“I’d be happy tae, I daena like Mookie tae be down there. He is verra sensitive and they are oft speakin’ on him as if he is a meal.”
Archie put out his arms to be lifted onto Beaty’s lap. Ben cuddled on her other side.
We all sat for a moment enjoying the camaraderie of women, then Hayley said, “Well, we better go help Zach, he’s probably in way over his head.”
Four - Kaitlyn
Zach was in a kilt standing the middle of the kitchen, a full foot taller than everyone else. He had some kind of doughy, battery stuff up to his elbows. He rubbed his forehead leaving a streak of flour there.
The scents of cooking wafted through the air, wood fire, smoke, cooked onion, fish, and herbs like rosemary and sage. These smells were a relief after the putrid smells in the rest of the castle.
The women and men of the kitchen, mostly women, seemed miffed and amused by Zach being there. The tattoo on his chest peeked out of the neck of his shirt and he looked frazzled. “Do you know how many people they’re going to try to feed with this thin soup? Seriously?”
I asked, “But that’s just the first course, right?”
He laughed and assigned us jobs: manning the ladle over a big pot of boiling soup, or passing a hunk of bread and butter to each man as they rushed the kitchen for their meal.
Hayley had done this before so I watched her for cues, because Zach’s instructions had been hurried and vague. I wasn’t prepared for the press of the men when they entered, Sean at the head of the line, Liam behind him, Magnus, then Fraoch and Quentin and James, and then many more. Lizbeth rushed around making sure the serving went smoothly.
Sean held forth his bowl, and Hayley ladled soup into the middle. I placed a hunk of bread on the edge. He joked, with a chuckle, “Young Magnus, yer wife is holdin’ yer bairn and servin’ yer meal, she has become quite accustomed tae her wifely duties.”
He looked so much older than when I first met him, rough-hewn, imposing. With Uncle Baldie gone and the Earl and his son often away in Edinburgh, he had grown into the man of the castle, a position fraught with dangers and responsibilities. “Madame Kaitlyn, Young Magnus tells me ye hae born him a daughter?”
“I have, her name is Isla.”
“I am glad tae hear of it.” He clapped Magnus on the back.
Magnus met my eyes, his own filled with pride, a nod of his head. “How is she?” He held out his bowl. I placed a hunk of bread on his soup. I pulled the edge of the tartan away so he could see Isla sleeping against my front.
He grinned. “She is where I would like tae be.”
“I ken,” I joked. Then added, “She is good, sleeping. She forgives us for time-jumping. Archie too. Beaty is watching over him in the nursery.”
“Good, we have spent the day searchin’ the forest for the last of the army. We will discuss it in the Great Hall after the meal.”
He glanced down the line of men waiting to be fed. “Twill be a long time feedin’ this lot, ye tell them if they speak trouble tae ye Young Magnus will hae them strung up for—”
“I will, no worries, plus I have Hayley here.”
She gestured widely with her ladle. “No one gives me lip at all, because I’ll give them the scary eye.” She contorted her face into a monstrous look and Fraoch laughed.
“Och, m’wife is terrifying.” His expression was gleeful. He thrust his bowl forward for the bread. She gave him an extra ladle of soup and he grinned.
To me he said, “Madame Kaitlyn, ye are well, your bairn?”
“Very well, thank you for asking, Fraoch.” I gave him an extra hunk of bread to match Magnus’s portion.
But then after Quentin and James the whole rest of the line passed us, and it wasn’t fun to talk to them. Some were wretched and some boorish. I reminded myself to not make eye contact, and was greatly relieved knowing Isla was hidden in the sling and I had a gun in my bag.
And then we were done. Zach was long gone, off to the Great Hall. He had helped with the meal because he wanted to, but he was also allowed to eat with the men. The rest of us, apparently on ‘castle siege rules’, had to wait and