A Laird and a Gentleman (All the King's Men #4) - Gerri Russell Page 0,8
but that time he had failed. Since then, he had gone to extraordinary efforts to keep his men and those in his care out of harm’s way. Even so, it was his greatest fear that he would fail again—and this time with Mariam.
Mariam stopped before him. Her pulse fluttered wildly at the base of her throat, revealing her nervousness. “I am here at your request. What is my punishment to be?” She cast a quick, nervous glance at Alexander before she swallowed, avoiding Cameron’s gaze.
“Sit down, Mariam,” Cameron said, signaling to the chair he had just vacated, hoping to put her more at ease. He would teach his ward a lesson, but he had no intention of tormenting her.
Mariam sat and her hands convulsively tightened on her velvet gown. She kept her eyes downcast as if she couldn’t bring herself to look at him. She knew something serious was going to happen here. And that prospect obviously filled her with dread.
“As I mentioned yesterday, you had many opportunities to speak the truth about Laird Douglas’s innocence before and during his trial, yet you kept quiet. You’ve left me with no other option than to force you to learn something about self-sacrifice.”
“What does that mean? What will you do to me?” She knotted her hands.
“It is more about what you will do for others,” he replied, keeping his voice firm, but not harsh. “A full day of cleaning the castle on your knees will not only give you time to think about how you wronged Lachlan, it will also provide a sense of accomplishment I feel you lack in your daily routine here.” Her eyes when they met his were not filled with vulnerability, nor were they sad, or remorseful. They were simply empty—as though she refused to let him see any emotion that might linger there.
“Since I am not to be given a choice in the matter, I suggest we get started.”
“Would you like to change into something more appropriate for cleaning?”
“Why?” Her chin came up. “If you mean to humble me, then what better way than to force me to ruin one of my gowns?”
He could easily buy her ten new gowns and she knew it, but he allowed the barb meant to make him feel guilt slide past him. He would yield to whatever power she still possessed—the power of her words.
“Get started then.”
*
Mariam froze at the doorway to the lady’s chapel. Cobwebs blocked her from entering until she burned them away with the brace of candles in her hand. The chamber stretched before her, coated in a thick layer of dust with trails of cobwebs everywhere, making her wonder just how many spiders lived in the darkened corners.
“You want me to clean this?” she asked, unable to disguise the dismay that threatened. “I’ve lived here a year and I never knew you had a lady’s chapel.”
Beside her, Cameron appraised her with a careful, bland expression. “No one wants to clean it, so no one uses it.”
“This place is a disaster.” Distress echoed in her words and around the empty chamber.
“Disaster or not, this is what you are tasked with doing. And when you are done, the chapel will be available for your use.”
Mariam studied Cameron instead of the filthiness around them. He looked so out of place, dressed as he was in a fashionably slashed black doublet, with black breeches, black boots, and a long, lethal sword strapped to his side. He appeared dark and dangerous. Different from the man she’d known a week ago, though she couldn’t pinpoint exactly what had changed.
She couldn’t really blame him for the change. They’d both changed. Adversity did that to people. From her experience, it didn’t make them stronger . . . just different. He’d learned that not even his association with the king could keep him or his brothers-in-arms safe. And she had learned that no matter how hard she tired, she could not escape the tendency toward evil she had inherited from her father.
And despite the changes in them both, and the indisputable evidence of her own bad behavior, Cameron offered her this final chance at redemption.
“You have until nightfall to do the task no one else wanted to do,” Cameron said, his voice firm.
Mariam stiffened. “What?” Her uneasy gaze darted about the chamber then back to Cameron. “That’s impossible.”
“Nothing is impossible, Mariam.” His lips twisted in a bittersweet smile as he handed her a broom. “I will send Mistress MacInnes up here with all the other supplies