Dawn on a Distant Shore
Page 142
The earl sat at a high table, with Hannah and Jennet standing to either side. Their heads were bent forward in concentration, and none of them took any note of her.
"Good afternoon."
"Elizabeth!" Hannah turned to her, and held out a muddy hand. "Come see the earl's new orchid. The Duke of Dorchester sent it to him, imagine."
Carryck stood, and Elizabeth saw that she need not have worried about her gown--he was wearing a pair of old breeks and a loose linen shirt with a leather apron over all. His sleeves were rolled up to the elbow, and he looked like any other man in the middle of a day's labor.
He nodded to her. "Guid day, madam."
Elizabeth inclined her head and shoulders. "My lord Earl. And this must be Jennet?"
The child seemed to glow, all sun colored among the greenery. "Aye, mem," she said. "But ye canna be the stepmother?" And she peered more closely, as if she hoped to see horns peeking out of Elizabeth's hair.
"I am that," Elizabeth admitted. "We are not all wicked."
"How is my father?" Hannah asked, with a guilty expression that said she had not thought of him for a little while.
Elizabeth put a hand on her shoulder. "You needn't worry. He has eaten, and he is sleeping. The Hakim will look in on him this afternoon."
"Guid tidings," said the earl.
Hannah was not an awkward child, but now she seemed truly at a loss, caught in this strange situation. I am ill at ease, too, Elizabeth wanted to say to her, but it would not do, not in front of Carryck.
Jennet seemed unaware of all of this. She looked between Hannah and Elizabeth with undisguised curiosity. "Have ye come tae see the tulips?"
"Oh, the tulips," said Hannah, relieved at this change in subject. "See, Elizabeth, how they look like the Hakim's turban."
Rare tulips were exquisitely expensive, but here were at least a dozen, each in a pot of its own and in differing stages of bloom--and that out of season. It seemed that Carryck did have a gift for growing things.
"It is your diversion to cultivate tulips, my lord?"
He wiped his hands on a piece of sacking as he studied her. "My mither brought the roots wi' her as a gift tae my faither when they married. They've been grown at Carryckcastle ever since."
"They have names," said Hannah. "Don Quevedo and Admiral Liefken and Henry Everdene and this one is Mistress Margret. Is that not odd? That a flower has a name but that a man might not." She paused, throwing a wary look at the earl.
He peered at her with his brows drawn into a tight vee. "Aa God's creatures have names, lass. My name is Carryck."
Hannah met his gaze evenly. "But, sir, most people have first names. My grandfather is called Hawkeye or Dan'l Bonner and my father Wolf-Running-Fast or Nathaniel Bonner, but you--"
She glanced at Elizabeth, and then went on resolutely. "You are called "my lord" or "sir," or "Carryck." And Carryck is the name of this place. It is as if my grandfather were called Hidden Wolf for the mountain where he lives."
Jennet was very still, all her attention on the earl and what he might say. And since the earl seemed to have taken no offense at Hannah's bold questioning, Elizabeth was quite interested, too, and content to stay out of the conversation for the time being.
"The difference is this," said the earl. "Your grandfaither chose his place and made it his own while I was born tae Carryck. I belong tae the place as much as it belongs tae me." He held up a finger to keep Jennet from interrupting, but the look he gave her was kindly.
"Now a man wha has a twisted leg may be called Cruikshank in our tongue, or one wha works the smithy may be called Gow, which is guid Scots as weel, and means "smith." Or a man called Donald may have a son, and that son might be called Donaldson or MacDonald or FitzDonald, all meanin' "the son o' Donald." My surname is Scott. The earliest o' my ancestors that I ken was Uchtred FitzScott--Uchtred the son o' Scott--and his son Richard took the surname Scott, as did most o' the men wha descended from him."
"But some men take their mither's faither's names." Jennet pushed this out in a great rush.
The earl smiled at her, as if this knowledge of the complications of the family genealogy excused her interruption.
"That's aye true. In the male line I descend from anither family, but one o' my line wed a Scott and took her name along wi' her lands. What ye must ken, lass, is this: in Scotland there's naucht mair important than the land. Which is why so muny men left Scotland for the New Werld after the Rising. They were looking for a place where a man could settle his family, and claim new land."
Hannah's whole posture changed, uneasiness wiped away suddenly by anger. "Steal land," she said stiffly. "From my mother's people. From my people."
"Hmpf." One brow shot up and the earl sent Elizabeth a questioning glance.
She said, "The matter looks very different from the other side, my lord."
"Aye, so it must."
"Tell the rest o' it!" Jennet said impatiently.
The earl cleared his throat. "And so in the Hielands and in much o' the Lowlands the lairds are called after their lands. Ma surname is Scott but I'm called Carryck after the earldom I inherited frae my faither. The king calls me Carryck, my tenants call me Carryck, my wife called me Carryck. And you, my wee cousin, will call me Carryck, too."
"Good afternoon."
"Elizabeth!" Hannah turned to her, and held out a muddy hand. "Come see the earl's new orchid. The Duke of Dorchester sent it to him, imagine."
Carryck stood, and Elizabeth saw that she need not have worried about her gown--he was wearing a pair of old breeks and a loose linen shirt with a leather apron over all. His sleeves were rolled up to the elbow, and he looked like any other man in the middle of a day's labor.
He nodded to her. "Guid day, madam."
Elizabeth inclined her head and shoulders. "My lord Earl. And this must be Jennet?"
The child seemed to glow, all sun colored among the greenery. "Aye, mem," she said. "But ye canna be the stepmother?" And she peered more closely, as if she hoped to see horns peeking out of Elizabeth's hair.
"I am that," Elizabeth admitted. "We are not all wicked."
"How is my father?" Hannah asked, with a guilty expression that said she had not thought of him for a little while.
Elizabeth put a hand on her shoulder. "You needn't worry. He has eaten, and he is sleeping. The Hakim will look in on him this afternoon."
"Guid tidings," said the earl.
Hannah was not an awkward child, but now she seemed truly at a loss, caught in this strange situation. I am ill at ease, too, Elizabeth wanted to say to her, but it would not do, not in front of Carryck.
Jennet seemed unaware of all of this. She looked between Hannah and Elizabeth with undisguised curiosity. "Have ye come tae see the tulips?"
"Oh, the tulips," said Hannah, relieved at this change in subject. "See, Elizabeth, how they look like the Hakim's turban."
Rare tulips were exquisitely expensive, but here were at least a dozen, each in a pot of its own and in differing stages of bloom--and that out of season. It seemed that Carryck did have a gift for growing things.
"It is your diversion to cultivate tulips, my lord?"
He wiped his hands on a piece of sacking as he studied her. "My mither brought the roots wi' her as a gift tae my faither when they married. They've been grown at Carryckcastle ever since."
"They have names," said Hannah. "Don Quevedo and Admiral Liefken and Henry Everdene and this one is Mistress Margret. Is that not odd? That a flower has a name but that a man might not." She paused, throwing a wary look at the earl.
He peered at her with his brows drawn into a tight vee. "Aa God's creatures have names, lass. My name is Carryck."
Hannah met his gaze evenly. "But, sir, most people have first names. My grandfather is called Hawkeye or Dan'l Bonner and my father Wolf-Running-Fast or Nathaniel Bonner, but you--"
She glanced at Elizabeth, and then went on resolutely. "You are called "my lord" or "sir," or "Carryck." And Carryck is the name of this place. It is as if my grandfather were called Hidden Wolf for the mountain where he lives."
Jennet was very still, all her attention on the earl and what he might say. And since the earl seemed to have taken no offense at Hannah's bold questioning, Elizabeth was quite interested, too, and content to stay out of the conversation for the time being.
"The difference is this," said the earl. "Your grandfaither chose his place and made it his own while I was born tae Carryck. I belong tae the place as much as it belongs tae me." He held up a finger to keep Jennet from interrupting, but the look he gave her was kindly.
"Now a man wha has a twisted leg may be called Cruikshank in our tongue, or one wha works the smithy may be called Gow, which is guid Scots as weel, and means "smith." Or a man called Donald may have a son, and that son might be called Donaldson or MacDonald or FitzDonald, all meanin' "the son o' Donald." My surname is Scott. The earliest o' my ancestors that I ken was Uchtred FitzScott--Uchtred the son o' Scott--and his son Richard took the surname Scott, as did most o' the men wha descended from him."
"But some men take their mither's faither's names." Jennet pushed this out in a great rush.
The earl smiled at her, as if this knowledge of the complications of the family genealogy excused her interruption.
"That's aye true. In the male line I descend from anither family, but one o' my line wed a Scott and took her name along wi' her lands. What ye must ken, lass, is this: in Scotland there's naucht mair important than the land. Which is why so muny men left Scotland for the New Werld after the Rising. They were looking for a place where a man could settle his family, and claim new land."
Hannah's whole posture changed, uneasiness wiped away suddenly by anger. "Steal land," she said stiffly. "From my mother's people. From my people."
"Hmpf." One brow shot up and the earl sent Elizabeth a questioning glance.
She said, "The matter looks very different from the other side, my lord."
"Aye, so it must."
"Tell the rest o' it!" Jennet said impatiently.
The earl cleared his throat. "And so in the Hielands and in much o' the Lowlands the lairds are called after their lands. Ma surname is Scott but I'm called Carryck after the earldom I inherited frae my faither. The king calls me Carryck, my tenants call me Carryck, my wife called me Carryck. And you, my wee cousin, will call me Carryck, too."
