The Highlander's Destiny (Highland Rogues #2) - Mary Wine Page 0,78

side of the door. Four burly Retainers were crowded onto the landing now. None of them was young enough for her to talk them into doing her bidding either. The oldest one reached up to tug on the corner of his cap.

“No disrespect intended, Mistress, but ye will be staying in the solar.”

The Retainer offered her no remorse as he firmly shut the door.

Cora smothered her growl as she turned and looked around the chamber.

The ladies’ solar.

It was a place Cora had spent a great deal of effort on avoiding. Intended for the elite females of a household, it was a place for the cultivation of feminine arts.

Aye, and a prison to keep daughters in before their weddings.

Ye’re being perverse. Just because ye have no love for sewing, does nae make a solar a prison…

Cora grunted in response to her inner voice. Sometimes, it was very annoyingly correct.

And ye are stuck here…so…

So, she’d best set her mind to making the most of her circumstances. She propped her hands on her hips and looked around.

Noreen’s taste for excess was evident everywhere. The solar took up an entire floor in one of the towers. It was round and had an abundance of windows. Each one was set with costly glass panes, so the windows might be opened even in winter. Between those windows, tapestries were hung to cover the plain stone of the walls.

Cora ventured closer to one, marveling at the workmanship. Beneath her feet, there was another tapestry. Not as intricate, but it was fuzzy. There were looms for embroidery and a harp if she had a mind to work on her music skills. A large wardrobe stood across the room. Cora opened the door to find lengths of fine hemp fabric for smocks and shirts. The bundles of fabric represented a small fortune because of how hard it was to produce.

Hemp would never rot. A wife would make her husband’s shirts as a sign of devotion and affection. Cora made a sour face, for she suspected Noreen had only sewn for Malcolm as a means to keep her position. But the wardrobe was stocked with treasures which proved just how much money Noreen had been allowed to spend on her whims.

And there was wool, too. Along with thread and a smaller box that contained all the tools for sewing. Cora peeked at the silver pins, astounded at the number of needles tucked so very carefully into needle books made of wool fabric scraps.

“Ye’ll stay in the solar until ye have shoes again.”

Faolan’s words rose from her mind.

Cora growled in frustration.

“That will nae help.”

Cora turned to see Brynna entering. She was balancing a tray, and the open door afforded Cora a view of the Retainers once again.

“Me husband is a beast.”

“I understand most husbands are,” Brynna answered. “Makes me glad I do nae have one.”

Brynna’s words deflated Cora’s anger instantly. The other girl had lost the man she loved.

Loved?

Since when are ye using that word?

Cora walked over obediently to the chair in front of the table, where Brynna was setting up a meal for her.

Love.

It was a word that astounded her. Mostly due to the fact that she had spent many, many hours lecturing herself on the dangers of ever using it.

Even thinking it might happen was a folly she’d forbidden herself.

It was why she’d saved her first kiss. Why, when a girl who was considered so unbridled had, in fact, been the most careful with her chastity.

So she wouldn’t risk falling in love with someone she might never have. The look on Noreen’s face as she’d stabbed Malcolm surfaced from Cora’s memory.

Aye, that was what happened to a woman who allowed herself to love when her family had clear intentions for her future. No arranged marriage carried the promise of love. Quite the opposite, really, for a man was allowed his liaisons. The wife, though, was afforded her solar.

The tapestries couldn’t warm up a man’s heart or a cold bed.

Yer bed was plenty warm with Faolan in it…

Heat flickered in her cheeks.

Cora looked at Brynna, determined to change the course of her thoughts. The girl wasn’t twisted as Noreen had been. Instead, she wore a sweet smile as she placed a small dish of sliced cheese on the table for Cora.

“It’s a fine meal,” Brynna observed. “I believe ye have won favor with Orla.”

“Ye, as well.” Cora recalled the way the Head-of-House had publicly agreed with Brynna.

Brynna’s eyes narrowed. “Do nae be too sure of that. Orla knows who is