“Nay, baseless,” she said honestly.
“Ah,” Dirk crossed his hands behind his back and walked towards her. “‘Tis the best of faiths.”
Ceana didn’t agree. “I would rather have somethin’ nae so abstract in my corner.”
“But it can be cut out, can it nae? Nay one can take this away from ye if ye do nae surrender it.”
Ceana nodded.
“Ye have seen him, have ye nae?”
She didn’t reply.
“‘Tis easy to see.”
“I had nae idea I was so transparent,” she said, looking away.
“Nay,” he shook his head. “Ye misunderstand me. When we met last, ye looked like a woman in mourning. Now, ye look like a woman who is ready to fight to the last. ‘Tis the Torcall effect. He would have been a great leader. He could encourage deserters to regroup.”
“He didnae have any words of encouragement,” she whispered to him. “He is ready to die.”
“But yet, ye are nae as tortured as ye were. Why is that?”
“He is nae a perfect man, but who is. He is proud, he can be rash, and he holds himself to a much too high standard to be reasonable. He pushes those who want to help him away as though anything besides perfect strength is a stain on him. Yet, he wishes to inject himself into every situation to solve the problem.” Ceana paused. “But ye wonder why I am nae as tortured as I was? Seein’ him reminded me of what is at stake. Torcall is worth every attempt at freedom. Logical or illogical?” she questioned. “The last time ye saw me, I was a woman who didnae ken whether or not to do anything. I knew I had to do somethin’, but I wondered if I could. Now, me action is nae longer in question.”
Dirk’s next question was totally unexpected. “When did ye fall in love with him?”
“Ye said the last time that ‘tis been obvious how much I—”
“Nay,” Dirk shook his head. “That was a mere crush. It lacked the graveness, depth, and purity of the real thing. But ye are nae the same woman I see.”
Ceana said nothing.
“Infatuation paints yer love as perfect. ‘Tis illogical and seems strong and unshakable. In fact, it masquerades to be stronger than love. How? Well, lovers quarrel and separate because of their differences and faults. Hence, one might think that if lovers couldnae see each other’s faults, there would be nae quarrels. ‘Tis untrue and is the logic fake love follows. So, I ask again, when did ye fall in love with him?”
Ceana was quiet as she searched her heart for an answer. “I do nae ken,” she said to him.
Dirk nodded. “Ye have nae been placed on an easy path, Ceana. Ye will see him again, will ye?”
Ceana nodded.
“Do tell him how his aunt and I miss him. Tell him we have nae been in to see him because we have been restricted from doin’ so. Tell him his aunt and I ken that he is innocent of all the allegations. And--” Dirk broke off, painfully. “Tell him that the keep walls are well guarded. If he tries to escape, he will nae make it.”
Ceana nodded. “Just how guarded are they? Surely there must be a way out?’ she whispered.
“Nay,” Dirk shook his head. “There used to be, but nae anymore.”
“What happened?”
At that moment, Torcall ran as fast as he could to his uncle’s house, screaming at the top of his lungs. By the time Torcall had arrived at his uncle’s house, Dirk was outside already and armed with his sword. His heart pounded heavily in his chest. There would only be one reason that his nephew would be screaming in such a manner--something’ had happened to his brother.
“Torcall!” Dirk yelled. But before he could get another word out, he noticed the blood on his nephew’s hands.
“Adeline!” he yelled for his wife, and, confident that she would come down, he took off running for his brother’s home. It was dark, and Dirk had to rely on his third sense. Taking the steps three at a time, he ran up to their chamber, a place he had never been in prior to that very moment and pushed the shut door open, but he could see nothing. He cursed and ran down the stairs, searching for a light. Noise at the entrance alerted him of a presence. He peeped through the window, and when he saw that they were guards who carried lights with them, he yelled.
“Come here!”
The men responded quickly and entered the home with flaming torches. Dirk grabbed the first torch he could lay his hand on and ran up the stairs once more. The sight he met in his brother’s chamber made his stomach churn.
