Chapter 38

Thorburn leaned down and gave her a gentle kiss on the cheek, patted her bare bum and went downstairs to dress. He looked around to see if anyone was watching before slipping out the door and going to meet the others. Meeting his guards across the street, they proceeded to the meeting place.

They were all waiting by the wagons.

"You're late, Thorburn, and we didn't see you at the Inn for lunch," Stuart said.

"Aye. Lady Mackintosh fed me at her home. She felt we would have a better opportunity to get to know one another at her home, than at the Inn."

"And did you get to know her much better, big brother?" Frang asked.

"A most pleasant and gracious hostess, brother." He tossed Frang one of the oranges, Frang snatching it out of the air with a juggling catch. "She gave me these to share with the likes of you. I'm sure they cost the better part of an arm and a leg."

Frang looked at it quizzically, showing it to the others.

"What is it?" Isobel asked.

"An orange."

"I can see it's orange," Frang said. "Still doesn't tell me what it is."

"That's it's name. It's an orange. It's a fruit. Nice and sweet."

Frang tried to take a bite out of it, getting a big chunk of peel in his mouth. He spit it out.

"Ugh. Bitter. I thought you said it was sweet. Isn't it ripe yet?"

"You don't eat the outside. You cut it open. Cut some slices and pass them out. Eat only the flesh in the middle. Have you never had a lemon, Frang?"

"Aye, but that was very sour."

"Lady Mackintosh believes this is of the same family, but much sweeter. I had some of the juice from the inside and it's very refreshing," Thorburn said. He got a distant look on his face, remembering his own taste of the juice.

Frang took out his knife and cut the orange into several slices, the juice running down his fingers and hand. He licked some of it, then licked some more.

"You're right. It's very sweet, but a hint of tartness." He passed out the slices to the women, Stuart and Bjarkë.

They all took bites of the soft inner flesh.

"Mmm. It's delicious," Ailene said.

"I agree," Isobel said, wiping some of the juice dripping down her chin with her hand. "I've never tasted anything like it."

"Not like lemon at all," Bjarkë agreed.

"Where would one get these oranges?" Stuart asked, licking his fingers.

"If they're like lemons, they only grow in warmer countries. I've had lemons in Spain, Italy and Egypt. They cost a great deal to import to other countries. It's why I say it probably cost an arm and a leg. That one may be worth it's weight in silver. She gave me three of the oranges and several lemons as well. She said that a slice of lemon in water isn't as sour as the lemon alone, and makes the water more refreshing. She informed me the English navy is giving lemons to the sailors to prevent scurvy, so it must have some medicinal property as well."

"Why don't you pass out the rest of the oranges, Thorburn? Let's eat the rest of them," Frang said.

"I'd like to wait until we get home. Take our time, savor them. Besides, you'll find your hands will need to be washed before we go. It gets very sticky as it dries. We need to get going. Going to be dark before we're back at the Keep as it is."

Ailene said, "I see what you mean by being sticky. My fingers are sticky right now."

"Pour a little water on them, rub them together. It comes right off," Thorburn said.

They all washed their hands and faces, climbed into the wagons or on a horse and started off for home.

"Why don't you tell me what you were all about today while I was gone?" Thorburn asked.

"I found another card game," Frang said. "Guess who else was there?"

"McTavish," Isobel said. "That's easy."

"Aye. Losing again. I don't know how much debt he was wracking up, but I'm sure it was substantial."

"Did you win any more off him?" Stuart asked.

"A little, when he had a bit of coin. I refused to take any paper from him as he has nothing to back it. I expect any IOU is going to be as worthless as he is within the month, maybe the week. He said that he'll have the deed transferred by Tuesday next, four days from now. He'll be off the property on Wednesday. We may want to be there when he leaves, make sure he doesn't make off with everything as he leaves."

"Stuart, do you know of anyone who can manage the property until we can integrate it into our own?" Thorburn asked.

"Aye. Before I began running things for Da', he had a manager who helped him, William. He retired to his own farm when I took over, but he's still capable. As long as he we provide someone to assist his wife, he'll probably be happy to help us out."

"Why don't you check with him by Monday, and if he's available, he can come with us on Wednesday. We'll be sure that everyone knows that he's in charge for the next few weeks," Thorburn said.

"Sure."

"What about you ladies. How did you spend the day?"

"I went with Isobel to the milliner and we found a beautiful green fabric and a pattern to make a dress for the festival," Ailene said. "The color is perfect for her. Sets off her eyes. You'll see when the dress is done. She'll be the prettiest one there."

Isobel snorted and Ailene laughed. "You will look positively beautiful, Isobel. I only exaggerate a wee bit. Now that you're gaining weight again and no longer skin and bones, you're more beautiful than you give yourself credit for. You're eyes are lovely and even your hair has more luster and shine."

"I shall be happy if I look even a tenth as beautiful as you, Ailene. The dress that we've made for you is exquisite. The men shall all make fools of themselves over you."

"Hmm," Stuart said, "I still haven't seen you in this dress."

"And you won't," Ailene said. "I want to surprise you. If you see it before Midsummer Festival, I shall be heartbroken. After Stuart returned with the money from the sale of the wool, we bought items that we will need for the next month and the festival. Given that we've given much of our homespun to people on the McTavish property, we bought substantial amounts of that. We ate at the Inn, chatting with a few of the wives who are invited to the Festival. We had a lovely day and I am becoming very excited at our plans."

They kept busy talking about the balance of their day until they arrived back at the Keep after sunset but while the last light of the dying sun left a faint edge of light on the western horizon. Busy hands made short work of putting all of the acquired purchases away. Ailene accompanied Isobel to her room to stow the new dress material away. Ailene held up against Isobel's face again, marveling at the way it both accented her hair and made the color of her irises stand out.

"This really is the perfect color for you, Isobel. I can hardly wait to see you in the dress we make from this," Ailene said while helping fold the fabric.

Isobel began crying. Ailene dropped her end of the fabric and took her in her arms.

"What's wrong, Isobel? Have we hurt you in some way?"