He had been gone almost two months now. There had not been any word. Katherine was adamant with herself. She did not care where he was, or what he did. She did not care if his fate had been as she had prayed it would be—to sink with his ship to the very bottom of the sea.
Guy tugged on her hand. “If you do not want to play tables, do you wish to read to me instead, Katherine?” The boy looked worried.
Katherine forced a smile, bent and kissed his head. “Of course.”
“I think, Guy, you can read with Katherine later.”
Katherine turned to face Macgregor. The big Scot moved so soundlessly for a man of his size. She had not heard him approach. When Liam had sailed away, he had left Macgregor behind. To guard her if she tried to leave the island? Katherine almost laughed at the idea. Where would she go? To her father? To John Hawke? To the queen?
“Lady, I wish to speak with you privily.”
Katherine’s cheeks began to flush. Does he know? She thought wildly. No, she decided, she had been so very careful, he could not know. The only one who knew was her maid, and Katherine had sworn her to secrecy long ago. Katherine turned to Guy. “I will be with you in a few minutes. Why don’t you meet me here a little later?”
Guy nodded, looking relieved, and he darted off. Katherine turned her back on Macgregor, facing the wind-driven snow. Would the wind never stop? She wondered. It howled constantly, sounding very much like a pack of lost and lonely wolves. How could anyone live on this island in the wintertime? And not go mad? Her grip uponher sanity felt so tenuous. Katherine stared at the swirling snow. She could not help wondering what it must be like to be at sea right then, upon the pirate ship.
Cold and lonely and dangerous.
“He is never gone at this time of year,” Macgregor said from behind her.
Katherine tensed. “I do not care.”
“You do not care if he has been captured? Or run aground? Or worse, run upon rocks by the winter storms and sunk to the very bottom of the sea?”
Katherine hugged herself. “Undoubtedly such is his fate, as he is but a bloodthirsty pirate.”
“Does he know?” the Scot asked.
Katherine inhaled. The sound was loud and sharp; Macgregor must have heard it, too. She still did not turn from the window. “I beg your pardon?”
“Does he know that you carry his child?”
Katherine could not breathe. She felt light-headed and faint. Such a feeling was not new to her. There had been moments these past few weeks when she had become short of breath and dizzy. She had no experience in these matters, but she guessed it was because of the life growing inside of her womb. She did not answer Macgregor.
“Lady Katherine, I have known many women in my many years, and although you wear that cape as you would a shield, I have seen how your belly is expanding. And there are other signs as well. Please, let us talk frankly.”
Katherine whirled, angry and frightened, hugging herself, tears trickling from her eyes. “This is my baby,” she said fiercely. “Not his!”
Macgregor was gentle. “Does he know?”
“He has no rights,” she shouted, flooded with hot anger, recalling his terrible betrayal. “None!”
“You refuse to answer me. But I do not think, no matter how angry and hurt he was, that he would leave you like this if he did know. When is the babe due?”
Katherine stared at him mutinously. “Liam, hurt? A man must have a heart in order to be hurt, and he has none!” Then she started to weep, but softly.
“Liam has a heart and if you do not know that, then you are not the woman for him,” Macgregor said quietly.
“I am not the woman for him!” She glared at him. “I hope he is dead.”
Macgregor held her gaze, and she was startled by the sadness in his eyes. “When, Katherine?”
Katherine took a calming gulp of air. “In July, I think. I am probably four months along, maybe more.”
“There is a midwife in the village. I want her to examine you.”
And suddenly Katherine was relieved, so very relieved, that her secret had been discovered. She had been afraid. Being pregnant and alone, having no one to ask the many questions she had, with no one to turn to, and no one to trust. “Yes.” She nodded, the color returning to her pale cheeks. “The sooner the better, I think.”
South of Galway, Ireland
