“Proof of yer innocence.”
Keely bit her tongue. What she was dying to say included something about how indecent her wedding night with her new husband had been—how there’d been no sheet to capture her virgin blood. Aye, perhaps she had spent too much time around Alex in the past—and six older brothers who rarely refrained from expressing themselves in front of her. “Ye require evidence of my innocence, Captain Mathe, but the very thing used to prove it is vulgar in every way!”
“Tis not abhorrent in any way, Lady Keely.”
“Nay? Shall I tell ye what it made me think of the moment I saw it?”
Mathe tugged at his collar. “I-I believe I can guess without further explanation.”
“May I be of some help?” Petro appeared suddenly.
Keely gazed at the scholar. Where had he come from? Did it matter? She more than appreciated his presence. “Good morn,” she greeted him, trying to banish her sour mood.
“Good morn,” he returned with a smile. “Perhaps Captain Mathe would prefer finishing his ale. Laird Alex asked me to keep an eye out for you. Unfortunately, he needed to inspect the west village so he could make the necessary arrangements to rebuild the place. A walk would be nice.” He offered his arm.
Keely dinna need to think about it, she accepted. “Please send Leah out,” she told the captain.
Mathe bowed his head out of duty, nothing more. “As ye wish.” He rushed back to the hall.
“I have waited for this moment,” Petro said.
“My moment of utter shame?”
He chuckled. “No. The pleasure of your company, milady, a chance to speak alone.”
“I doona see why. I am sure ye’ve been exposed to the gossip.”
“I am a man of science, Lady Keely. If I listened to every rumor, then the process of discovery would be wasted on me. I prefer to gather facts, then make my own judgments.”
In that moment, Keely decided she liked Petro, immensely. “Then tell me what ye wish to know.”
Leah joined them. “Shall I retrieve our walking cloaks?”
“Aye,” Keely said. “We will be in the bailey, Leah.”
The fresh air immediately restored Keely’s calm. The sun peeked out from behind wispy, white clouds, and the fragrant breeze cooled her cheeks. “Some would say this mild weather is a good omen of things to come in my marriage.”
“Others would suggest it might be the calm before the storm.”
There was no malice on the scholar’s face. Nay, the man simply appreciated quick wit and probably found he dinna get much here. Not that the MacKays were lacking in education. Alex and his brother were well tutored as lads. Alex could read and write, as could several of his captains. It’s what they read that worried her the most. Closed minds—superstitious tenants—a strong belief in God but fear of the tiny creatures that were believed to haunt the mountains and lochs.
“Our fate was sealed long ago,” she repeated Alex’s own words. “So no signs from heaven can change our future, I’m afraid.”
“Ah,” he said. “But you can.”
They strolled past soldiers practicing maneuvers and younger recruits shooting arrows at grass-stuffed targets. Children were playing while some of the women were busy washing clothes and sorting vegetables from the gardens. The wedding celebration hadn’t changed the reality of the next day. If it had been a normal wedding, the celebration would have lasted for days, maybe even a week.
“Aye, if I had supporters among the MacKays.”
“Do you not?”
Keely thought about it. “Leah.”
“Did you forget me? Or the Kalil brothers?”
She hadn’t considered them. “Five out of several thousand—tis not much.”
“It’s a start, milady.”
