Devil of the Highlands Page 0,35

chicken.

A sudden splash of sunlight drew her attention to the door Fergus must have used to exit, and Evelinde watched curiously as a man, thin and somewhat gnarled by time, entered. He glanced toward Biddy, then almost seemed to tiptoe along that wall of the kitchen until he reached what appeared to be a tray of cooling pastries.

"Get away from those pasties, Scatchy, or ye'll be losing a finger," Biddy snapped without glancing up. "Fergus has already tried that, and I've no patience for ye men this morning."

Old and grizzled, Scatchy stared mournfully at the tray he stood beside and turned a scowl on Biddy. "Yer a cruel woman, me lady, making them and no letting us have any."

Evelinde gave a start at the title. Me lady? Her gaze swung back to Biddy, her eyes widening as she peered at her dress. All she'd noticed in her room was the apron, Evelinde hadn't taken heed of the gown beneath, which was far too rich to be a servant's. Who the devil was she and what was she doing acting as lady's maid and working in the kitchens? Evelinde wondered. Her husband had not mentioned any female family. But then he hadn't mentioned male family either, though she knew he had a cousin named Tavis, at least she thought Tavis was the cousin. One of the few comments Fergus had made to Cullen on the journey to Donnachaidh was that mayhap they shouldn't have left his cousin behind with the others because the man was likely to get waylaid by the first likely female and forget to return. Cullen had grunted and said that the other men would keep Tavis in line.

"Ye can have a pasty at the nooning along with everyone else," Biddy said unsympathetically. "Now be off with ye and go back to yer stables ere I mistake ye for one of me chickens."

She added an exclamation mark to the comment by slamming her knife down and slicing cleanly through a leg on the dead and plucked bird.

Shaking his head, the man made his way to the door, slowing to offer Evelinde a wide, toothless smile as he passed.

"Go on!" Biddy yelled, and glanced up to cast a glare at the man, which was replaced by surprise as she spotted Evelinde by the door.

"Lass!" Setting down her knife, the woman wiped her hands on the apron around her waist as she rushed to her side. "Yer up. Cullen thought ye'd sleep most of the afternoon away when he came back below."

Evelinde tried not to blush. "Nay. I slept through most of the journey here."

"Oh. Well, would ye like something to break yer fast?"

"If 'twould be no trouble," Evelinde said.

"No trouble at all," Biddy assured her. "Just take yerself on out and sit at the table, and I'll send a maid out with some mead and a pasty. Or would ye prefer some cheese and bread?"

"A pasty sounds lovely, but there's no need to send it out. I shall just eat it here. I have some questions to ask if it would not trouble you," she explained.

"Of course ye have questions. Come on over here then." Biddy led her back to where she'd been working when Evelinde had entered, pausing beside a bit of clean counter not far away, then glanced around, her gaze stopping on a young blond maid chopping vegetables. "Mary! Bring that stool over here fer the lass."

The girl stopped her chopping to pick up the stool and hurry over with it as Biddy then shouted for another servant to fetch a pasty and some mead for her.

"There ye are," Biddy said once she had Evelinde seated at the clean bit of counter with both food and drink. "Ye go ahead and ask what yer wanting to ken. I'll just keep working if ye doona mind."

"I do not mind," Evelinde assured her, then hesitated, unsure how to phrase her questions. Finally, she simply blurted, "Who are you?"

Biddy paused and raised surprised eyes to her, and said, "I introduced myself, lass. I'm Elizabeth Duncan, did ye forget? Did ye take a blow to the head in that fall from yer horse?" Frowning with concern, she set her knife down and moved toward Evelinde as if to examine her head.

"Nay, nay, I am fine," Evelinde assured her quickly, holding up her hands to ward her off. "I did not forget your name, 'tis just that Scatchy called you my lady, and I did not realize—I mean, when you helped