The Courtship by Teresa J. Reasor

Author:Teresa J. Reasor
Language: eng
Format: mobi
Tags: Highland
Published: 0101-01-01T00:00:00+00:00

Grace settled on the stairs outside the solar. Lady Mary and Lord Alexander spent time alone with Kieran each evening, and the sound of the lad’s laughter blended with the deeper sound of Lord Alexander’s. Though it was tradition for noblewomen to hire a wet nurse to feed their children, Lady Mary had decided to feed Kieran herself. And now he had outgrown the need to nurse, no matter how busy her day, she never missed an opportunity to spend time with him as oft during the day as she could and each eve before bed.

Half an hour had passed when Lord Alexander stepped out into the hall and, spying Grace, came to join her. “The lad is on his way to sleep,” he murmured, his deep voice a rumble in the stairway as he took a seat two stairs above her.

Though Lord Alexander had been nothing but kind to her, she found it difficult to relax entirely around him. Like Gabriel, he was large and physically imposing. His voice held a note of command even when he spoke of trivial things.

“Have you much experience caring for bairns, Grace?” he asked.

“Aye. ’Twas my duty t’ care for all the children of the last household in which I stayed. Before—”

Alexander gave a brief nod. “How many were there?” he asked.

“Five.”

“What ages were they?”

“Seven, five, three, two and a babe of only six months.”

“And you did this alone?”

“Aye, at night.”

“The thought alone exhausts me.”

Grace stifled a giggle.

Lord Alexander grinned. “I trust my son is in good hands, then.”

“I will care for him as though he were my own, m’lord.”

He gave a brief nod. “Aye, I ken you will.” He rested an arm across his knee. “I have seen you and Gabriel often supping together.”

Should he not approve of their association, and told her to cease, what then would she do? “Aye, we have shared a meal or two together of late.”

“Though you havena been raised as you should have been, there is still a possibility you may claim your birthright. When first I returned here I petitioned the king to see you receive your just due, but nothing came of it. I could look into it once again.”

Grace caught her breath. Fear coursed through her. Her voice shook when she finally found it. “Since I am a woman, the possibility that I should receive anything but unwanted attention is doubtful, m’lord. You might reestablish my name, but what then would come with it? At best, I would mayhap receive some pittance to live on. At worst, I would have kinfolk coming to claim guardianship and direct my future with no regard for my desires. Is that what you wish for me, m’lord?”

Alexander’s frown was grim. “Nay, Grace. I but wanted recompense for all you have lost, or at least a measure of justice.”

She shook her head. Would it be justice to be shoved into a world she did not understand, and to be treated as nothing more than a pawn to barter. “That world has been closed t’ me far too long.

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