Devil of the Highlands Page 0,73

fresh batch of pasties."

"Aye, but I'll settle for an apple if we have any," Evelinde said, not wishing to take any of the valuable bargaining chits thus forcing the woman to make more.

"Ye'll take a pasty and enjoy it," Biddy responded at once, shuffling off to get her one. She collected a mug of mead and the originally requested apple for her, too, and returned. "Now take them out and settle yerself at the table while ye eat. Ye've been busy all week and need to look after yerself."

Evelinde murmured her thanks and left the kitchen with her treasure, feeling a little guilty anyway. She hadn't truly been busy this last week since her near fall down the stairs. She had simply taken on her duties as castellan.

Her gaze slid over the great hall as she crossed to the table, and a sense of pride slid through Evelinde as she took in the changes wrought. The barren walls had been freshly whitewashed and now sported her beloved tapestries, the chairs by the fire bore the cushions she and her mother had embroidered, and the floor was covered with fresh rushes. It looked much brighter and welcoming, she thought, and only wished her husband had troubled himself to notice, but he had been terribly distracted of late.

Evelinde snorted at her own thoughts. Her husband had been much more than distracted lately, he had—

"Is that one of Biddy's pasties?"

Distracted from her depressing thoughts, Evelinde glanced at Gillie with surprise as she found him suddenly at her side, escorting her to the table. He and Rory seemed always to be underfoot over the past week, she'd noticed, and was beginning to find it a bit wearying.

"Aye," Evelinde said as she settled at the table, then suggested, "Why do you not go see if Biddy needs anything done? She may give you a pasty if you assist her."

The man glanced longingly toward the kitchen, then shook his head and settled on the bench beside her. "Nay. I am not hungry. I shall just sit and keep you company."

Evelinde managed not to grimace as she concentrated on tearing her pasty in half. Where before it had been hard to find a man anywhere near the keep during the day while the women worked, now there seemed always to be at least two there. Fergus was forever finding some excuse or other to visit the kitchens, though, Evelinde was used to that. He had done that from the start, and she suspected the man had feelings for Biddy. However, Cullen had also taken to popping into the keep several times a day, which would have been nice had he been there to see her, but he never said a word to her. And then there were Rory and Gillie. Now that they'd returned from escorting the wagon, the two men appeared always to be in the great hall, and they were not just passing through, but always underfoot. Evelinde wouldn't have minded so much except that they seemed always to be nearby, staring at her. She had no idea why they did but wished they wouldn't; it was making her daft.

Deciding she might as well take advantage of his presence, she asked, "Gillie, were you here when Darach died?"

"Aye, but I was only four. I doona even remember the man," he said, his eyes longing as he watched her take a bite of pasty.

Evelinde swallowed the food in her mouth along with a lump of disappointment, but asked, "Then you would have been fourteen when Liam died?"

"Aye. But I was visiting me mother's family at the time," he said distractedly, then licked his lips as he watched her take another bite. "I'm bound that's a tasty bit."

She ignored the question, and asked impatiently, "Well, surely you were here when Maggie died?"

Gillie started to nod, then shook his head. "Nay. I was out hunting with Rory."

Evelinde clucked with exasperation that, yet again, she would not find any answers. Everyone she had asked thus far had either been elsewhere at the time or evaded her questions. Shaking her head, Evelinde decided she might as well continue with her duties as castellan and stood as she popped the last of the pasty into her mouth.

"Where are you going?" Gillie asked, immediately on his feet.

She raised her eyebrows at the question but swallowed the last of the sweet, and admitted, "I thought to go take a look at the solar and see how much work it needs doing to make