“Auntie Siùsan and her brothers are all good looking. It runs in their family.” She hoped it would be evasive enough.
“But Auntie Siùsan and Óg arenae the same kind of good looking, dinna ye think?”
“I suppose.” Saoirse shrugged as she turned her back to fetch a gown from the armoire. She remained facing the tall piece of furniture as she waited for the heat to leave her cheeks. She didn’t want her sisters to see. They weren’t as fair as her, and they shared their father’s deep chestnut colored hair. If they blushed, few people could tell. Everyone knew when Saoirse felt flushed.
By the time she and her sisters arrived in the Great Hall, she felt calmer. But the moment she noticed Magnus, her heart fluttered. He seemed more attractive every time she saw him. She chalked it up to a young woman’s infatuation. She kept herself occupied during the meal, telling herself that she wanted to hear her cousins’ and sisters’ chatter, but it was to keep from glancing down the table. She and Magnus sat at opposite ends, but once more, they faced each other. Was her aunt tormenting her with the seating arrangements? Or did Magnus choose to sit far from her? She chided herself as she realized that her family had naturally separated themselves by gender, mostly because the men wanted to chat with Magnus. The meal felt interminable.
CHAPTER3
“Lady Saoirse?” Magnus approached her four days after he arrived. He’d spied her heave an overflowing basket onto her bent arm. “May I help ye?”
They hadn’t approached each other in the days since his arrival, and it frustrated him. With each passing day, Saoirse seemed less inclined to even say hello. He wondered if she believed him disinterested, or if he’d imagined any interest at all. He still knew it was a horrible idea, but he couldn’t help himself.
“Thank ye, Óg.” Saoirse looked around before nodding. She hated that she grew nervous being seen with Magnus. It should be ridiculous for her to worry, but things had settled down in the past three days since his arrival. She didn’t want to cause a further stir. “I’m taking them to ma workroom.”
Saoirse hadn’t moved into Aileen’s croft when the older woman died, so Siùsan offered her a storage building to serve as her apothecary and place to see the poorly or injured. She enjoyed having a quiet space to herself. There were few within the keep or bailey. She could shut the door to the outside world as she worked.
Magnus followed her once he lifted the basket from her arm. She noticed the weight didn’t register with Magnus while it practically pulled her off balance. She pushed open the door and drew back the small window covering. It allowed plenty of light into the small building, but the hanging rabbit hides also offered privacy for patients. She pointed to a table in the center of the single room. It served as both an examining table and a workstation. He recognized the lingering scent of lavender and heather when he saw the plants hanging from a rafter. It was the same scent Saoirse wore. He identified only a handful of the plants, so he was curious to learn more.
“When did ye start training with Aileen? I never realized ye spent so much time with her.”
“I was aboot four-and-ten when I realized how much the healing arts interest me. It wasna until I was seven-and-ten that ma parents felt I was ready to assist Aileen with more than a simple cough or minor wound. Once they allowed me to do more, I spent every day with her. I learned quickly because it fascinated me, and I enjoy helping people. It makes me feel good to ken I helped them feel good.”
“What’s the worst thing ye’ve treated?” Magnus sat on a stool while Saoirse moved around the room, putting away dried flowers she removed from the rafter’s hanging strings.
“I had to stitch a lad’s leg after a dog bit nearly clean through. I could see the bone. I feared he would lose it. Even if he kept it, I worried he would forever have a limp. His father’s a guard, and that’s what he wished to become. It took weeks of tending to it, keeping any infection from setting in. Then it took weeks for him to learn how to walk again properly. But he kept the leg and chases around with the other weans.”
“That must have been vera hard. I dinna ken that I could watch a child in such pain and still pay attention to ma work.”
“It’s never easy to see anyone in pain, but it breaks ma heart when it’s a wean. He hadnae done aught but surprise the hound while it was eating. Thormud had to put the animal down, since none of the parents trusted it around their children. I think that pained Thor as much as the stitching pained the wean. But Thor volunteered. He was the one to pry the dog from the lad.”
“Ye have a generous heart, Saoirse.”
“I try.” Saoirse focused on the chamomile she ground with a pestle and mortar. She knew her face grew red.
As much as Magnus didn’t want to leave, he knew he shouldn’t linger. He rose from his stool, and Saoirse looked up, surprised. “I should leave ye to yer work.”
“Ye dinna have to.” Saoirse’s cheeks glowed brighter, embarrassed at her own forthrightness. But she enjoyed their conversation. Magnus hesitated before returning to the stool. “Do ye have a healer on yer lands?”
“We have several, but they all live in the villages far from the keep. Our healer died during one of the early waves of sickness. It’s likely why so many others did. Nay one kenned how to treat the poorly. Caroline did as best she could with the knowledge she had, but it wasna nearly enough.”
“There was nay one who could help?”
“Nay. We needed them among their neighbors. And we did what we could to keep people from leaving their homes. It only got worse when clan members visited loved ones in other places.”
“That must have been vera hard to enforce.”
“It was. Our chiefs saved hundreds of lives by ensuring the rule was followed. But there were always a few who disregarded it. I ken they felt they didna have any choice but to help their family or friends. However, it only made the contagion spread.”
Magnus aged before Saoirse’s eyes as he recalled his hellacious past two and a half years. He forced his smile, and she scrambled to think of another topic.
“Do ye remember when Tate was seven and thought it was a fine idea to tie a rope to the branch over the rocks at the loch’s edge? He was brave enough to swing out from it, but once he was over the water, he couldnae let go.”
“Aye. I remember. I heard everyone’s cheers and taunts from the lists.”
“It was a good thing ye came to investigate.”
“Aye. I caught him when he swung back over the rocks. But before I could do aught to cut down the rope, Ainsley stuck out her tongue and leaped. She didna hesitate to drop into the water. Shona was right behind her.”
