But Diarmuid did admit there was something about the Maiden’s Tower that was not quite normal. The birds didn’t roost in its eves. Now in the heart of summer, there were nests along the keep walls and other buildings. But none on the Maiden’s Tower.
The villagers claimed Brigitta’s ghost sang at night, frightening the birds away.
Perhaps he could dismiss the rumors, but birds were wild creatures. Something had to be keeping them away.
He heard the sound of footfall behind him. His cousin Barclay joined him on the wall.
“Did ye come up to get a look at yer bride?” Barclay jested. He leaned over the edge of the wall, through an archer hole. “Did ye catch a glimpse of Brigitta?”
“Ye would not be so amused if Aodh had pointed at you while muttering his predictions,” Diarmuid answered. But he smiled at his friend and cousin.
“I suppose not,” Barclay conceded. “Are ye worried?”
It was a serious inquiry. Here on the wall, Diarmuid could be free with his opinions.
“I am not practicing me dancing steps for fair Brigitta, if that is what ye are asking.”
Barclay chuckled and clasped him around the shoulders. “Well, that is a relief. I am not ready for either of us to be snaredby the bonds of matrimony. Ye can nae leave me to be the only rogue in the family.”
“The lasses would nae forgive me for that,” Diarmuid jested in return.
Barclay flashed him a smile. “Let’s find some of those lasses, eh?”
His cousin was always one for flirting. Barclay wasn’t in the direct line of the lairdship, so he had more freedom when it came to his behavior. Duty was always on Diarmuid’s shoulders. He was accustomed to the weight. It was his responsibility to bear it.
Tonight, he didn’t feel at ease following his cousin. For certain there would be music and fine company, but he felt tethered to the wall. As though moving away was ill advised.
His strange mood didn’t make any sense and felt like it was coming from the Maiden’s Tower.
A sensation rippled across his skin. It was a cross between a chill and something unknown. He stared at the Maiden’s Tower, trying to decipher just what it was he felt.
Something fluttered near him. Diarmuid jerked at the disturbance in the air. He turned his head to discover an owl perched on one of the curtain wall outcroppings.
It was a large owl with amber eyes. The creature didn’t seem concerned with Diarmuid in the least. It stared at him for a long moment before it once more took flight, gliding silently through the night, back to the Maiden’s Tower.
So, there were owls that nested in the Maiden’s Tower.
Diarmuid felt the tension in his shoulders ease. The lack of birds around the tower made sense now. He chuckled softly before shaking his head. The haunting of the tower was no more than a nest for predatory owls. Aye, that must have been it. Relief washed over him, he wouldn’t have to worry about getting married this week!
*
Ailsa had neverset eyes upon the sea.
She’d read about it. Devoured books in her quest to learn more about the world beyond her father’s estate. And now, she was almost there. In moments she would see the blue expanse that called to men with whispers of adventure.
But the streets around the docks were clogged with carts. Her driver shouted at them but there was nowhere for them to go. Everyone had to wait for those further ahead of them to move.
She couldn’t wait any longer.
“Here now, where do you think you are going?” Her chaperone Mol demanded.
Ailsa was already out the carriage door. “I will be at the ship!”
Mol was sputtering. But with the door open, Ailsa got her first full breath of sea air.
It was truly intoxicating!
She let out a delighted little sound of amusement before she grabbed the front of her skirt and lifted it up. She took off through the street, easily weaving in and around the carts filled with food of all sorts. Cheese. Barrels in every size. Hens clucked in warning from their thatch woven cages and even some goats cried out. All leading down a path to the sea.
