Susan King - [Celtic Nights 01] by The Stone Maiden Read Free Book Online Page B

will need twenty stones, maybe more."
    "You have set yourself quite a task, child," Lome said. "But you need to rest. No one can finish a lifetime's work in months."
    "I must." Alainna smacked the point with the mallet.
    "Come into the hall, eat with us, and get warm," Una insisted. "The old ones will all be pleased to have you among them."
    "I have much to do," Alainna repeated, clearing another chunk of stone.
    "It grows dark," Una said. "A candle does not give enough you light. You have hardly set foot in the hall for two days. I have a hot venison stew in the kettle, and after we eat, Lome will tell a fine tale. Morag has seen that all is in order in the household, the floors swept and clean rushes laid down, the linens and plaids aired, the beds and pallets readied for the night." She glanced at her husband, then back at Alainna. "All is in order at Kinlochan, except that the chief of the clan shuts herself in a tiny workroom with unswept floors and no food in her belly while she works like a laborer."
    Alainna flexed her aching shoulders. "Cousin Morag manages our household well. She loves the work she does for Kinlochan, and she never rests until she is satisfied that her tasks are done to perfection. And I love the work that I do, even if it is messy. I want to continue, too, until I am satisfied that it is done."
    Una sighed impatiently. "What you do here is not done in a day, girl, like most household tasks. You must eat, you must rest! And your kin need their chief among them. Lome, speak to her."
    "Niall wants me to begin the cycle of the Fionn stories tonight," Lome said. "But Una and Morag want to hear the tale of Deirdre and the sons of Uisneach again. Which shall it be? Niall says he is tired of love tales, and wants to hear one of war and men, with a long passage about a battle in it."
    "I like the tale of Deirdre of the Sorrows," Alainna said. "I never grow tired of that story. When Deirdre sees Naoise and his brothers for the first time..." She sighed. "Ah, it is beautiful, that."
    "Then Deirdre it will be, if you join us this evening. Leave your work. There is time."
    As her uncle spoke, Alainna tipped her head to assess the scene that she carved. Three men in a ship, holding upright lances, had been lightly sketched on the surface of the stone. Only the excess limestone had been cut away, with clawed chisel marks over much of the rest, to form a high relief.
    She sighed and glanced at Lorne, whose blue eyes gleamed with affection. Beside him, Una, not even as tall as her husband's shoulder, watched her with a frown of concern. Alainna sighed again and set down her mallet.
    "You are right. I am tired."
    "Good. Your kinfolk miss you," Una said.
    Alainna wiped her tools with a soft cloth and set them aside. Then she covered the stone with another cloth and straightened, stretching her arms. "I must sweep this," she said, glancing at the floor, which was covered in stone chips and dust.
    "Tomorrow we sweep," Una said. "Tonight we rest. Come, girl. You work yourself too hard. You fret too much."
    "I do not fret," Alainna said stiffly. She removed the kerchief that protected her hair from stone dust, and shook her braids free. "I never fret."
    "Of course you do not," Lorne said. "Tonight you must eat well, listen to a story, and think about only what is most pleasant."
    "Especially do not think about those Norman knights that the king may send here," Una said.
    "Una," Lorne said, "I think your stew needs stirring."
    "Morag will see to it," Una said. The deerhound rose from his place by the brazier and yawned, stretching his long legs. He padded toward Una and nuzzled at her, his head just below her shoulder. She patted his nose, and was licked for her effort.
    "Come, Finan Mot, you lazy thing," Una said. "I will give you a piece of meat." She went to the door with the dog.
    Lome waited while Alainna blew out the candle and took off the old tunic that she wore over her gown for an apron.
    "You worry about what