A Scent in the Night by Isabella Montwright

Author:Isabella Montwright
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Ellora's Cave Publishing Inc.
Published: 2012-03-20T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter Eighteen

What man does, destiny often undoes…

The fairy tale-like turrets of the picturesque castle, the gargoyles of fantastic design and the superbly painted ceilings depicting scenes of battles in the time of Robert the Bruce were but a few of the wonderful attributes of the castle that Lorelei had the chance to admire.

Oddly, an English, not Scots butler by the name of Edward had greeted her at the low door when she arrived, offering to take her luggage upstairs and to serve her tea in the study, where she would meet the laird in the absence of Lady McBain, who had traveled to Aberdeen to visit her sister.

Contrary to the stiff disposition English serving staffs were notorious for, Edward smiled at her broadly, welcoming her and congratulating her on her recent culinary award. He was courteous and at times almost familiar with her, rather than impossibly formal, which instantly made her feel more comfortable in such unusual surroundings.

Before they reached the study, Lorelei had to climb a few stone steps to enter the main building. With walls over four yards thick and barrel vaulted ceilings, the room contained numerous paintings. She stopped to look at one, which depicted men and women dancing on the lead roof of the castle. Edward explained that the painting had been made to commemorate a battle against a rival clan by the name of McAllister, a battle that had been preceded by a dance, as was the custom of the times. During this battle, however, many McBains had been killed by the McAllisters, hence, the peculiar inscription over the portcullis.

Edward left her in the study to wait for Laird Alex McBain. She noticed the mahogany furniture, the stone walls, and the carved, solid oak doors. The huge windows consisted of multicolored stained glass, beautifully worked, depicting scenes of war and glory.

She examined the antique weapons that adorned one wall, identifying a classical Scottish bow widely used until the fifteenth century. Next to it was an axe commonly used by Highlanders. She admired three beautifully wrought, basket-hilted broadswords, as well as several different dirks, known as long knives and the black knives often also used for eating.

In the center of the display she recognized a huge claymore with a golden hilt heavily encrusted with rubies and emeralds. The blade, many feet long and paper-thin at the tip, appeared in some places slightly jagged. It was likely that it was a family heirloom used by a McBain ancestor many centuries before. Strange that it was displayed as the central piece of the collection, since it was mainly associated with sixteenth century Scottish mercenaries, not necessarily something to be proud of.

Lorelei was also surprised that such a valuable piece of history and workmanship would be hanging in the open, unprotected from theft. Then she remembered that the claymore was a two-handed weapon because of its size and weight. It would probably take three modern-day men to lift it from its perch and carry it off.

Considering the design, décor,

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