Black Richard's Heart (The MacCulloughs #1) - Suzan Tisdale Page 0,29

buildings and a keep that looked as though it had been laid siege to only yesterday.

“What color be the stones?” Aeschene asked.

“Gray,” Marisse replied. “A light shade.”

Aeschene nodded, keeping her eyes straight ahead. “Is it a stone wall or wood?”

Black Richard answered, “It be stone, lass. A darker shade of gray.”

“How tall is it?” she asked him.

“The towers are four stories, the keep three,” he replied.

Marisse observed her new laird quietly. Aye, he was quite proud of this keep. And if her instincts were correct, he was also slightly smitten with his new wife. There was also no doubt that Aeschene was a bit smitten with him.

’Tis about time, she mused.

Now, if only Black Richard could admit his attraction to Aeschene. If he could — she was quite certain it would take some time for him to arrive at the same conclusion — then Marisse could move on with her own life.

Only time would tell.

Black Richard had made several changes to the keep in the last three years. The stone wall that ensconced the main building and its outbuildings for more than a century, had now been refortified and made much taller. So tall in fact, that from the outside looking in, one could only see the roof of the keep. A massive iron gate, that was lifted up with gears and the sweat of men, was their first line of defense set in that enormous stone wall. Battlements were the second, Machicolations were the third. Both lined the entire circumference of the crenelated wall, where men could defend whenever necessary, either with arrows or boiling oil.

The main keep itself had also gone through a major renovation. Gone was anything that made it seem opulent or even ‘home-like’. They had replaced the wide-open windows of the lower and upper floors with arrow slits. Bigger windows remained on the third floor — but they were few and far between. Also gone was the set of wide stone steps that led to the first floor. Black Richard decided it made for too easy an entry by marauders. Thus, they were replaced with narrow wooden stairs that left off at the two double doors on the second floor. The only other way in or out was on the opposite side of the structure, via another set of wooden stairs.

Now, the MacCullough keep was a formidable fortress. The only thing it lacked was more men.

Black Richard carefully led his wife up the wooden stairs as he explained to her the need for defense. Besides, ’twas the only thing he could think of to keep his mind off the fact that he wanted her in his bed.

“After we won our keep back, we made many changes to make it safer,” he told her as he held her hand, pulling her along behind him. “We are still undergoing those renovations.”

Marisse was coming up the steps behind them, with Lachlan and Rory bringing up the rear. Thankfully, Marisse kept a good distance between herself and Black Richard and Aeschene. Black Richard was glad for the distance. For inexplicable reasons, he had the desire to describe the surroundings to his new bride. As much as he tried to remain quiet, to hurry a long as quickly as possible, his traitorous heart would not allow it. It seemed to speak to his feet, slowing them down so that his eyes and heart could savor the moment.

Aeschene said nothing as she held onto the banister for balance and her husband’s hand for safety. What he did not know was that she was trying to memorize the number of steps between landings. ’Twas a trick of sorts that she and Marisse had developed over the years, to help make it easier for her to get around the MacRay keep without falling or tripping quite as much.

“The gathering room has been moved to the second floor,” Black Richard told her. “The bedchambers are on the third.”

“And what do ye use the first floor for?” she asked.

“The armory,” he told her as he they came to a stop on the second landing. “Our warriors sleep there.” The unmarried warriors numbered twenty-one in all.

Pulling open the large, heavy wooden door, he led Aeschene inside, into the small alcove.

“We be in the alcove,” he began. “Ahead is a door that leads to the gathering room. To yer right, is a door and stairs that lead to the north tower.”

There was another door, to their left, but Richard did not share that with her. Behind it