castle stark naked. Her clothes were shredded and Meggie was ten years old. She sighed. She would worry about it once she’d rested. Yes, an hour, perhaps, to let her body warm and regain strength. An hour . . .
Meggie realized Mary Rose was asleep. She appeared to be breathing easily. But she was so very pale. Meggie stood over her, wondering what was going on, knowing it must be one of those adult sorts of things that they believed a young person, even a very smart one, wouldn’t understand.
She gently touched her fingertips to Mary Rose’s cheek and patted it. She had to leave now, find her papa and distract him. She looked one more time at Mary Rose before she let herself out of the bedchamber.
Meggie ate her dinner very slowly, gathering the peas one by one onto her fork, wondering all the while how she was going to get food to Mary Rose. Her father said, “You’re learning quickly, Meggie. When you moved your queen, checking me, I must admit that I was worried for a moment.” He hadn’t been, but this was one of those untruths that made a child smile and try all the harder.
“Really, Papa?”
“Really. Now, after dinner I must leave you for just a little while. I must ride to see Erickson MacPhail. There are matters I need to discuss with him. He wasn’t there earlier. I won’t be long.”
“Is it about Mary Rose, Papa?”
Tysen started to shake his head, but then he realized there was a thread of fear in his daughter’s voice. What could she possibly know about this mess? He said, “Yes, Meggie, it is about Mary Rose. But don’t worry, all right? I will make certain he understands the, er, situation.”
Tysen sat back then, waiting for her to beg him to take her with him. To his surprise, she didn’t say another word. She was studying the buttered potatoes in the center of her plate. Now this was strange, he thought, and he was soon frowning. Something was going on here. But what?
It was then that Mrs. MacFardle said from the doorway, “Excuse me, my lord, but Sir Lyon is here. He insists that he must speak to you. He won’t be put off—not that I would, naturally, even if you were in your bed, sleeping.”
“Thank you, Mrs. MacFardle. Tell Sir Lyon that I will be right along.” Tysen tossed his napkin beside his plate and rose. He’d taken two steps when he realized that Meggie wasn’t right on his heels. He was surprised to see her wrapping several slices of bread in a napkin.
He didn’t say anything, but he planned to get to the bottom of whatever this was later. He strode out of the dining room. Sir Lyon was waiting for him in the entrance hall. Pouder was sitting in his chair beside the front door, his head down, nearly reaching his chest, apparently asleep.
“Sir,” Tysen said. “Is there a problem?”
“Where is she, my lord?”
“I beg your pardon?”
“Mary Rose. She is