A glimmer of sorrow passed over his hardened face. “I understand the need to forget, yes.”
“Then let me work. I want to tend the burned fields and do what I can to make things right again.”
His palm reached over to her hair, with the lightest touch. It was the sort of gesture a parent might grant to a child, to lend comfort. No longer did she fear his touch, but the simple caress unnerved her. She found herself wanting to rest her cheek against his broad chest, to feel strong arms around her. To draw strength from him, for she had nothing left inside.
“I’ll work alongside you,” he offered. “And if you start to tire, you’re going to stop.”
The hint of a smile faltered upon her mouth. “Is that a command?”
“Aye.” He walked outside again, waiting for her to follow.
When they approached the others, Jilleen walked towards them. Her sister’s tangled brown hair hung against her cheeks, and Morren reached for a strand, tucking it behind one ear. Though she’d slept beside Jilleen last night, her sister had hardly spoken to her.
“I’m going back into the fields with Trahern,” Morren said. “Come and help us.”
A strange look crossed Jilleen’s face. Her gaze shifted to Trahern’s face and then back again. “No, I don’t think I should.”
Morren frowned, not knowing whether her sister was afraid of Trahern or was simply trying to avoid the labor.
“Why not?” she probed. “Did something happen?”
“No, nothing.” A blush stole over Jilleen’s cheeks. “But Katla asked me to help her and the other women with the thatching. We’re working to get it ready for the rooftops.”
Morren hesitated, and her sister begged, “Please? It’s dull working in the fields. And besides, the crops are all burned anyway. Can’t I stay here?”
The fervent tone sounded a little too enthusiastic. Jilleen didn’t even know theLochlannachwomen, so why was she trying to remain with them?
“Trahern would be more help than me.” Her sister shot the man a faltering smile. “He’d do whatever you asked him to.”
Morren doubted that, but it was starting to become clear what her sister’s intentions were. The faint color in Jilleen’s face made it even more apparent.
“I’d like to speak to my sister alone for a moment,” she asked Trahern. Thankfully, he looked grateful to escape.
“I’ll go and help with the wall,” he said, pointing toward a group of men who were dry-fitting limestone into the stone palisade.
When he was out of earshot, Morren leaned over to her sister. “Jilleen, what is going on in that head of yours?”
Her sister shrugged. “He watches over you. And you need someone to take care of you now.” Jilleen glanced up at the sky, where it had stopped snowing. “He would protect us.”
Morren put an arm around her sister, in a half-embrace. “We’re going to be safe,” she promised. “I won’t let anything happen to you again.”
“But what about Trahern?”
“He saved my life and that’s all.”
Jilleen didn’t look convinced. “He likes you, and I’ve never seen him leave your side.” With a hopeful look, her sister added, “He could be handsome, if he grew back his hair.”
Morren couldn’t believe they were having this conversation. Was her sister honestly trying to make a match between herself and Trahern? “No. It’s not that way between us.” Trahern was still in love with Ciara, and she had no desire to form a match with any man. “It won’t happen,” she insisted.
“Not if you don’t try.” Jilleen turned her attention back to the men who were rebuilding the outer wall.
Morren stared at her sister. “Why would you think I’d want totry, after all that’s happened?”
Her sister held herself motionless for a long time. When Morren was about to repeat her question, she saw the stricken expression on Jilleen’s face. She opened her arms, and Jilleen gripped her tightly, her voice trembling.
“It’s my fault, Morren. All of it. And I don’t want you to be so alone anymore.”
“No, it wasn’t your fault.” Morren stroked her sister’s hair, murmuring words of consolation. “It wasn’t.” She held her sister’s face between her palms, trying to make her sister see that she didn’t hold her to blame. “What happened that night is over. I’m all right.”
