Dawn on a Distant Shore
Page 155

Jennet stiffened. "Aye, Mr. Fisher?"
"You were no' in kirk the Sunday past. Wheest! Excuses wi' do ye nae guid when ye stand at the gates tae have judgment passed upon ye. Woman is the weakest vessel, and ye must be ever vigilant."
Jennet bristled darkly at this, but she held her tongue, to Hannah's amazement.
"... ye'll come tae the riding o' the stang this day, and ye'll bring the Indian, for we are aa God's creatures. It will do her guid." He drew in a deep breath, warming to his work. "Ye'll bring her alang tae kirk. The laird willna want her in his pew, but we'll find a spot." His great bulbous eyes were flat gray, and they fixed on Jennet who looked back at him furiously.
"Aye, sir. But she's a guest o' the laird's, and she'll sit wi' him."
Hannah might have said that she had no intention of coming to his kirk at all, but the struggle was between Jennet and the minister, and she would not get in her friend's way.
Mr. Fisher's nostrils trembled and his mouth jerked at the corner. "We shall see," he said finally. "I'll take it up wi' the laird."
"Aye," said Jennet, ignoring her auntie Kate's distressed look. "That wad be best."
As soon as the ginger nuts were gone, the minister put back his head and prayed loudly to the ceiling for a good five minutes. He was no sooner out the door than Auntie Kate's sober expression gave way to a grimace. ""And the locusts went up over all the land of Egypt,"" she quoted. ""And rested in all the coasts of Egypt: very grievous were they; before them there were no such locusts as they, neither after them shall be such.""
Granny Laidlaw snorted. "Why is it that the locusts always ramsh ma ginger nuts? Why canna they be content wi' guid Scots oat cakes? And Jennet, hen--tell me this, why mun ye always provoke the mannie? Does he no' glower and fuss enough?"
Jennet wrinkled her nose. "I canna help masel', Granny. He makes ma tongue gae aa kittlie, and oot comes what I shouldna say."
"One day that kittlie tongue o' yours wi' cause ye sair trouble," said Granny, but it seemed to Hannah that she was more proud than worried.
"Come on, then." Auntie Kate smiled, helping her mother up from her chair. "It'll soon be four."
"Aye, perhaps we can gie puir Marjorie some comfort. But the lasses needna bide, and should it give Holy Willie the watter brash. Awa' tae Carryckcastle wi' ye baith. Geordie will be waitin'."
Jennet went up to her grandmother--the two were exactly the same height--and kissed her on the cheek.
Granny Laidlaw put her hands on Jennet's shoulders. "Bless ye, ye're sae much like yer mither. As willfu' as the day is lang. Tell me this, hen--ha' ye shown wee Hannah the kitchen window?"
Hannah's ears pricked up at this, but Jennet's whole attention was on her grandmother and she did not look in her direction.
"Ne."
"Then do it, and nae delay."
The goats had found another home, and so Hannah and Jennet sat shoulder to shoulder at the edge of the cart with their feet trailing in the dust. They were out of the village before Hannah could think of a way to ask her question.
"Do you miss her? Isabel?"
Jennet shrugged. "Aye, at first I did miss her. She used tae let me comb her hair --sic bonnie dark hair, heavy and sae soft. Naethin' like mine." She shook her curls to make her point. "I thoucht she looked like an angel. I used tae dream that she'd come hame agin and we'd sleep in the same room, the twa o' us, and talk aa the nicht through, as true sisters."
Hannah thought of the nights she had shared with Many-Doves, who was not her sister but her mother's sister, and she felt sorry for Jennet.
"Perhaps one day you'll see Isabel again, when all this trouble is over. Where do the Campbells live?"
"The Earl o' Breadalbane, ye mean?"
"Is that the one called Walter who is married to Isabel?"
Jennet produced an amused grin. "Walter Campbell, the chief o' the Glenorchy line? Aye, weel, he's slippery enough tae do the job. Ne, Walter is one o' the earl's bastards. Breadalbane made him curator o' Loudoun. That was before Walter ran aff wi' Isabel."
Hannah had grown up hearing her mother and grandmother and great-grandmother recite their family history, but she had to admit that the complexities of the Breadalbane clan were a challenge. She rubbed a hand over her eyes.
"So Walter Campbell and Isabel live with the Countess of Loudoun?"
Jennet rewarded her with a smile. "Aye, Flora by name. At Loudoun Castle, near Galston. That way--" She pointed west. "But ye willna find Isabel there the noo."
"I wasn't planning on going to look for her," said Hannah, and discovered to her surprise that perhaps her mind had moved a little in that direction.
Jennet tossed her head. "It wad be a lang journey for naucht. The countess is dwaumie--bad lungs, ye ken, and they carry her tae the spa at Moffat for the summer. Isabel and Walter will be there wi' her."
They were silent for a time. "We passed Moffat on the way here from Dumfries."
"Aye. Sae ye did. But what guid wad it serve tae talk tae Isabel?"
Hannah shrugged. "I don't know. I was just wondering." And more quickly: "What was it your granny said about the kitchen window?"
Jennet had an elaborate frown that involved her whole face. She said, "I'll ha' naebodie tae play wi', should ye run aff."