Cassian (The Immortal Highland Centurions #2) - Jayne Castel Page 0,8
summer. Is that clear?”
The threat hung in the room, heavy and cold.
Silence drew out, and when Gavina replied, her voice shook slightly. “Aye, husband. Very.”
“We shall celebrate Beltaine inside the hall tonight,” De Keith replied. He still held his wife in a gimlet stare. “I’ll leave it to ye to inform those within the castle of the change of plans.”
And with that, the De Keith laird swiveled on his heel and strode from the chamber without a backward glance.
Another silence followed him.
Gently, Aila inserted the last pin into Gavina’s hair and stepped back to admire her crowning glory. Her mistress had the most beautiful hair: it was as pale as sea-foam, and when loose, it fell over her slender shoulders in heavy waves. But it was also just as lovely braided and pinned atop the crown of her head.
Many folk said that David De Keith had wed the bonniest woman in Scotland, yet Aila had rarely seen him glance at his wife with anything but disdain.
“My Lady,” Aila ventured finally when the pained hush drew out. “Are ye well?” She moved around to look at Gavina’s face, her heart constricting when she saw that the lady’s cornflower-blue eyes glittered with tears. Her heart-shaped face was pinched.
With a jolt, Aila realized that Gavina wasn’t upset as much as infuriated. “My Lady?”
“Aye, I’m as well as to be expected, Aila,” Gavina replied tightly. “I’m torn between wishing my husband would choke on his nooning meal, and chastising myself for giving him another opportunity to humiliate me.”
“But ye weren’t to know that—”
“I should have realized that holding a bonfire this year wasn’t wise,” Gavina cut her off.
“But everyone looks forward to it.” Aila certainly had been. She’d hoped that Captain Gaius would attend, and that they’d dance around the fire together, hand in hand.
“Aye, but as much as it pains me to admit it, David is right. My brother’s threats are worrying indeed. We can’t leave the keep vulnerable to attack … even for one night.”
Aila went silent at this, lowering her head as disappointment settled upon her. “So, there will be no dancing?”
Lady Gavina favored her with a brittle smile. “Of course, there will be, Aila. Once the banquet is done, we shall push back the tables and let the dancers take the floor in the hall.” A groove etched itself between her brows then as she studied her maid properly for the first time since David De Keith’s stormy exit. “Are ye hoping a certain man will ask ye to dance?”
Aila stiffened, cursing the blush that rose to her cheeks at her mistress’s penetrating look. However, unlike Heather, Lady Gavina wouldn’t push her to reveal the name of her wished-for suitor. Aila’s throat tightened. Heather’s lack of support still stung.
“Aye,” Aila admitted, dropping her gaze to the woven rug on which she stood. “Can I ask ye something, My Lady?”
“Of course,” Gavina replied. Aila noted the edge of reserve in the woman’s voice. She never had to worry about Lady Gavina prying, for her mistress was an intensely private person herself. Despite that she’d served Gavina for years now, her mistress had shared very little of her thoughts and feelings with her.
Perhaps it was their relationship that prevented her. Maybe she confided more in Heather, whom she often spent afternoons with, or in Lady Elizabeth—the wife of Robert, Dunnottar’s former laird. Robert De Keith was now an English prisoner, and his brother had taken his place until his return. If he ever returned.
“What would ye suggest, if a lass is in love with a man who hasn’t yet noticed her?” Aila asked, gathering her courage. “Is there a way to … encourage him?”
She glanced up then, meeting Lady Gavina’s eye. Her mistress surveyed her for a long moment before a rare smile curved her lips. “I’m probably not the best person to ask such a question,” she said after a pause. “As ye know, my marriage was an arranged one.”
Aila inclined her head, her interest piqued by Gavina’s response. “Were ye pleased when yer father organized the match?”
The faint smile remained upon Gavina’s lips, although her eyes shadowed when she nodded. “I was never rebellious … and as the only daughter, I was expected to marry advantageously. When the younger De Keith son sought my hand, it was an opportunity to forge peace between our clans … and I was eager to please my father.”
Aila fought the urge to frown, questions bubbling up inside her. This was an opportunity to learn