Eventually, the women came to see what was afoot.
"Mercy be!" exclaimed Mrs. Broom. "The cattle won't know themselves."
Cook humphed. "Get ideas above their station, I shouldn't be surprised."
Catriona came down late in the afternoon, just before the light started to fade. Algaria, dressed, as usual, in unrelieved black, glided in her wake.
"This way, mistress." With a flourish, McAlvie conducted her around his charges' new quarters. "I'm thinking, if they spend winters like this, they'll regain their summer weight in weeks, rather than months."
Nodding, Catriona slowly pivoted, taking in the size of the structure-rather larger than she had supposed. "How many will it hold?"
"Oh, it'll take our present numbers easily."
"Hmm." Discovering a gate before her, Catriona opened it. "What are these for?"
"They," Richard answered, strolling up, "are for channeling the occupants." Taking Catriona's hand, he led her to a la
dder left leaning against the loft's edge. "Go up a few steps and you'll see the pattern more easily."
Catriona climbed up, and he explained the flow of traffic through the barn.
"How very useful." Looking down, she smiled at him.
Richard reached up and lifted her down. "Useful is what I do best."
She smiled and pressed his hand; together they strolled to the main doors. Leaving him there with a lingering smile and a promise in her eyes, Catriona started back to the house.
Algaria trudged behind her.
Catriona stopped at the stable yard fence and looked back-at the useful structure her consort had fashioned from the materials and energy lying dormant in the vale. A soft smile curved her lips as she turned away and started across the cobbles.
Algaria, behind her, humphed disgustedly. "Newfangled nonsense!"
As often happened, winter refused to cede its authority without one last freeze. It came literally overnight, a storm that dumped feet of snow over the vale, followed by a cold snap, which froze it all in place.
The cattle barn, while far from finished, was complete enough to house the present herd. McAlvie, warned the day before by both Catriona and Cook's aching joints, had sent his farmhands to all corners of the vale to bring the herd in.
Everyone, both from the manor and the farms, had been there to see the herd, shaggy and gaunt, come plodding and swaying, lowing and mooing, up to the manor. Then McAlvie and his lads turned them down the slope to their new quarters; they'd gone readily, riling in through the main doors, heads up, eyes wide. Those watching had waited, listening for any hint of problems; instead, all they heard was a murmur of contented moos.
That had been yesterday; now, standing by the stable yard fence, Catriona looked down on the snow-shrouded barn. The contented sound still rose from the building. The herd was safe and warm; she could see footsteps sunk deep in the snow leading to the barn and guessed McAlvie's lads had already been out to feed them.
Turning, she surveyed the scene in the yard behind her. Irons was in charge of the team set to clear the pump of snow and ice. Richard was about somewhere; she could hear him issuing orders about sweeping some of the snow from the roofs of the forge and two of the smaller barns. The fall had been heavy; from what she could gather, certain eaves were in danger of snapping under the weight.
All the children had been sternly confined to the house; Catriona could see noses pressed to the window panes of the games room. But she agreed with the edict-every now and then, as the men worked to clear the eaves, a minor avalanche would ensue.
Even she was only there on sufferance. That much was obvious from the frown on Richard's face as he rounded the barn and saw her. He strode up. "I'm sure you must have better things to do than freeze your witchy arse out here."
Catriona grinned. "I'll go inside in a minute. I was just wondering"-she glanced at the games room-"how to best to reward the children. They've been so very good, helping with the barn, among other things."
Richard frowned at the fogged windows. "Why don't you tell them that if they manage to remain good until after luncheon, I'll give them another riding lesson?"
Catriona opened her eyes wide. "You will?"
Richard narrowed his eyes at her. "Any further orders, ma'am?"
Catriona giggled. Gripping his coat, she stretched up, kissed his cheek, then his lips fleetingly; then, smiling serenely, keeping her eyes on his to the very last, she drew her shawls about her, and headed back to the house.
Richard watched her go-watched her hips sway provocatively as she crossed the snow. Then he drew a deep breath, wrenched his mind back from where it had wandered, and returned to his task-that of being her right arm.