The Border Vixen Read Free Page B

ye be if ye believe that! Still, ye are welcome to speak with my grandsire. Nothing will give me greater pleasure than to beat ye in all three contests.”
    Ewan Hay’s face darkened with anger. “We will see, madam, just how ye fare in a contest with me. And when I have put ye in yer proper place, and wed ye, I shall on our wedding night take a sturdy hazel switch and whip the pride out of ye. Ye will learn how to behave like a proper wife in my charge.”
    “I would nae wed ye if ye were the last man on the face of the earth,” Maggie said angrily. “Remember my words when I blood ye with my blade.” When the music stopped she pulled away from him and returned to the high board.
    “Yer flushed,” Dugald Kerr noted. “Did Lord Hay’s younger brother say something to distress ye?”
    “He will sue for my hand, beat me in all three contests, and whip me with a hazel on our wedding night so I learn my proper place,” Maggie told her grandsire and her great-uncle.
    The laird’s head snapped up. He looked about until he could find Ewan Hay, then glared at him. “I shall nae accept his suit,” he said angrily.
    “Nay, let him try to best me,” Maggie said in a cold, even voice. “He is a man who wants public humiliation, and I shall enjoy giving it to him. Let the bastard try to beat me in fair combat. I shall enjoy shaming him before the rest of them.”
    “Be careful, Niece,” David Kerr said warily.
    “I will, Uncle,” Maggie replied. She rose again. “Now, sirs, if ye will excuse me, I have had enough tonight and would beg yer leave to depart the hall.”
    “Ye have it,” her grandfather said. “Rest well, my bairn.”
    Maggie departed the great hall, moving quickly through and past the tables below the board. She had eaten sparingly and drunk little. Tomorrow, when Ewan Hay sought to gain her hand in marriage, she intended pressing him into the battle immediately. Under the best of conditions she could beat him, but he had poured a lot of ale into himself tonight, and she didn’t doubt for one moment that after their meeting he had been tempted to swill more like the pig he was. She smiled wickedly to herself. She must get to bed immediately. A good night’s rest was necessary to teaching Lord Hay’s younger brother the lesson he needed to learn.
    Grizel was waiting for her, and she listened as Maggie shared the details of the evening with her. “That Hay laddie is too bold for my taste,” she said.
    “He won’t be quite so bold by this time tomorrow,” Maggie said grimly.
    “Be careful, my lass. A fellow like that is not to be trifled with, I fear,” Grizel said. “They are said to be hard men, the Border Hays.”
    “Wake me at first light,” Maggie said as she finished undressing. She washed her face, hands, and teeth before climbing into her comfortable bed hung with rose-colored velvet curtains.
    “I will,” Grizel promised as she put her mistress’s clothing away. Then she hurried from the bedchamber while behind her Maggie blew out the taper by her bed.
    As morning began to lighten the sky some hours later, Grizel returned to awaken the girl. Maggie jumped from her bed at once, rested and ready for her challenge. Instructing her serving woman, she pulled on a pair of dark-colored breeks, tucking her chemise into the pants and donning a white linen shirt that she carefully laced up. Then she sat pulling on a pair of light woolen stockings, and her worn leather boots. “I’ll go to the kitchens and get some hot oats,” she said to Grizel, and ran off.
    The cook filled a bowl with oat stir-about. Maggie shaved some sugar from the sugar cone the cook offered over her oats and poured heavy cream atop it. Then taking up her spoon, she quickly ate the porridge.
    “A slice of fresh cottage loaf, mistress?” the cook asked.
    “Just the oats. I think I will be running this morning,” Maggie said.
    The cook cackled. “The server says Lord Hay’s brother is engaging the laird in