Free Child of the Mist by Kathleen Morgan Page A

stroked her head. "See, lassie? Didna I tell ye? 'Twill be all right soon enough. Now, let me wash yer hair with some o' this fine soap. Doesna it smell heavenly?"
    Anne inhaled deeply of the sweet lavender scent. The gentle, kneading motion of the maid's fingers lulled her into a deeper and deeper state of relaxation. She sank lower into the water. It was so blissful, so comforting, Anne thought dreamily, after the tense, uncomfortable journey and arrival at Kilchurn.
    The rain had continued for hours and their party had arrived miserably soaked to the skin. Though Niall immediately hustled her upstairs to her room, insisting she get out of her clothes before she took a chill, Anne couldn't help but notice the sullen stares and raised brows that followed them through the keep. News travels fast, she'd thought grimly, and bad news fastest of all .
    Hostility pervaded the Great Hall as they'd walked across it, hounding her down the cool stone corridors, tailing her to the very door of her chamber. Only now, safely inside, the cold finally seeping from her in the gently lapping water, did Anne at last allow herself to relax. If only she didn't have to ever leave this room. . . .
    All too soon, it seemed, Agnes was urging Anne from the rapidly cooling water. "Come along, lassie." The old woman wrapped a bath sheet about Anne's water-slick body. "Come, sit before the fire and I'll comb out yer hair. 'Twill be so lovely when it's dried, as thick and wavy as 'tis. How would ye like me to dress it for the feasting?"
    Anne lowered herself to the cushioned stool before the fire. She shrugged. "'Tis o' no import. Do with it what you will."
    Agnes frowned. "Now, lassie, dinna talk like that. O'course it matters. Ye want to be looking as pretty as ye can for the young lord, dinna ye? "Tis past time he find happiness again, and no"
    A cool gust of air halted the maidservant's good-hearted ramblings. Both turned to the door, now standing ajar. In its opening stood the tall, slim figure of a girl of about the age of fourteen, her long, black hair wafting gently about her shoulders in the back draft of the hallway. Even from across the room, Anne could see the flashing brilliance of her turquoise eyes, flashing angrilyat her.
    "L-Lady Caitlin," Old Agnes gasped in surprise. "What brings ye here so near the feasting? Why havena ye dressed"
    The old servant's words died as Caitlin strode across the room. She eyed Anne, then sniffed disdainfully. "So, this is the wench Niall brought back from MacGregor lands. You're comely enough, I'll warrant, at least for warming my brother's bed, but I can't understand why he'd willingly bind himself to a MacGregor slut."
    Anne went rigid, barely hearing Agnes's horrified cry. Clasping the sheet to her, she rose and moved the few feet to stand before Caitlin. Though the girl was taller by half a head, Anne stared steadfastly up at her, returning the hostile glare with a calm one of her own.
    So it begins, she thought. And I must be the one to swallow my pride, to offer my hand in peace, if I'm to survive this year. Well, she's little more than a child after all .
    "Aye," Anne admitted quietly, "I'm MacGregor, and no mistake. But I'm not a slut and I'll thank you to remember that. Otherwise, we can never be friends."
    Caitlin's lips curled contemptuously. "Friends? Hah!"
    Water-damp hair brushed Anne's shoulders with her nod. "Aye, friends. Tis past time for the feuding to end. Can it not begin with us? 'Twould set an example for all to heed."
    Surprise widened the girl's striking blue-green eyes. For a moment, Anne thought she saw hesitation flicker there. Then something passed across them, a memory perhaps. Caitlin's lips tightened with renewed resolve.
    "Nay, it can never be. Though you saved my brother's life, too much has been ruined by this hand-
    fasting." The ebony-haired girl vehemently shook her head. "Nay, I cannot be your friend. 'Tis impossible!"
    In a flurry of skirts and whirling tresses,