CHAPTERTWENTY-ONE
Elsy
Elsy sighed as she rolled over, a smile on her lips as she reached for Connell. She hadn’t rested so well in a very long while. No nightmares had haunted her dreams. She had dreamt of Connell; of the life they could have together. “Connell,” she whispered, expecting to touch his naked back. She frowned, her hands touching the air before falling onto something soft, but not belonging to her love’s body. Something was on top of her. It was light and felt smooth. Even what she was lying on didn’t feel like the hall’s floor or the rug.
She opened one eye, looking around at the room surrounding her. Her other eye opened, and she quickly sat up, finding herself in a bed. Her senses awakened and she realized it wasn’t just any bed. It was her bed, in her room. The window was streaming light inside. The birds were twittering outside the fortress. Everything seemed normal, but Connell was nowhere to be found.What does this mean?she wondered worriedly. She threw the blanket off her, shivering at the cold seeping into her naked skin.
He must have moved me while I slept,she thought while looking around, finding her green gown lying on the trunk, neatly folded. She grabbed the blanket, wrapping it tightly around herself before padding toward the trunk. She placed the gown carefully on the floor before lifting the lid and searching the contents inside, finding a red dress, which she swiftly changed into. The fabric didn’t scratch at her skin and the dress fit her loosely around the waist. She stared down at the long sleeves, dangling from her wrists, feeling as if she was dressed for a grand feast. Her brow furrowed as her gaze drifted toward the door. She wondered if, after the previous night, things would return to the way they had been. Was she still a prisoner inside this dark fortress?
Her hand hesitantly touched the door handle, her breath halting as she slowly turned, surprise filling her when it opened easily. She stared into the dimly lit corridor, taking one step at a time out of her room. “Am I free?” she wondered aloud.
She looked from side to side, finding noone guarding her room, only the candelabras to greet her. Wherever Connell’s men were, they were nowhere nearby to stop her from leaving her rooms and she wondered if all his threats were for naught, or if he finally believed her. Hope filled her, and her feet took her briskly through the hall, the need to see Connell overtaking her.Perhaps, he is breaking his fast in the hall,she thought with a smile, feeling giddy as she grabbed her skirts, her steps increasing until she found herself running toward the staircase and bounding down its steps. Joy filled her with the knowledge that Connell had left her door unlocked. Her face flushed as she recalled the night before, and desire welled up in her once more with the memory of his touch on her body, of his lips pressed against hers. She wanted to have him again and again.
“Connell!” she called brightly as she stepped onto the bottom floor, running through the corridors, stifling a giggle of glee as she threw open the doors to the great hall. “Connell-”
She paused, finding noone in the room. The remnants of last night stared back at her: a pitcher, a platter of half-eaten food, the rug on the floor. Her gaze remained fastened on that rug, her face heating, embarrassment filling her as she recalled the way Connell had licked her womanhood, the way he had plunged himself inside her.
“Elsy, yer so bonnie,”his words repeated in her head. “Ye taste wonderful.”
A shiver ran down her spine and she wrung her hands as she felt heat pooling in her belly. She hadn’t known how to touch him the night before, but she wanted to learn; she wanted to have more of him, more of that mischievous tongue. Her hands pressed against her cheeks as her gaze searched the hall. She wondered if he was standing in the corners in wait, if he was playing a trick on her, like he had years before. She smiled at the memories of him four years ago, recalling the way he would sneak up on her, scaring her. He would laugh and she would hit his shoulder lightly. It was a game they used to enjoy together.Will he play it now?she wondered.
But even in the dark, shadowy corners of the hall, there was no sign of Connell.
Elsy frowned, wondering where he could possibly be. She didn’t know the fortress, given she had spent most of her days here locked in her rooms. He could be anywhere. Her hands fisted, worry making her stomach twist, but she straightened her shoulders, refusing to feel defeated. They’d had a wonderful night together. Connell was merely busy tending to certain matters.
She strode toward the kitchens, grimacing at the rotten smell and the clutter of unwashed plates and cups greeting her as soon as she entered. Mice scampered between her legs, and she stifled a cry, inhaling deeply to calm herself. Scott still needed to be tended to. The child needed food and tea if she was going to get any better.
Elsy gagged as she looked in the cups, finding mold and mice droppings staining the insides. She had never seen a kitchen in such disorder, not even when she took over the household chores while she was living with her father. The servants at McCormick’s castle had always kept their kitchen orderly.
Do the men enjoy living like this?she wondered while grabbing a stained rag and wiping the dust from the cleanest cup she could find. Elsy searched for a waterskin, finding only half empty pitchers of ale. There weren’t even any herbs. Elsy frowned, wondering what foul place she had stumbled upon.The tea will have to wait then,she thought while setting the cup down and searching the cupboards for any food. She grimaced at the moldy cheese she found and sighed in frustration at the small piece of bread.
“Bread it is then,” she said while shaking her head, putting the small hunk of dismal looking bread on a plate and stalking out of the room.
Elsy strode toward Scott’s room, rapping at the door lightly with her knuckles. The door creaked open and Elsy smiled down at the young girl, still clothed in her sleeping tunic from the day before.
“Elsy,” Scott said brightly, pulling the door further open and wrapping her arms around Elsy’s waist. “Yer still here.”
Elsy chuckled as she stepped inside, kicking the door closed behind her. “Of course I’m still here, ye silly lass. I have brought ye some food.”
Scott made a face. “I’m not hungry.”
Elsy scoffed. “Don’t make a fuss, child. Ye must eat to keep yer strength up. Hopefully, later tonight I can make ye a broth to soothe yer belly and warm yer insides. Now, eat.” Elsy held the plate out for Scott to take, and she took it tentatively before settling back on her bed.
Elsy watched Scott eat slowly, but her gaze kept sliding toward the door. Her thoughts strayed to wondering if Connell had visited the child, wondering what he was doing now. She hoped he would enter, that they could talk about the previous night, but the door remained closed.
“Has Connell been to visit ye?” Elsy asked, her voice low. She wrung her hands, feeling nervous about what Connell was feeling. He hadn’t been there when she awakened, and it only made her wonder if he wished the night between them had never happened.
Scott shook her head. “Nae,” she said between bites. “I suppose he is busy with his duties.”
Elsy nodded. “I suppose he is. And how are ye? Are ye feeling any better?”
“Aye,” Scott said with a bright smile. “I feel right as rain. Perhaps I can leave this room today?”
Elsy narrowed her eyes, her gaze scrutinizing Scott’s frail form. There still wasn’t much color in the little girl’s face and her eyes were glossy. “Maybe it’s better to wait until tomorrow,” she said, her heart wrenching at Scott’s deep frown. “To be safe. I wouldn’t want ye getting ill again.”
Scott gave a nod, yet there was no joy in the way she held herself. She pushed the plate away from her, the bread only half eaten. “I get so lonely in here,” Scott whispered.
“I am here,” said Elsy as she sat on the bed next to Scott. She wrapped an arm around the girl’s shoulders and pulled her close. “I can tell ye stories and we can--”
