Devil of the Highlands Page 0,81

said quietly, "Jenny killed herself some years ago, Mildrede. No doubt 'tis painful for Biddy to discuss."

"Oh," Mildrede said, some of the hurt slipping away to be replaced with sympathy, and she asked, "Why would cleaning up and arranging the solar bring back bad memories?"

"Jenny hanged herself in the solar a couple of weeks before Biddy's husband, Darach, died," Evelinde murmured.

Mildrede's eyes widened incredulously, then a soft breath slid from her lips before she breathed, "Poor Lady Elizabeth. She has had grievous times."

"Aye," Evelinde agreed, and popped into her mouth the last bit of bread and cheese she'd chosen to break her fast. After chewing and swallowing, she murmured, "I suppose we could ask her if 'twould be all right. She may not wish to use the solar herself but might not mind our using it."

Mildrede hesitated briefly, but then nodded. "I am sure she would not mind."

Evelinde drank the last of her mead, nodded, and stood. The moment she did, Gillie and Rory got to their feet as well. Irritation flickered through her when they did, but she forced a smile and waved them back to their seats. "There is no need to trouble yourself, gentlemen. I am merely going above stairs to take a look at the solar to see what needs doing. You can see the landing and the solar door from here."

The two men hesitated, exchanged glances, then settled back into their seats, and Evelinde immediately turned and headed for the stairs, aware that Mildrede was on her heels.

The stairs and upper hall were much more pleasant to manage since the torches had been added. The hall was just a hall, long and empty, with doors coming off it, but at least they could see where they were going and not fear tripping over something they could not see.

Evelinde grimaced at the very idea. She'd had quite enough spills and falls of late and would happily avoid another for a while. If she could manage it, she thought as she led the way to the closed door of the solar.

Despite having looked into the room before, Evelinde still found herself a little surprised at the wave of stink that met them when she opened the door. A musty, moldy smell rolled out, making both women wrinkle their noses with disgust. She supposed that was why she'd done little more than stick her torch in to see the general size and shape of the room at the time before beating a hasty retreat. Now, she didn't have that luxury. If they were to use the room, they would have to clean and air it.

"Bring one of the torches from the hall, please, Mildrede," Evelinde ordered, and moved a few cautious steps into the room, waving one hand before her as she went in an effort to brush away the cobwebs in her path. She recalled from her first look into the room that there were shutters on the windows. The sooner she had them open, the sooner she would not only be able to see what she was doing, but the fresh air should help dissipate some of the odor.

"Here we are."

Evelinde turned to her maid with relief as she reappeared in the doorway, torch in hand, sending shadows dancing across the room. Taking the torch from her, Evelinde held it out before her, waving it back and forth to sweep more cobwebs as she made her way to the nearest set of shutters. They were a bit shaky after seventeen years, but opening them sent light splashing into the room. However, it also allowed a breeze in to stir the dust and cobwebs, causing a cloud of the fine powders to rise and swirl in the room.

Mildrede was standing at a second set of shutters, opening those. Evelinde would have warned her not to, for it would only cause more of a stir, but before she could, the dust in the air got into her nose and mouth, and she found herself sneezing, then bending over under a coughing fit.

Evelinde turned to the window she'd opened and inhaled the fresh air until the need to cough had passed. She straightened and turned cautiously to face the room, her gaze sliding over the interior.

Truly, she almost wished she'd not opened the shutters. The room hadn't looked nearly as bad by torchlight as it did under the harsh glare of the sunlight pouring through the open shutters.

It was obvious the chamber had not been used during the seventeen