“Iam not!”
“Effie,ye can shout and stomp your tiny feet all ye wish to, but ‘twill changenothing. Ye are soon to be a woman.”
“Thisisnae supposed to happen to fairies.”
Sorchastared at her young cousin for a moment as she began to understand Euphemia’sdelusions. “I suspect fairies have some similar affliction. After all, theremust be new fairies from time to time, or they would disappear.” She moved tosit next to Euphemia and took the girl’s hand in hers. “Euphemia, becoming awoman may not be nice, may even be a wee bit frightening, but denying itwillnae stop it. All ye are accomplishing at the moment is to make thosetroublesome spirits louder and stronger than they might be.”
“Whydo they have to be here at all?” She cursed when the shield over the fireplacecrashed to the rush-strewn floor again. “Go away,” she yelled.
“Ifye would cease to fight the truth, ye would hear less of that. The more upsetand angry ye are, the more upset and angry they are. ‘Tis as if they are bredof your emotions, and the stronger your feeling, the stronger they are.”
“Yemean that if I am quiet and peaceful they will go away?”
“Theywillnae leave completely, but they will grow less bothersome. When ye arefinally a woman, they will fade away. Ye must accept that as all the Hay womenbefore ye have. God decided lasses must become women in this way, and ye cannaechange His plan. I dinnae ken who or what decided we must do so with thesespirits about to add to our misery, but that cannae be changed either. Mayhapsomeday a woman of the Hay clan will stumble upon the secret of banishing them,but until then they must be accepted.”
“Itseems to me the Hay women must shoulder a great many burdens.” She scowled ather feet for a moment then glanced sideways at Sorcha. “Do ye think that, whenI do become a woman, I shall gain a special gift as ye did?”
“Aye,ye may. Many a Hay woman has. Ye have drawn these troublesome spirits soswiftly and so strongly it would seem likely. Now, child, my mother’s motherdid brew a potion that will help ye stay calm—“
“Idinnae want to take a potion.”
“Ididnae say ye had to. I but mention that there is one. Ye may weel findyourself so weary of these spirits ye crave a moment’s peace. The potion willgive ye one. I just wished ye to ken that ‘tis there.” She stood up, kissedEuphemia on the cheek, and then smoothed down her skirts. “Now I must go andsee how our prisoner Sir Ruari is.”
“Sorcha,will ye tell the mon how sorry I am I acted so foolishly when I went to hisroom?”
“Aye,I will, but I shouldnae worry much on how he thinks of you. I am certain themon believes it was just some odd whim of a woman-child and has ceased toconsider it.” She winked at Euphemia and was pleased to see the girl smilebriefly.
AsSorcha climbed the stairs to Ruari’s chamber, she felt her steps grow weightedwith her nervous reluctance to see him. Not seeing him solved nothing, however.She continued to think about him. She blushed to think of the times she hadcaught herself staring at nothing as she recalled the kisses they had shared.No amount of work banished those heated memories. Neil was right. Hiding fromthe man served no purpose at all. Sorcha opened the door to his room andheartily wished she could find the solution to her inner turmoil before she didsomething she would regret.
Ruarisat up the moment Sorcha entered the room and smiled at her. He had begun tothink he had scared her away. It did not please him to discover that he missedher, but he reluctantly accepted the truth of it. She was too thin, knew fartoo much about a man’s ways and had some very strange ideas, but he could notconquer a growing fascination with her.
“Haveye decided to grace me with your company for a few moments?” he asked.
“Aye,if ye behave yourself.” She collected a bowl of water, a washing cloth, and cleanbandages.
“Doye truly think this is necessary?” he muttered as she prepared to tend hiswounds.
“Weshall see.” She removed his bandages and studied his wounds, astonished bytheir condition. The man was healing with an almost miraculous swiftness. “Ibelieve ye dinnae need the bandages any longer. Your injuries will fare betterif allowed to breathe. Ye are a wondrous healer,” she murmured as she gentlybathed his wounds and dabbed them dry. “I dinnae believe I have e’er seenwounds heal so swiftly.”
“Iwas always quick to heal.”
“Iwouldnae be surprised to discover that these sword cuts began to heal ere yourenemy finished inflicting them. Ye tell me that my talk of spirits could causeme trouble. Weel, I suspect this rapid healing has roused a question or two.”
Ruariscowled, not pleased to be reminded of how odd his ability to heal quickly was.It had caused him a few uneasy moments. He attributed it to his own strength,but others often wondered if it was a gift from God or the devil. When so many sufferedpoisoning in their wounds, death, or a crippling fever, his continued goodhealth, no matter how severe his injuries, was not often seen as the blessingfrom God he considered it to be.
“Ithas been a week since I was cut down. I didnae grow feverish nor did my woundsfester, so ‘tis no great miracle that I continue to regain my strength.”
“Aweel-practiced answer, I think,” she drawled as she put away her nursing tools.
“‘Tisbut the simple truth.” Ruari frowned when he realized she was not listening tohim.
Sorchacursed as she caught sight of a familiar shadow in the corner of the room. Itwas an inconvenient time for one of her spiritual companions to seek her out.As the shape grew clearer, she cursed again. It was Crayton, the spirit whovisited regularly, and could be somewhat of a nuisance. The fact that his imagewas so distinct, only slightly faded below the knees, told her he was notfeeling playful. The scowl on his young, handsome face made her uneasy. Craytonwas in a sour mood.
“Yedinnae need to coddle the oaf as much as ye do,” said Crayton.
Aquick glance at Ruari assured Sorcha that he heard and saw nothing. She wasnever quite sure if Crayton spoke aloud as mortals did or if she heard him onlyin her head. At times she was certain of the latter, but the former was neveras easy to discern. The one thing she was sure of at the moment was that shewanted Crayton to leave. She tensed as he moved to the bed and glared down atRuari.
“Goaway,” she whispered and grimaced when Ruari eyed her warily.
