“People underestimate how simple tiredness can create a terrible headache,” she acknowledged. “Have ye eaten today?”
“I couldn’t. I felt sick.”
“Well, ye must eat somethin’, and drink somethin’, too. I’ll make ye up a chamomile tea. That’ll help. I’ll put in powdered willow bark for the pain, but just a pinch.”
Melody gingerly lifted a hand to her aching head and watched Kat bustle around her room. She hadn’t bothered to dress in any of her fine gowns to come here, choosing instead a plain gray oneand braiding her hair into a simple plait. The plait hung heavily over her shoulders, fixed with a simple linen ribbon. She tugged nervously at the end of her plait, running the ends of the ribbon between her fingers.
Kat’s room smelled as sharp and savory as the healer’s chambers. Bundles of dried herbs hung from the ceiling, and jars of paste and chopped leaves crowded every flat surface. There were books, too, on plants, medicine, and other subjects, all piled on a low desk by the window.
“I get those books from the keep library,” Kat explained, following Melody’s gaze. “Callum is a great believer in learnin’. He’s nae much of a book-reader himself, but he understands their importance, which is more than I’ve seen from some other lairds. He doesnae believe that books and learnin’ should be kept only for lairds and ladies, either, and that’s sayin’ somethin’. I can borrow whichever books I like, so long as I write the name and book in the borrowin’ ledger, and of course, bring it back in good condition.”
“I haven’t even looked at the library,” Melody confessed. “I mostly read novels, I’m afraid.”
Kat picked up a heavy pestle and mortar, setting it down on the table. Moving over to her fireplace, where a good fire burned, she hooked a cauldron over the flames. Almost at once, water began to simmer inside it.
“Why are you sayin’ it like that?” Kat laughed, returning to her pestle and mortar. She threw in a few pinches of dried herbs anda block of something gray and crumbling. She set to work with the pestle, grinding efficiently until the substance in the mortar was reduced to a fine, shimmering powder.
“Oh, I don’t know,” Melody mumbled. “Back in London, it’s rather looked down upon to only like novels. They’re just stories.”
“What is wrong with stories?”
“Nothing is wrong, it’s just that ladies are supposed to read more improving literature.”
The water in the cauldron was bubbling now. Kat moved back over to the fire and scooped out a few ladlefuls, pouring them into a heavy earthenware mug. Returning to her pestle and mortar, she dumped the entire batch of ground herbs into the mug and stirred feverishly.
“When ye say ‘improvin’ literature’,” Kat observed. “I suppose that ye mean things like Latin and Mathematics, or those big old heavy history books?”
“Oh, no. A lady who reads things like that would be considered a bluestocking.”
“And that’s a bad thing?”
“Why, certainly. At least, it’s considered to be. No, ladies are meant to read poetry, I think, and books on etiquette and morality, and so on.”
Kat paused in her stirring and stared, perplexed, at Melody.
“That sounds bloody borin’ to me,” she stated bluntly.
Melody gave a stifled gasp. “Kat! You can’t say… that word.”
“Why nae? It’s only ye and I here.”
“Well, it’s… it’s not seemly.”
“I daenae care about seemly. I think ye would be a good bit happier if ye did nae, either. Why this sudden interest inseemliness, whatever that is?”
Melody bit her lip, glancing away. Memories of last night crowded in once more. That was to be expected. The way Callum had touched and kissed her—even kissed herthere—would probably never quite leave her mind. She had no doubt that half the ladies in London—likely more than half—had no idea such happiness and pleasure even existed.
On the other hand, they had probably never experienced the low, exquisite pain which had followed Callum’s rejection. And itwasa rejection. Even in her own head, she could not interpret his dismissal any other way.
He does not care for me. Not truly. I… I do not know why he touched me in such a way, but he called it a mistake. He emphasized that it could not be repeated.
Perhaps he’ll send me away.
The idea of returning to London made her stomach twist.
“I don’t know why I’m so maudlin today,” Melody confessed at last. “I’m sorry, Kat.”
Kat threw her a long, curious look and said nothing. For a moment, silence hung between them.
