I kissed Lulach on his brow. “Lulach will be Lord of Moray. And if Duncan produces no heir, he will inherit Scotland.”
“Future king, eh?” Sid said then turned her attention o Lulach once more. “How about I introduce you to a faerie princess, Your Majesty? We could mix the old blood with human blood again, see what kind of mischief we can cause.”
At that, Lulach laughed once more then his eyes went wide as a blob of bright light zipped all around him.
Sid rolled her eyes. “I was just joking,” she told Nadia in an exasperated tone but then leaned toward Lulach and added, “I wasn’t joking. You should see the lovely Eolande, daughter of the Seelie king. By the time you’re a grown man, she’ll be of marrying age.”
“Sid,” I complained, and at the same time, it seemed that Nadia also pulled her hair in protest.
“All right, all right,” Sid assented with a laugh.
“I’ll not sacrifice my happiness for Lulach’s just to get my boy abducted to the faerie realm,” I said, then felt a sharp tug on my own hair. “Nadia, be reasonable. There are dozens of tales of humans disappearing into the faerie realm,” I said with a laugh.
“Indeed! Including mine,” Sid said with a laugh. She gazed at the waterfall and across the landscape. “I’m surprised to see you here without a ring of guards, Lady of Moray. Doesn’t your new husband care what happens to you?”
“I snuck off on my own. I’m sick of the things my new husband cares about.”
“Troublesome indeed,” she said then set her hand on mine. “I should go back. I don’t want to be found in this place.”
“Then why don’t you stay with me for a while? It would be good to have you here.”
Sid scrunched up her face. “It’s too cold.”
I nodded. I knew I should not press. Sid was not suited for court life, not even Thorfinn’s court. She would not survive here.
“I do have one sad piece of news to share,” Sid said. “Bride has passed.”
I frowned. I was sorry to learn it, but not unexpected. “I knew her time was close.”
“Well, at least maybe we’ll see Tully again,” Sid said, standing once more. “She’ll need to bring in our new girls.”
I glanced from Sid back to the forest.
“Thora,” I called to the dog. I rose then motioned for Thora to come to me. “Go with Sid. Stay until close to her until she…leaves.”
Thora tilted her head then turned to Sid and wagged her tail.
“You need to be more careful. You can’t just wander about the country like this. What if you pop out somewhere bad?” I told Sid.
Sid shrugged. “What’s the worst that can be done to me that hasn’t already been done?”
I frowned.
Sid embraced me once more. “Love you, raven beak.”
“I love you too. Send my love to Crearwy.”
Sid nodded then turned to go. On second thought, she snatched up my water pouch then took off in a run, Thora racing after her.
Sighing, I looked at Lulach. “Don’t fall in love with a faerie princess.”
Lulach laughed then blew spit bubbles at me.
“Very funny,” I said then kissed his cheek. “Time to go.”
Gathering up my things, I turned and headed back toward the village.
By the time I returned, everyone was awake and moving about. I slipped quietly back into my house, where I found Macbeth still sleeping. I fed Lulach then lay him down for a nap. By the time I was done, Macbeth was awake.
“You’re up early,” Macbeth said, rubbing his head as he came and sat down by the fire.
I eyed him warily then poured him a glass of water.
“I went for a walk.”
“Alone?”
Something inside me stiffened. “I took Thora.”
Macbeth frowned hard. “Take a guard with you next time. You could be kidnapped.”
“Things are that bad?”
“We are far north. Norway is an issue.”
“And what is the problem with Norway?”
“The problem with Norway is England. Now that King Cnut has declared himself King of Norway, there is strife. Magnus, the rightful ruler, is all of eleven years old. Cnut says he is king. Norway says Magnus is king. King Magnus has Thorfinn’s support, which does not please Cnut. And Magnus has what Thorfinn wants.”
“Which is?”
“Ingibjorg’s hand, which he will only grant once Thorfinn helps him settle this dispute.”
“Magnus is looking for strong allies.”
“Malcolm has not lifted a hand to stop Cnut. With Malcolm's new alliance to the south, he has no reason to interfere. Keeping Norway in check keeps power out of Thorfinn’s hands. When Malcolm passes, from Moray north, we will handle things differently, including recapturing Norway from Cnut for Magnus.”
“Who will then ally with you when you and Thorfinn seek to unseat Duncan?”
“All for Ingibjorg,” Macbeth said with a laugh then cringed. “Ow, my head aches.”
I went to my trunk and pulled out my box with medical supplies. Returning, I opened up the boxes and began putting together a concoction of herbs.
Macbeth watched me carefully.
I ground the herbs down to a fine powder then mixed them with warm water, preparing a healing draft which I handed to Macbeth. “Drink,” I said.
“What’s this?” he asked.
“It will ease your headache.”
Macbeth drank the concoction, frowning at the flavor. “Tastes awful.”
I chuckled. “Yes, but you’ll feel better within the hour.”
“I heard people talk about you at Inverness. They said you were a healer, that you prevented an illness from spreading in Moray.”
“Not all of my heathen ways will damn me forever. I suppose I could have gone to the convent and learned to sing. Instead, I learned to heal. Which is better?”
“That depends. How well do you sing?”
“Terribly.”
“Show me.”
“Dogs will bark. Crows will caw. Night will become day. And worse than all that, Lulach, who just fell asleep, will wake up.”
Macbeth smiled. “Clever wife.”
I stared at him, unsure what to think. The expression on his face was so open and honest that I softened. Maybe, one day, things could be better.
Maybe.
Chapter 21
Things improved between Macbeth and myself. I trained myself to worry less over his moods and keep my mind more on my own concerns. Against all odds, I’d gotten lucky with Gillacoemgain. We’d found our way from the start. Even those who married for love struggled the first year of marriage to find their way together. The summer passed peacefully. As time passed, Lulach grew into a strong boy with a mop of dark hair and twinkling blue eyes. Everyone remarked how much he favored me.
It was nearly August when I realized that not only had my courses not come on me again, but my dress was fitting snuggly around my waist. This time, I had no visions of my child as I’d had with Lulach and Crearwy, but from the quickening feelings in my womb, I knew I was with child once more.
Merna was the first to notice. We were sitting outside, and I was busy embroidering a dressing gown for Gwendelofar’s babe who would arrive soon when I noticed Merna eyeing me carefully.
“Gruoch,” she began, her voice light. “How has Lulach taken to eating solid foods?”
In that single moment, I realized that I not only was I sitting around embroidering, but I was also talking about babies. Wasn’t this precisely what I didn’t want?
“Well. He’s taken to bread, cheese, and porridge. And he liked the summer fruits and vegetables. Macbeth tried to get him to eat mashed fish, but he wouldn’t have it.”