Catriona smiled from her chair. “Ye must give yer sister some credit, me dear. ‘Tis nae often the little lassie takes to someone so quickly. She cries with most folk, even me and her faither on some days.”
“I am certain she cries with her faither every day,” Emma quipped, and a wave of gentle laughter rippled through the hall.
A satisfied smile crossed her face. Something about this very moment comforted her. Having to talk to all these women and care for whatever she wanted without a man like her uncle breathing down her neck was a breath of fresh air. One she had not even been aware she needed. Now, she had only three more nights to make her decision, or all of this would disappear once and for all.
Emma lifted the toy and handed the baby back to Catriona. Stella twisted around, her fists full of Emma’s dress.
“Come here, wee lass,” Emma coaxed. “How about we let yer grandmama rest for a bit?”
Stella clung to her harder, and the room erupted in softer laughter. A maid threw a log into the fire, and the heat spread in a slow wave.
For the first time since arriving here, the hall felt cozy.
“Ye spoil her already,” Ava observed, kneeling to rescue the poor horse from under a chair.
“I daenae,” Emma said, though she was smiling. “She came spoiled.”
“Aye, she did,” Catriona agreed, pride in her voice. “And I am glad of it.”
Emma tried again to hand the child over, but Stella threw herself back into Emma’s lap with a dramatic sigh and stuck a thumb into her mouth. The women laughed harder.
“Seems the bairn’s made her choice,” Catriona teased. “If Jack sees this, he’ll nae dare send ye away.”
“Two wee storms on his hands if he tried,” the baby’s nursemaid interjected. “The castle would shake.”
Emma laughed because everyone was laughing. However, the sound sat strangely in her chest, light and tight at once.
At the mention of Jack’s name, her throat tightened. She smoothed down Stella’s hair and looked ahead. Better to keep it simple and keep her voice steady. The other women didn’t need to be made aware of what had transpired the previous night.
Whatalmosttranspired before the sound in the woods interrupted them.
A part of her wondered if Jack was ever able to find the source of the sound. He had not appeared in the dining hall that morning, so she hadn’t had the opportunity to ask him.
“Ye’re the only one who can make her speak or make any sound at all,” the nursemaid noted, breaking her out of her reverie.
“She likes singing,” Emma explained. “That is all.”
“Aye,” the nursemaid said, gentler now. “She trusts ye, me Lady. As if she kens ye’ll keep her safe.”
Emma did not answer at once. Stella’s small fingers had found a tangled hair strand on her head and were working it free with fierce concentration. The child huffed a sleepy breath and settled.
“Maybe she only likes soft arms,” Emma said. “And a warm fire.”
Ava glanced up from folding a blanket. “Ye are good with her. Accept the damn compliment.”
“I daenae ken how,” Emma admitted. “She just… settles with me.”
Catriona’s eyes shone a little. “Well, she has to settle down with somebody. Believe it or nae, it’s been a long time since this castle felt some peace.”
The Great Hall fell quiet, and Emma looked up and then back at the child.
Peace.
It was a simple word, and yet a part of her didn’t know if it was something she could secure for long. She was not sure anyone could, for that matter.
“Remember how Ma used to sing to us?” Ava asked, nodding toward her mouth with a smile.
“Aye,” Emma said. “When we were bairns. She sang in the scullery and scared the geese.”
