The Border Vixen Read Free

less in his eyes? If we are less, then why is it our responsibility to bear new life to God’s glory?” Maggie demanded of him.
    “Why must ye always ask such damned intelligent questions, Niece?” the priest asked. His eyes, however, were dancing with amusement.
    “Because I love stymieing ye, Uncle. I refuse to fit the church’s mold that women are lesser creatures, fit but to keep house and spawn new souls. I do not want a husband taking precedence over me at Brae Aisir. I am perfectly capable of managing the Aisir nam Breug, and need no stranger to do it for me,” Maggie said firmly.
    “And when ye have left this earth, who will be left to care for the Aisir nam Breug, Maggie?” the laird asked her quietly.
    She caught his hand up and kissed it. “We will be here forever, Grandsire,” she said to him. “Ye and I will look after the Aisir nam Breug together.”
    “That is a child’s reasoning,” Dugald Kerr replied. “Yer no longer a child, Maggie. Ye need a husband to father a child upon ye. A child who will one day inherit what the Kerrs of Brae Aisir have kept safe for centuries. I will not force ye to the altar, but sooner or later ye must choose a man to wed. And I will help ye to find the right man, Granddaughter. One who will respect ye. One whom ye can respect.”
    “Nae in this hall tonight, Grandsire,” she answered him.
    “Perhaps ye are correct, but before we cast our nets afield, Maggie, we must give our neighbors the opportunity to woo ye,” the laird said.
    Maggie picked up the silver goblet studded in green malachite by her hand, and drank a healthy draft of the red wine in it. “I cannot gainsay ye, Grandsire,” she told him. “Very well; let us see what we may find from this showing of lads all eager to win my hand, spend my fortune, and take my inheritance.” And she laughed.
    “God help the man who finally pleases ye,” David Kerr said dryly.
    The laird laughed and signaled his servants to begin bringing the meal. They streamed into the hall, bearing steaming platters, dishes, and bowls of food. The trestle tables below the high board where the three Kerrs sat had been set with linen cloths, polished pewter plates, and tankards filled with good strong ale. There were round loaves of bread upon the tables, small wheels of hard cheese, and crocks of sweet butter. The servants offered poultry, fish, boar, and venison, which the male guests greedily ate up. Few of the vegetables offered were consumed by the clansmen, who were content with well-cooked meat, fish, game, bread, and cheese.
    At the high board the dishes were more varied, and while it was meat, game, and seafood, it was more delicately offered. Trout braised in white wine and set upon green watercress was offered along with a bowl of steamed prawns. There was a roasted duck stuffed with dried apples and bread, and roasts of lamb, boar, and venison. Bowls of peas and a salad of lettuces were presented. The high board had a large round cottage loaf, butter, and two cheeses—one from France that was soft and creamy, the other a good hard yellow cheese.
    Maggie watched as the guests wolfed down everything offered to them and quaffed tankard after tankard of brown ale. Some of the men had more delicate manners than others. The clansmen barely mingled, sitting at their own tables and eyeing one another suspiciously. She wondered how long it would be before a fight would break out, but she knew her grandsire’s men-at-arms now lining the hall could handle any unpleasant situation. The high board was cleared, and a sweet was brought for Maggie. Cook had made for her a custard with jam, which Maggie very much favored.
    Her grandfather waited for her to finish the treat before he stood up. Instantly the hall quieted. “ ’Tis good to have ye all here with us tonight,” Dugald Kerr said, and he smiled down at them. He was a handsome man in his sixties not yet bowed by his years. He was clean shaven and had a full head of white