“Ye and Aeschene seem to be settlin’ in quite nicely,” he said as they walked along the rocky shore.
“We are.” Marisse wasn’t in the mood for talking. She was still angry with him for extorting the walk out of her for his cooperation. She was also a bit confused. How on earth can a man as handsome as he be such an eejit?
“Are ye likin’ it here?” he asked after a lengthy silence.
“Aye.”
Rory shot her a sideways glance and had to chuckle. Her lips were pursed, her arms wrapped tightly around her waist, and there was more than just a hint of murderous rage in her eyes.
“’Tis a beautiful night,” he said with a nod toward the starry sky.
His observation was met with silence. Not so much as a curt nod in agreement.
Thinking perhaps a compliment might ease away her anger, he said, “I want to thank ye, Marisse, for agreein’ to walk with me.”
Stunned, she came to an abrupt halt and glowered at him. “Are ye mad?” she asked incredulously.
“Mad?”
“Aye. Mad? Tetched? Insane?” Incredulous seemed to be her tone of choice.
He chuckled again. “I have been accused of bein’ those things once or twice,” he replied with a bright smile.
“In case ye have forgotten, I am not here of my own free will,” she bit out. Mayhap, had he just asked instead of blackmail her into the walk, she wouldn’t be so fighting angry.
“Ye could have said nae,” he said, his smile unfazed by her biting tone.
Her mouth fell open. “I did say nay! But ye blackmailed me and threatened to tell Richard about Aeschene’s plan.” she exclaimed with a shake of her head. “I am only here to gain yer silence, Rory. Nothin’ will ever come of it.”
“Do ye find me so unappealing?” he asked, “Or does yer heart belong to another?”
He saw his answer staring back with eyes filled with pain.
“Who my heart belongs to is none of yer concern,” she told him pointedly. In truth, her heart didn’t belong to anyone at the moment. Aye, she still loved and missed her husband, but he’d been gone for more than two years. Her future was hers now, to do as she pleased. There was not a day that went by that she didn’t give thanks to God for bringing her and Aeschene here. Even if she had been blackmailed into walking with a handsome, silver tongued devil.
“I beg yer forgiveness, lass. Had I known, I would not have pressured ye into walking with me.”
Marisse took note of the sincerity in his voice. She also noted a bit of regret in his deep blue eyes. Truly, she didn’t wish to discuss the matter further for she was still trying to find her footing in this her new home.
They walked silently for a few moments before he began questioning her again. “Will ye stay amongst us, or go back to the MacRays?”
“Go back? Nay, Rory, I will never go back.”
Thankfully, he was quiet for the remainder of their walk, for she wasn’t in the mood to think back to the past. All she wanted was to look toward her future.
Chapter Seventeen
After weeks of Colyne and Raibeart either cleaning up, repairing or helping to tear down cottages- depending on its state of disrepair - they had reached the very last cottage on the path.
’Twas a misty morn as Aeschene and Marisse were perplexed with the boys’ attitudes toward this last cottage.
“What do ye mean ye cannae help with this particular cottage?” Aeschene asked them. They were acting as if this house contained the portal to hell.
Raibeart kicked at a pebble with his booted foot. Colyne was shifting his weight from one foot to the other. “We just cannae help her,” Colyne said rather sheepishly.
Aeschene had reached the limits of her patience. “If ye do not tell me why ye cannae help the person within this cottage, I shall knock on the door myself,” she told them with a firm tone.
“Mayhap ye should ask Richard to explain it too ye,” Raibeart said.
She could hear the embarrassment in his voice, but for the life of her, she couldn’t figure out why. He wasn’t generally so shy. “I am askin’ ye to explain it.”
The boys remained quiet, refusing to answer. Marisse was just as confounded as she was, but didn’t ask for explanation. Aeschene turned around to face the cottage. “I swear, ye boys are behaving as though the devil himself lives within,” she remarked. With Marisse’s help she was heading toward the door when it suddenly opened.
She heard Marisse’s sharp intake of breath a moment after hearing the door scrape against the stones. Instinctively, she froze in place, curious as to why Marisse had gasped.
The voice she heard next was soft and low, and sounded nothing at all like the auld witch she had conjured up in her imagination. “M’lady, ye should not be here.”
Puzzled, Aeschene took a step forward. “Why? Be there an illness within?”
“Nay,” came the soft reply. “But ye should not be here all the same.” The woman sounded truly worried.
Her curiosity was piqued, and lord help her, she just couldn’t leave without finding out what was the matter.
Marisse leaned in and whispered, “Lord above, the woman is beautiful.”
“How beautiful?” Aeschene asked.
Marisse whispered her quick reply. “Think Venus, with raven black hair and eyes as green as emeralds.”
Aeschene wasn’t sure what to think of that description. “What is yer name?” Aeschene asked as she took another tentative step toward her.
The woman let out a sigh, a heavy sigh, laced with a tremendous amount of sadness. Aeschene could feel it to her bones, a deep sense of sorrow.
“Lads, run along,” the woman said. “I shall explain the why of things to yer lady.”
The boys ran away like frightened rabbits.
“Again, I ask ye what is yer name?”
A brief silence rent the air before she replied. “They call me the auld whore.”
It would have taken a legion of roman soldiers to drag Aeschene and Marisse away after that statement.
“I could be wrong,” Aeschene began, “but I do nae think yer mum truly named ye that.”
Marisse could not help but to giggle at Aeschene.
The woman stared at each of them as if they had both lost their minds.
“Please, what is yer real name?” Aeschene asked.
“Keevah,” she replied softly.
“Well, Keevah, ’tis a pleasure to meet ye,” Aeschene said with a smile. “Might we come in and sit a spell? ’Tis growing awfully damp out here.”
Whispering, Keevah said, “But, m’lady, ye really should not come in. People will talk.”
Aeschene continued to smile. “Let them,” she said. “If I have learned anything in my life it is that people will talk regardless of what the truth of a matter might be.”
Marisse quickly added, “Aye, ’tis true. Please, may we come in?”
“I do not think ’twould be proper,” Keevah argued.
Aeschene was too eager to hear how the woman came to be called the auld whore to be swayed by convention or worry over wagging tongues. “Then might we all sit out here a spell? I truly would like to get to know ye better.”