“I only speak when much is at risk. Words weary me.”
“I will leave you in peace then, to rest and recover. Ye have my word that I will do the work. I will learn to see the beauty within her. I swear it.”
“Vows mean nothing. Work.”
He knelt and barely touched the water’s surface. “I will do the work. Thank ye.”
Dark and silent once again, the pond did not reply, but he felt its answer.Stop talking. Start working.
ChapterThree
“Keeva called youAylryd. That’s an unusual name, but it kind of fits you.” Lexi untangled the feisty kitten from the terry cloth belt of her bathrobe and tucked it into her wide, square pocket. “I can’t walk with you dangling from my belt. Come on. Let’s get some coffee, and I’ll open the door so you can explore the garden while I get my day started.” Definitely not a morning person, it took her a while and several cups of coffee to feel human and capable of interacting in a socially acceptable manner. Walking barefoot, she grimaced as she stepped into a dusting of kitty litter scattered across the tile floor. “Yuck.” She scrubbed her foot on her pajama leg to get rid of the sandy grains. “I guess that’s a good thing. It means you used the litter box. I’ll have to look around and see if there’s a broom and dustpan tucked away somewhere. We can’t be leaving a mess. A tidy cottage is a happy cottage.”
She opened the back door and deposited the kitten onto the threshold. “Here. Go outside and play.”
The tiny beast gave an indignantrowrof protest and followed her to the coffeepot.
“Fine. But stay out from between my feet. I don’t want to step on you.” She found a cup that was more the size of a soup bowl and filled it with coffee. Thankfully, she had discovered the coffeemaker had a timer on it, so she had awakened to the rich, mouthwatering aroma of freshly brewed coffee filling the cottage. “The perfect way to start the day.” She grinned after the first sip. This was theonlyway to start the day.
A knock at the door startled her, and she grew even more uneasy when the kitten puffed to twice its size, danced sideways like a Halloween cat, and growled while glaring in that direction.
“Dinna be alarmed,” a kindly voice called through the door. “I am Mairwen, and have come to see that everything is to yer liking.”
Aylryd calmed a bit but remained slightly puffed and grumbled with another little growl that almost made Lexi laugh. For the sake of the little cat’s pride, she held it back.
“We mustn’t be rude,” she told the fierce beastie, even though she wished Mairwen had waited till later in the day to visit. Lexi adjusted her robe and tightened the belt. Fully covered in her oversized pair of pajamas and her favorite robe wasn’t too indecent to receive guests, she supposed.
She opened the door to a smiling, older woman with the most stunning blue eyes she had ever seen. Mairwen was gorgeous. One of those ageless beauties always splashed across social media.
“Hi, I am Lexi Vine. But you knew that.” She stepped back and opened the door wider, waving Mairwen inside. “Come in. I have some coffee made. Would you like a cup?”
“That would be verra nice, thank ye.” Mairwen swept into the room like royalty, her long, swaying skirt and shawl in the richest shades of burgundy and deep blue reminding Lexi of one of the Boho boutiques in Lexington. The woman wore her hair loose, her shimmering tresses curling down her back and over her shoulders in a waterfall of silvery whiteness. Mairwen arched a brow at the kitten blocking her path. “I see ye have a wee guardian already.”
“Yes. I hope that’s all right. Keeva and I came across him when I was signing the register at the meeting hall. He’s too young to be on his own, and I didn’t see his mother anywhere. I didn’t have the heart to leave him.” Lexi snapped her mouth shut. She had a tendency to babble when she feared something bad was about to happen. And since she hadn’t swept up the spilled kitty litter yet, she was afraid Mairwen was about to say the kitten had to go.
“Of course ye could not leave the wee mite on his own.” Mairwen stretched out her hand and wiggled her fingers, tempting Aylryd to play. “Yer heart would not have given ye a moment’s peace if ye had.”
Lexi relaxed as she poured Mairwen a cup of coffee. This lady understood. Not everyone did. “Would you like some cookies? Keeva stocked the place with what I understand are some of Innis’s best. I fully intend to visit this magical bakery and beg her for some recipes.”
Mairwen laughed. “Somebiscuitswould be lovely, lass. The shortbreads are particularly good for dipping in a fine hot drink, and dinna hold yer breath on Innis sharing her recipes. She guards them more closely than a mother hen guards her chicks.”
“Biscuits. Yes. I need to remember it’sbiscuitsand not cookies.” Lexi selected the small white bakery box labeled shortbreads and brought it to the table along with the coffee. “Sugar or cream for your coffee?”
“No, thank ye, lass. I prefer it black.” Mairwen snagged hold of the kitten, lifted him, and examined him more closely. “Ye are a fine one, Aylryd. Do well by yer mistress, but for now, I must speak with her.” She returned him to the floor and nudged him toward the open back door before returning her attention to her coffee.
It hit Lexi that Mairwen had called the kitten by name when she shouldn’t have known it. Strange. But maybe Keeva had told her. After all, Keeva had said she was Mairwen’s assistant. Lexi shook off the eeriness as the coincidence that it had to be. “I love the cottage. I’m so glad I was able to get it for the full month.”
“Ye may stay longer if ye wish. We’ve not booked it for the following month yet.”
The oddly sly look in the old woman’s eyes gave Lexi pause. “I am afraid that wouldn’t be fair to those I left back home,” she said. “They’re saddled with my duties and responsibilities while I’m enjoying Scotland.”
“’Tis good ye have friends ye can trust with yer life back in Kentucky.”
“Yes. Very good.” Lexi opened the box of shortbreads and offered them to Mairwen. “And thank you again for letting me take care of the kitten while I’m here. I hope to find him a good home before I leave.”
Mairwen waved away her words, then plucked a shortbread out of the white cardboard box. “Think nothing of it, lass. We are glad ye came. Do ye not feel as if ye were meant to come here? That perhaps Scotland was waiting for ye? Calling to ye?”
A shiver rippled across Lexi, leaving her arms covered in gooseflesh. How had Mairwen so accurately described what she had felt ever since she stepped off the plane in Glasgow? She couldn’t help but smile. “This place feels like home. Like a hug and awe’ve been waiting for yougreeting.”
