Part 18 (2/2)
”Perhaps, during our supper, you could ask Brod.i.c.k how Isabelle is doing,” Judith suggested.
Margaret looked appalled. ”It would be an insult for me to ask,” she explained. ”If I ask if she's happy, then I'm suggesting Winslow isn't making her happy. Do you see how complicated it is?”
It wasn't complicated, it was ridiculous in Judith's estimation. She could feel herself getting angry on Margaret's behalf. The Maitlands were being cruel-hearted with such an att.i.tude. Didn't any of them have any compa.s.sion for relatives like mothers and fathers?
She didn't know what she would do if someone told her she could never see her aunt Millicent and uncle Herbert again. She got all misty-eyed just thinking about it.
”If you were to ask...” Margaret smiled at Judith while she waited for her to catch on.
Judith nodded. ”Brod.i.c.k might think that because I'm English, I don't know any better.”
”Yes.”
”I'll be happy to ask, Margaret,” she promised. ”Are all the clans in the Highlands like the Maitlands? Do they all isolate themselves from outsiders?”
”The Dunbars and the Macleans do,” Margaret answered. ”When they aren't fighting with each other, they stay to themselves,” she explained. ”The Dunbar holding sits between the Maitlands and the Macleans, and Cameron tells me they're constantly fighting over land rights. None of them attend the festivals, but all the other clans do. Are all the English like you?”
Judith tried to concentrate on what Margaret was asking. It was a difficult task, for she was still reeling from the woman's casual remark that the Macleans were the Maitlands' enemies.
”Milady?” Margaret asked. ”Are you feeling ill?”
”Oh, I'm feeling very well,” Judith replied. ”You asked me if I was like all the other English, didn't you?”
”I did,” Margaret replied, frowning over the notice that her guest's complexion had turned so pale.
”I don't know if I'm like the others or not,” Judith answered. ” 'Tis a fact I've led a rather sheltered life. Margaret, how in heaven's name do the men ever find mates if they never mingle with the other clans?”
”Oh, they have their ways,” Margaret answered. ”Winslow came here to barter for a speckled mare. He met Isabelle and took to her right away. I was set against the union because I knew I'd never see my daughter again, but Cameron wasn't going to listen to me. Besides, you don't say no to a Maitland, leastways I've never heard of anyone trying, and Isabelle had her heart set on marrying Winslow.”
”Does Winslow look like Brod.i.c.k?”
”Aye, he does. He's much more quiet, though.”
Judith burst into laughter. ”Then he must be dead,” she remarked. ”Brod.i.c.k rarely speaks a word.”
Margaret couldn't stop herself from chuckling. ”They're a strange breed, the Maitlands are, but in their defense I'll tell you that if ever Cameron came under attack or needed any true a.s.sistance, he would only have to send word to Laird Iain.
”Before the marriage, every now and again a couple of our sheep would disappear. The thievery stopped as soon as word went out that our Isabelle married a member of the Maitland clan. Cameron's gained new respectability, too. Of course, his initial reaction to meeting you might have changed that status.”
”Do you mean his surprise to find out I was English?”
”Aye, he was surprised all right.”
The two women looked at each other and suddenly burst into laughter just as the men returned to the cottage. Iain was the first to walk inside. He nodded to
Margaret, then paused to give Judith a frown. She guessed he didn't think her amus.e.m.e.nt was proper behavior. That possibility made her laugh all the more.
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