Part 11 (1/2)
He stood and held a chair as Meredith seated herself beside him.
”You may serve, Cara,” he called.
The young serving wench came forward with a tray of steaming meats, followed by other servants bearing trays of warm bread and biscuits and platters of sweet puddings.
Meredith's stomach was in knots. The very thought of what she was about to undertake had her hands trembling, her insides turning over.
But she must eat all she could in order to sustain her energy for what lay ahead.
Brice watched as she loaded her plate with meats and breads. Each time he looked away, she slipped some of the food onto her lap and hid it among the folds of her gown.
Jamie, busy feeding the hounds who lurked beneath the table, thought it amusing that the lady's hands were also working beneath the table.
Odd that she had befriended the hounds so quickly.
”So ye be the MacAlpin now, la.s.s?” A burly man in coa.r.s.e woolen garments addressed her.
”Aye.”
”Alastair MacAlpin withstood many an attack from the English,” he said, tearing off a strip of meat with his hands. ”He was a clever warrior.”
”You knew my father?”
”We met from time to time. He sat on the king's Council, as did Brice's father. The Campbell clan and the MacAlpin clan were part of the king's own guard.”
She knew that. Knew also that there had been little trust between the Highlanders and the Borderers. She'd been raised to believe that the Highlanders were a breed apart from other Scots. ”Then you know that my father was a man of peace.”
”The English who raided his lands would not agree with you, la.s.s. The man was the devil himself when his land or people were threatened.”
”Aye,” Brice added.
”He wielded a sword with the best of them. But the la.s.s means that Alastair MacAlpin argued for peace among the clans. He said it was our only weapon against the mighty English.”
”Some would call his cry for peace a cowardly act.”
Meredith's hand balled into a fist.
”What would you know about the world beyond your fortified mountains?
Do you know what it is to live on the Border? To be raided constantly by hordes of English hoping to steal your flocks, your cattle, even your women?”
”More meat, my lady?” Cara stood beside her with a tray. In her eyes Meredith could read a warning.
Meredith bit down on the words that she had been about to hurl. What good would it do to goad these savages?
Without a word she filled her plate. Beside her, Brice bit back a smile. The lady was not above speaking her mind.
He marveled also at the amount of food the lady was capable of eating.
Just moments ago her plate had been piled high with bread and meat.