In Bed With A Stranger by Mary Wine Page B

temper. Brodick was the master of the house. A fact that she would be wise to remember. Maybe she wasn’t his true wife but there wasn’t anyone to stand between him and her should she raise his anger by being peckish in her words. Even Philipa minded her tongue when her noble husband was sharing the same roof with her.
    “I am simply not one to waste time, Helen. Hauling water and tubs is wasteful when I’m very capable of walking myself to the bathing facilities. I’m sure that the staff has plenty of tasks and don’t need me adding one.”
    Helen looked surprised, stunned into a moment of silence. She recovered, smiling.
    “Now that’s a fine head ye have on those shoulders. Indeed, I’m pleasantly astounded.” Helen turned to address her helpers.
    “Go down and tell Bythe to make sure the tub is ready for the mistress. You two can stand at the door to make sure no one interrupts her bath.”
    Helen waved them both out the door, command sitting comfortably on her shoulders. She crossed the floor and scanned the piles of clothing.
    “Well now, what we need is a clean chemise for ye and maybe that sturdy surcoat ye were wearing. No need to tie ye back up in yer stays if ye’re going to be inspected after yer bath.”
    Anne turned around to hide her uncertainty. It wasn’t that she was overly modest, but she was unaccustomed to having her body seen bare.
    “Is there a senior midwife at Sterling?”
    “Nay. Not one that ye might consider very experienced. The earl and his brother set out for Perth to fetch Agnes. She’s been delivering babes for decades. Her wit is sharp as a pike and her eyes still keen.”
    So he was taking no chance on her disapproving of the midwife. Anne felt the walls closing in on her, Philipa’s trap pressing in, making it harder to breathe.
    Helen pulled a chemise free, smiling as she held it up. “This is so lovely. I believe the earl will find it quite fetching on ye. We’ll brush out yer hair, and won’t ye make a pretty bride when we put ye to bed with yer new husband.”
    Helen pulled the door open, waiting for Anne to precede her toward the bath. Tension knotted Anne’s belly but she forced her feet to move.
    “There now, no need to be so worried. The earl is a fine man. Yer wedding night willnae be anything to work yerself into knots over. By sunrise, ye’ll be lamenting having to leave his bed to see to the day’s chores.”
    That was exactly what she did fear. Developing a taste for Brodick’s touch wasn’t wise. She was so tired of being caught in the middle. Her life had always been unfair and today she felt the weight of that more than ever before.
    But that changed nothing. Placing a corset back on the bed, Anne turned to follow Helen to another bath that wasn’t meant for her.
    The chamber was on the second floor, the stairs set into the rounded wall of the tower. There was a sturdy hand rail, placed on the open side to keep a missed step from turning to disaster. Looking up, she saw a ceiling that was also the floor of the chamber she’d been pacing across. There was another set of stairs that led to a third floor. With five of the large structures, an enemy would find it impossible to approach Sterling without being seen.
    Helen led her to the bottom of the stairs. There was more noise here, the sounds of conversation and steps on the hard floor. She was slightly surprised to see carpets. Everything she knew of Scotland said the Celtic people were less advanced than their English neighbors. She had expected rushes to be covering the floor. The wool carpets were a pleasant discovery. Dry rushes turned musty during the long winter months, collecting mud and dirt as they were walked on. There was no way to clean them until spring when you had them completely hauled away and new ones set down.
    Carpets could be taken out into the yard and beaten. At Warwickshire, she’d helped with the task and watched a great cloud of dust rising as a crop was applied. The