Torcall looked up into her eyes, and when she wouldn’t meet his gaze, he became fed up.
Gently, he took hold of her balled fist.
“Ceana,” he said. But she wouldn’t look at him.
“Ceana,” he tried again, this time, injecting more urgency in his voice.
“Aye?” she replied in a whisper, still not looking at him.
Gently, once more, he tilted her face to meet his. Her eyes were red and slightly swollen. He hadn’t noticed it before, and he berated himself.
Who had made her cry? Who had dared to make her cry?
“Ceana, ye are crying,” he said calmly.
“Nay,” she argued. But even as she did, her eyes glistened.
Torcall didn’t know how to deal with feminine tears. However, he knew how to eliminate problems very easily.
“Ceana, ye have to tell me who made ye cry so I can find them and make them pay for it.”
Still, she said nothing.
Torcall realized how powerless he was at that moment. He couldn’t fix anything if she didn’t tell him.
“Ceana,” he begged. “Tell me, please. Is it me?”
Finally, the restraint she had fought to keep broke, and tears flowed freely from her eyes.
“Me friend Bridget was killed last night,” she said and sobbed. She allowed him to take her in his arms and rock her.
“Bridget?” he asked again while holding her. “She was killed? How?”
“She was stabbed after the feast. ‘Tis all me fault,” she sobbed. She looked up to him and read shock and disbelief on his face.
“Yer fault?”
“Aye,” she sobbed.
“How is that even possible?”
“She didnae ken about the feast. ‘Twas I who told her about it, and she ne’er came home from it.” She continued to sob on his shoulders while he soothed her gently.
“I’m sorry that this happened,” he said. “I have heard naught of it having been out of the settlement since the morn.”
“She was found dead earlier,” she sniffled.
“I’m sorry,” he repeated. “When Bridget and yer sister walked in on us, I was annoyed at the accusations. Bridget claimed I had seduced ye, and so I walked out on her angrily. If I had nae been so angry, perhaps it would have been different,” he said with regret etched on his face.
Drawing Ceana closer to him, he rocked her slowly until her tears dried up completely.
“Where was she found?” he asked her.
“I do nae ken,” she answered truthfully. “I didnae ask. I was too shocked.”
He nodded. “I understand. Nay one expected such a horrible thing to happen to Bridget.”
“Did ye ken her well?” she asked him. She knew that he knew of her but was unsure of how well.
