After several hours, Elsy felt Scott’s cheeks. The fever was ebbing, yet it would be a long while until the girl was out of it. Elsy continued pressing the rag into Scott’s skin, hoping the young girl would make it.
Scott groaned, her eyes pressing together before fluttering open. Her eyes were no longer glossy, and they squinted up at Elsy, confusion marring her brow. “Who are ye?” she rasped while pushing herself up.
“Ye shouldn’t get up just yet,” Elsy whispered while pushing lightly on the girl’s shoulders. “Ye need to rest.”
“Where am I?”
Elsy smiled, hoping she looked kind, not wanting to scare the girl. “Yer in yer rooms.”
Scott nodded, looking around. Her body stiffened as her gaze lingered on the cloth in the corner, resting on the trunk. She lurched away from Elsy, grabbing at her breasts, her entire body shaking.
“What happened?” Scott shouted, clutching the blankets tighter to her naked chest. “Why are ye here? Why is my cloth there?”
“It’s okay,” Elsy said gently, lifting her hands up as if to calm a frightened mare. “Ye have a fever. I’m here to help ye.”
“Ye undressed me?” Scott shouted.
Elsy nodded. “Just to wash ye. It was to bring down yer fever, ye see.”
Scott gasped, her breathing becoming harsh as she struggled to calm herself. “But-but, now--”
“It’s fine,” Elsy said softly, stroking the girl’s hair tenderly.
“Who else knows?”
Elsy grabbed Scott’s hands, holding them gently while she looked the young girl in the eyes. “Nae one.”
Scott shook her head, her eyes filling with tears. She looked so frightened. It pained Elsy’s heart as she watched the girl look around nervously, as if she was expecting the shadows to take her away.
“I promise ye, Scott, nae one knows of yer secret.”
Tears streamed down Scott’s cheeks while she ground her teeth. Elsy stroked the girl’s hair, hoping her touch would help calm her. “Ye promise?”
“Aye, I promise. Nae one knows.”
Scott breathed in deeply. Her face was flushed a deep red as she stared back at Elsy. Elsy wrapped her arms around the frail girl, pulling her into a tight hug. Scott kept her hands in her lap, but her body went limp. She sobbed into Elsy’s shoulder; her cries quiet.
“Sweet child, why have ye been hiding this?” Elsy asked while pulling away from Scott.
Scott shook her head. “Please, don’t tell anyone. Ye mustn’t tell anyone.”
Elsy nodded. “I won’t.” She moved closer to Scott, grabbing the blankets, and wrapping them tighter around the girl’s form. “But why? Are ye in trouble?”
Scott’s brows pinched together, and she lowered her gaze. “I don’t want to end up like the other lasses,” she whispered, her voice quivering with fear.
Elsy’s frown deepened as she watched Scott cry, her shoulders shaking with the weight she had been carrying. She wanted to ask Scott what happened to the other girls. What village was she from? A spider-like crawl ran up her spine and she winced at the nausea claiming her. She opened her mouth, the words on her tongue, but she promptly swallowed them, not wanting to bring any more pain to the poor child before her.
“Are there men yer scared of?” Elsy asked, hoping to get at least that much out of the girl.
Scott nodded, her gaze remaining focused on the mattress.
“And Connell, are ye afraid of him, too?”
Scott’s tears halted and she peeked up at Elsy. The slow shake of her head made Elsy’s heart swell with hope. “Nae,” Scott whispered. “I would never be scared of Connell. He’s very kind to me. He and Brann both are.”
“That’s good then,” Elsy said softly with a smile. “Ye should get yer rest, sweet child.” She gently pushed Scott back onto the bed and tucked the covers around her. “We need to break this fever and get yer strength back. We wouldn’t want to worry Connell even more, now, would we?”
Scott shook her head, her wide eyes slowly beginning to shut. “And ye will keep my secret?” the girl asked with a yawn.
“Always.”
Elsy stayed by Scott’s side as the girl slept. She watched the slow rise and fall of her chest, listening for any sound of wheezing, yet there was none. As the light dimmed outside, she found her attention turning toward the door, wondering if Connell was still standing outside, guarding it either from her escape, or protecting it from the others wishing to come inside.
Elsy didn’t know if she should permit herself to feel this way, this warmth brimming inside her as she thought of Connell. He had captured her, brought her to this fortress by force. He had kept her locked inside a room, much the same as McCormick. He had even been cold to her the other day, yet his coldness was off. She felt as if he was wearing a mask he put on for others, wanting to seem tough and cold in order to push everyone away.
She worried this hope she felt meant nothing, that the kind man she saw would disappear in the next moment. But hearing Scott’s words made her think of the man Connell had once been.He isn’t completely gone,Elsy thought.He is still in there, somewhere.
Elsy smiled, hoping that she could talk some reason into Connell. Perhaps he would help her escape this place. Perhaps he would escape with her. They wouldn’t be able to return to those days four years ago when they were young and innocent, but perhaps they could start over, begin again.
Elsy could only hope.
