“Callum told me what ye can do. I have my own wee gift, ye ken, as do many in my clan, though I think smelling a person and being able to tell something about them is one I havenae heard about. So, what did ye smell on Kirstie? Naught bad, I hope.”
“Nay! I just smelled a hint of lavender. It is there, beneath her normal scent.”
“What is her normal scent?”
“The ocean. I smell the ocean. I fear I dinnae ken what that means though as ’tis new to me.” She frowned. “I have only e’er smelled it with Uven, Callum’s cousin.”
“The ocean? The water? Is that what ye mean?” asked Kirstie.
Bethoc sighed. “This is where I have trouble. Think of what the ocean smells like if ye were on a cliff above it. A fresh, clean smell yet distinctive.”
“Weel, that isnae bad then. I wonder what it means?”
“I have only come to understand a few, mostly bad. ’Tis a struggle. Sir Connor smells like the earth. I have figured that one out. It means he is a good mon, that he will always stand firm. Strong and steadfast.”
“That is my Connor,” Gillyanne said, and smiled. “What does Payton smell like?”
Bethoc grimaced. “I am nay sure. ’Tis nice, verra nice, and nay flowers yet I am nay sure what it is. Just that it is nice. Ye simply want to stand there and breathe it in.” She could not help but smile when Kirstie began giggling. “I am sorry I cannae give ye a name for it. ’Tis probably just something I have ne’er had a sniff of.”
“We will just call it Payton,” she said, and grinned. “Fool had too many women who just wanted to stand and breathe him in so it probably warrants being given his name. The smell of Payton.” She laughed again but then abruptly grew serious. “So what is this hint of lavender ye smell under my ocean scent?”
It felt oddly freeing to speak so openly about what she could do, yet she hesitated for a moment. “I was rarely amongst people outside of home, ye ken, so I am nay skilled in this. And the mon I called Father hated it, called it witchery and a curse.”
“Tell me what ye do ken or can guess.”
“The few times I have scented it beneath another like this was when a woman carried a girl child.” Kirstie’s face lit up and she hugged her belly. “I am just nay sure ye can trust me in this.”
“How do ye stop?” asked Gillyanne.
“Stop?”
“How do ye stop smelling people? I can sense what a person feels or e’en thinks. At times I can e’en hear snatches of what someone thinks but I dinnae have to. So, how do ye stop smelling?”
“I am nay certain. I do think of stopping and it often happens but mostly ’tis just that I ignore it, make it simply part of what is around me.”
“Then ye are shutting it off. Ye just need to try and ken how ye are doing it.”
“I shall really have to study the matter. It would be good to ken how to do it exactly when I wish to.”
“What does Callum smell like?” asked Gillyanne quietly.
“Oh, I am not sure. He is much like Payton in that. But sometimes he smells like cinnamon.”
“Cinnamon?” Gillyanne grinned when Bethoc blushed. “Oh-ho! I understand. ’Tis a wondrous thing ye can do. And aye, I suspicion the bad smells are horrifying but what it tells ye is verra useful.”
“I suppose. I certainly ken who I must avoid.”
“Ye may nay be able to shut out the bad. ’Tis a warning, aye? I cannae always shut out the bad thoughts I catch, no matter how much I may wish to.”
Kirstie looked at the two women and shook her head. “I think I may be glad I am nay one of that bloodline. What does Payton do? I havenae noticed any odd gift in him nor has he spoken of one.”
“The men in the family are nay always so blessed,” drawled Gillyanne. “They may have a wee one, like seeing danger. I always thought Payton’s was the way he drew the ladies. But I think ’tis a charm he has, an ability to win people o’er. People, especially children, just trust him, e’en before they truly ken who he is.”
“Aye, they do,” said Kirstie, “although Callum took a few days.”
Bethoc suddenly saw Margaret walk by clutching a handful of flowers. “Oh, nay, Margaret.” She caught hold of the little girl’s skirts and tugged her close. “Those were nay yours to pick.”
“For mon. Pretty mon.”
