Black Richard's Heart (The MacCulloughs #1) - Suzan Tisdale Page 0,83
in a matter of moments, carrying a small jar in her twisted old hands.
“Apply this three times a day, lass. Let it soak in real good before ye put anything over it, like yer chemise or night clothes.”
Marisse took the proffered jar and thanked her kindly.
“Mind ye, it does nay smell very good,” Mrs. Randalf warned. “But ’twill cure what ails ye in a day or two.”
“How much do we owe ye?” Aeschene asked.
“Och! not a thing, m’lady. ’Tis an honor servin’ ye.”
Aeschene didn’t like being beholden to anyone. “I could not possibly accept the salve without givin’ ye somethin’ in return.”
“Consider it payment for the hard work the lads are doin’,” Mrs. Randalf replied.
With the matter settled, Marisse tucked the jar into her pouch and thanked the auld woman once again.
“’Tis I who should be thankin’ the two of ye,” she replied.
“Why?” Aeschene asked.
“Ye be the first bit of company I have had in quite a long while. Verra few come to just sit a spell and chat, or ask for me help.”
Aeschene knew all too well how that felt. If it hadn’t been for Marisse’s friendship, she was quite certain she would have withered away. “Mayhap we can return on the morrow,” she told her. “I have to stop and see Gylmyne as well.”
“Och! Gylmyne,” the woman said with a bright, toothless smile. “Ye would not ken it now, lassies, but when he was younger?” She clucked her tongue and fanned herself. “A handsome devil he was.”
Marisse giggled. “Aye, I thought he had the look of a man who had been good lookin’ in his youth.”
Taken aback, the auld woman cackled again. “Good lookin’?” She shook her head. “He was more than just good lookin’, he was damned beautiful!”
Marisse and Aeschene giggled at the auld woman’s response.
“That good lookin’?” Marisse asked cheekily.
The auld woman leaned in and whispered, “Lassies, he was such a beautiful man, I would have let me Herbert hold me clothes and watch.”
Aeschene was afraid to ask what she meant, but it must have been something truly wicked.
Mrs. Randalf had lied.
The salve she claimed did not smell verra good was as big an understatement as Aeschene had ever heard. The salve stunk worse than death.
She sat at the little table that held the washbasin, trying to gain the courage to apply the foul smelling, noxious salve to her chest. Lord above! If Richard smells this, he will not want a thing to do with me for a month.
With her chemise untied and her chest exposed, she pulled the lid from the jar once again. The smell assaulted her senses immediately. Quickly, she shoved the lid back onto it. I would rather the irritation get worse than to apply that to my person.
She hadn’t heard Richard walking down the hall, neither had she heard him open the door.
As soon as he said her name, she nearly jumped out of her skin. The jar flew out of her hands, over her shoulder, where it landed on the floor with a crack.
“What are ye doin’?” Richard asked inquisitively.
“Ye nearly scared me half to death!” She exclaimed, holding her hands against her chest, her heart pounding with fright.
He stepped into the room. “What on earth is that god awful smell?”
Aeschene scrambled to her feet. “Och! ye made me break it!”
Richard scanned the room quickly. He had seen the jar fly out of her hands.
“Where is it? I cannae see, but I can smell it.”
Richard held his breath, grabbed the chamber pot and made quick work of dropping the shards inside.
“God, it smells horrible!” Aeschene said, waving her hand in front of her face.
Richard grabbed a washing cloth and wiped up the floor and left the room without saying a word.
Aeschene went to the outer wall, feeling around for the furs that covered the window. With such poor vision, she couldn’t find the leather straps to tie the fur back. So she did the only thing she could think of in her panic-stricken state. She yanked and yanked until the fur came away from the window.
“I cannae bear that smell!” she exclaimed as she stuck her head out the window, gasping for fresh air.
“I cannae believe she wanted me to put that on my person,” she said as she gulped in the clean smelling evening air. Afraid to pull her head back into the room, she kept her head out of the window, not caring about the light rain that fell.