Just then, the door opened and Kai sauntered in with his arm around a woman. He spotted Caitlin and Emeric and waved but instead of coming over to their table, Kai took the woman towards another table, pulling her onto his lap as they sat down.
Caitlin was caught off guard by this sudden development—who was this woman? She was beautiful—far more beautiful than Caitlin was—with dark hair cascading over her shoulders and almond-shaped eyes that sparkled in the firelight. Caitlin’s stomach twisted at the sight of them together, though she tried her best to hide it. What did it matter to her who Kai spent his time with?
The woman wrapped her arms around Kai’s neck as he laughed at something she said, their eyes meeting in what seemed to be a moment of familiarity. It was obvious that they had some kind of relationship. Caitlin tore her eyes away and concentrated on her meal.She took another few bites of stew before pushing it away abruptly—suddenly she wasn’t hungry anymore.
Emeric noticed the sudden shift in Caitlin’s mood and his piercing green eyes landed on her. “Is all well?”
Caitlin shrugged. “Yeah, I’m fine. Everything is fine. Why wouldn’t it be?”
Emeric’s eyes narrowed as he studied her, clearly not convinced. “If something is bothering ye, lass, it’s best to speak up. Keeping yer worries to yerself willnae change anything, except to make things worse for ye.” He clasped his hands together on the table and leaned forward. “I know it isnae easy being in a strange place, with people ye dinna know and a situation ye dinna understand.”
Caitlin looked up at him, surprised by the insight. “How did you...?”
Emeric waved his hand dismissively. “Let’s just say I have experience with such things. I know what it’s like to feel lost and alone in a foreign place.”
Caitlin felt a pang of gratitude towards Emeric. Maybe she had misjudged him. “Thank you... for understanding.”
Emeric simply nodded, and the two of them lapsed into silence once more.
Unwilling to sit and watch Kai with the woman any longer, Caitlin gathered up the bowls and carried them over to the bar where Rosa was standing.
“Thanks for dinner,” she said to the older woman, feeling an unexpected wave of relief at getting away from Emeric’s watchful gaze.
Rosa smiled. “You’re welcome, sweetheart.”
Caitlin couldn’t quite pin down the woman’s age. Older than Caitlin, in her late thirties perhaps, she had the air of somebody who’d seen and done a lot in her life.
“Do you mind if I ask you something?”
Rosa raised an eyebrow. “You can ask anything you want, little dove. Whether you get an answer though, depends on the question.”
“Where are you from? Originally, I mean. You don’t speak like everyone else around here.”
“Oh, that’s an easy one,” Rosa replied, cleaning a pottery tankard with a cloth. “I’m from Madrid.”
Caitlin nodded, thinking about this. She was no history expert but she guessed that in the fifteenth century migration wasn’t as common as it was in the twenty-first. She wondered what had brought Rosa all the way from Madrid to this tiny hamlet in the middle of the Scottish Highlands.
Rosa gave a low, throaty laugh. “I can see the questions in your eyes, little dove, although you are too polite to ask them. You’re wondering how I ended up here aren’t you?”
Caitlin gave a sheepish smile. “Am I that obvious? Sorry, I didn’t mean to pry.”
Rosa waved a hand. “You aren’t. It’s no secret. Everyone around here knows my story.” She put down the tankard and her dark eyes found Caitlin’s. “I was brought here from my homeland by a wealthy lord, one who showered me with riches beyond my dreams. For a poor girl from Madrid, it was like I had stepped into a fairy tale.”
“So, you married a Scotsman?”
Rosa gave another throaty laugh. “Married? Hardly. He didn’t bring me here as his wife but as his mistress.”
“Oh!” Caitlin said, embarrassed. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to—”
“Don’t be,” Rosa replied. “It was a good life. There was no love involved, of course, but he treated me well and all I had to do was let him share my bed whenever he felt like it. A fair trade for a decent life, don’t you think?”
Caitlin didn’t know what to say to that. It seemed foreign and strange to her, but who was she to judge?
But Rosa wasn’t finished with her story. “It all ended rather abruptly. My lover died in a hunting accident and after that his wife threw me out. By then I had made a life for myself here. A life that I preferred to the one I had left behind so I opened this tavern with the little money I had managed to save. I have a good business, good customers, and good friends. What more could a woman ask for?”
Caitlin smiled, feeling a sense of admiration for the woman in front of her. “I don’t think I could ever be as strong as you.”
Rosa chuckled. “Oh, little dove, you don’t know what you’re capable of until you’re put to the test.”
