Nathan smiled. “Aye, ye have a point there I suppose.”
“Me faither passed away when I was eight,” Freya offered, and whatever other sarcasm he might have needled her with diedright on his tongue. “Me maither brought us here tae the isle of Rùm, and she joined the convent right after. I suppose she didnae think there would be any other options fer her tae provide fer the pair of us with Faither out of the picture.”
Nathan tried to picture it, to picture anything—his own family even, and all he got inside of his mind was swirling bits of gray nothingness.
“As ye can imagine, growing up in a convent leaves a girl with an abundance of time. They didnae want me idle little hands getting intae trouble or being constantly underfoot all the time so they put me to work with the other healers there. They shared a great wealth of information with me. I just had tae be fast enough tae learn it.”
Nathan nodded. He could understand that sort of strange duality between escaping constant boredom and the need to make oneself useful.
“Sick people from all over would come to the convent fer one reason or another. Usually with things far more dire than anything I would have otherwise encountered back in the village. People who needed a miracle of faith for them tae be healed.”
“When did ye leave the convent?”
“When I turned twenty. They had all been urging me tae marry, saying that a girl me age had nay reason tae be cooped up there if I wasnae going tae dedicate meself tae serving the Lord as well.” She shrugged, her attention dropping down to her lap where shepicked at the plants in her hands. “Besides, I was too old by then tae take me vows, and I had nay interest in being a nun.”
Nathan chuckled. “I cannae exactly see ye in a habit either.”
She crinkled her nose cutely and shook her head. “Nay, and have all of this tucked away?” She gestured to her pretty hair, loose and wild around her face. “Besides, I wanted tae see the world. I couldnae dae that at the convent. So, I left… but as ye can see, I didnae make it very far.”
She looked so sad. His chest tightened as he scooted just a touch closer to her. “It’s nae too late.”
“I fear if ye hadnae come around, I would have just stayed there rotting in that village forever.” Freya admitted. He couldn’t stand seeing her being so damned hard on herself.
“Well, perhaps when I’ve recovered me strength and memories, we can travel a might together?” Nathan offered, placing his hand on her shoulder. He was shocked when she leaned into his side without any further prompting.
“I think I’d like that.”
CHAPTER TEN
Freya had forgotten what it felt like to be so close to where she had grown up. She’d underestimated how nostalgic it would be for her to see the town and the convent once more, to feel the thrum of life and the sheer mass of people moving around. Poor Nathan, however, seemed utterly overwhelmed.
They sold their horses once they made it to Kinloch, as they wouldn’t be needing them anymore, while they desperately needed the coin. They would have to pay for passage to Castlebay by boat and then from Castlebay to Oban, and Freya knew it would not be cheap, especially for two passengers. Not only that, but they would probably need room and board at some point in their journey—they could hardly spend all their nights in a camp with Nathan still in such a bad state.
Freya made sure to keep close to Nathan’s side. As the days had passed, she had started to feel more and more comfortable with him.
Even if their whole trip was just aimed at him leaving her.
But he he had said they would travel.
Freya wanted that. She wanted some adventure, at least once, after a lifetime of being trapped on the island. Being with Nathan would give her that chance, as she could not do it on her own as a young woman. Were she to travel alone, there would be no end to the questions she would receive and to the danger she would be facing from brigands and men who wouldn’t hesitate to harm her. But traveling with Nathan would solve all that—he could be the protection she needed.
And, if she were to be honest with herself, she had to admit that the thought of traveling with Nathan was attractive. Even if the attraction was only brief or one-sided, she still liked the idea of having him by her side.
Provided, of course, that Nathan didn’t take back his promise once he remembered who he was.
Freya didn’t know what she would do were that to happen. But she also didn’t know if and when it would happen. She hoped they would at least be on the mainland. She could begin a new life there alone—even if it meant that Nathan would only be a fond, distant memory one day.
As they walked, Freya didn’t voice any of these concerns. She and Nathan didn’t head into the village center itself, but rather skirted around the edges until they found the port. The sight of the docks all lined up in a neat row was somehow comfortingto her, reminding her of the village she had called home for so long. Would she ever want to go back there again? She had no idea. There certainly wasn’t much waiting for her there. Except for her mother, but she had decided not to visit her, even if it had been a while since she had last been to the convent and it was so close. She did not want to worry her, as she did not know where that trip was taking her. Her mother was becoming more and more removed from the mundane and she thought it best not to disturb her inner peace. She would write her once she knew where that adventure was taking her.
They arrived at a dock and approached the captain of the ship docked there.
“It seems yer port fared far better in the storms than mine did, ” she said as way of greeting before negotiating passage.
The captain looked her over, wondering why a woman would be bothering him, but quickly thought better of his comment when he got a glimpse of Nathan’s expression.
“Aye, well, our docks would need a good deal more wind to knock them down,” the captain said with more than a little bit of pride.
“We’re looking for a ship to carry us to the Highlands, are ye headed that way any time soon?” Nathan interjected. The captain gave him a wary glance and shrugged his shoulder.
