Black Richard's Heart (The MacCulloughs #1) - Suzan Tisdale Page 0,91

attics, she was still happy for her and her brother.

Richard scanned the letter for where he’d left off. “She and Darrin are quite happy. Lowrens has offered for Patrice MacGillyn. I do not think ye ken her for she is from a neighboring clan. He seems to be quite happy and looks forward to their union. They will reside here, of course, amongst us.

“Lowrens. He is one of yer brothers, aye?” Richard asked, looking up once again.

Aeschene nodded and urged him to continue.

Going back to the letter, he continued to read aloud.

Naught has been the same since ye left, my precious daughter. There are many days when I feel as though I am alone at sea with no one to talk to or confide in. Yer father does not understand my upset. But I would give anything in this world to look upon ye once again.

Richard felt as though he were interfering with an intimate moment betwixt mother and daughter. Like a spy looking in on something he shouldn’t. He swallowed hard and looked up at his wife.

She sat as still as a statue, holding on to every word. She didn’t look quite as upset as her mother felt in her letter. Yet, there was something just under the surface; something he couldn’t name.

“Is that all?” she asked, cocking her head to one side.

“I dunnae feel I should be reading this,” he began. “It is far too personal.”

A wan smile formed on her lips. “’Tis all right, Richard. There should be no secrets betwixt us. We are, after all, husband and wife.”

Had his own mother written such a letter to him, he wouldn’t have wanted anyone else to be privy to it. Still, his wife would be unable to read the letter, so he did as she asked and continued on.

I fear I must close this letter now. Yer father will return soon and he has forbidden me to write to ye. Please, do not write back as I would not want to cause him any upset.

Confusion knotted his brow. He reread the last two lines again, to make sure he’d read them correctly. “What does she mean he has forbidden her to write to ye? Ye are her daughter, for the sake of Christ!”

Aeschene startled at his harsh rebuke, even though she knew ’wasn’t her he was angry with. Her heart cracked at hearing the last few lines, but she refused to allow Richard to see her distress. “I am sure, that with time, my father’s opinion will soften.”

From her husband’s grunt of disproval, she knew he didn’t believe her.

“Is there aught else?” she asked.

Richard was quiet for a long moment. “Nay,” he replied. “She signs it, with all my love, yer mother.”

She sat quietly for a long moment, her lips drawn into a hard line. Truly, she did miss her mother. Their relationship had been so strained, especially over the last year. Her father had become harsher and harsher towards not only Aeschene, but with Elspeth as well. The thought that her mother was now all alone to face Garrin MacRay’s wrath made her stomach ache.

“Are ye well, lass?” Richard asked.

A slow nod before she stood. “Aye, I am well. Ye must be hungry. Let us go sup.”

And with that, she summarily dismissed any further discussion as it pertained to her family.

Chapter Sixteen

Construction on the keep was very nearly done. By Richard’s estimation, they would be done within a fortnight. He was looking forward to the day they could remove the scaffolding and devote more time to training his men. They’d been living on borrowed time for years now. Lord only knew when the Chisolms might attack again.

Richard was overseeing the installation of new stones on the second story when he heard shouting in the courtyard below. “Laird! Laird!” one of his men called up to him.

Climbing down from the ladder, Richard went to the ledge of the balcony. “What is it Deaclan?” he shouted to the man below.

“Some MacRays were just at our border and left a wagon. They said ’twas yer wife’s dowry.”

Richard thought back to the day he had married the lovely lass. He vaguely remembered signing a marriage contract. But he’d been so furious with the entire ordeal that he hadn’t paid much attention to what the document actually contained. And once he had set eyes on Aeschene for the first time, he no longer cared.

“Thank ye, Deaclan,” he called down. “Bring it to the rear of the keep. And find Lachlan for me.