“You can do what all men with love in their hearts do when there’s something important to say.”
Love in his heart? Mackenzie had downed too much ale and taken to spouting gibberish. “And what would a man in love do?”
“Why, he’d send the lass a letter.”
Chapter Five
“Wake up, my lady.” The sweet whisper drifted past Lillian’s ear. “Wake up, my lady. You’re getting married this morning, and there’s much to do.”
Lillian shuffled onto her side and snuggled beneath the sheets, desperate to return to the dream where she commanded the fastest ship ever to sail the seven seas.
A gentle hand settled on her arm and rocked her back and forth. “Unless you want to marry in your shift, you’d best open your eyes.”
A loud clatter and a woman’s muttered curse dragged Lillian’s mind to the present.
“Och, I asked you to fill the tub not empty the bucket over the damn floor.” Mackenzie’s deep voice echoed through the room. “Can you not follow simple orders?”
Good Lord! The Scot was in her bedchamber.
“You’re not aboard your ship now, Mackenzie,” a woman shouted. “Get out of here you daft oaf. A man cannot enter a lady’s bedchamber unless he’s her husband. This ain’t the Highlands.”
“And it ain’t one of those fancy houses in Bloomsbury, neither. I promised his lordship I’d have the lass at the church on time and the Devil himself won’t stop me.”
Lillian watched the amusing scene through half-closed eyes.
A short woman in a mobcap and apron scuttled over and pushed the Scot in the chest. “I don’t care where in the world we are. Get your no-good prying eyes out of here before I throw the next bucket over you.”
“I should like to see you try.”
Another woman, busy weaving roses around a twine wreath, chuckled. “You can come to my house tonight, Mackenzie, if you want to see a lady in her shift. My husband won’t be back for a week or more, and it can get mighty cold in the cottage.”
All the women in the room tittered.
The Scot’s cheeks flushed red. “For the love of God, have you never heard of a man with honest intentions? Is it a crime to want the lass to have a special day?”
Lillian suppressed the urge to jump off the bed and throw her arms around Mackenzie’s thick neck. It had been a long time since anyone other than Vane had given her a passing thought.
“Then unless you have experience with curling irons and pins, you should leave us to our business. There must be something else you can do.”
“Aye.” Mackenzie tutted. “Happen I can get someone to spruce up the pews. But I shall need the lady dressed and ready in the great hall by eleven o’clock.”
“If you want us ready by eleven, you’d best go now.” The short woman shooed him away. “The lady cannot rise from her bed while you’re standing there ogling.”
“Ogling? Och, you have a witch’s tongue, Nancy Hill.” Mackenzie threw his hands in the air and gave a resigned sigh. “Very well. I’ll leave you to your duties. If you need anything, send word to the church.”
Lillian waited until Mackenzie stomped from the room and closed the door before she sat up. All the women stopped what they were doing and stared. Lillian was used to people gaping, used to sly smirks and spiteful sniggers. Yet these women gazed upon her with an air of wonder.
The short woman, who was half Mackenzie’s size but more than a match for the fiery Scot, stepped forward. “Oh, my lady, you’re awake.”
Lillian smiled. “I doubt there is a person alive who could sleep through Mackenzie’s deep rumbles.”
“Oh, the man likes to pretend he’s got a temper, but his heart is as soft as his head.” The woman curtsied. “I’m Mrs Hill, but please call me Nancy. My husband, Joseph, captains The Octavia when the master’s not aboard, and I attend to the housekeeping duties here.” She gestured to the other women present. “This is Heather, Ida and Gail. Their husbands work for his lordship, too.”
All the women stepped forward and curtsied.
“The girl at your bedside is Penny,” Nancy continued.
Penny held the edges of her apron and dipped a curtsy. “My father takes care of the stables, and I work as a maid here in the castle.” The girl looked no older than sixteen. With red hair and freckles aplenty, she appeared far too innocent to attend to a crew of seafaring men.