“Perhaps a Sutherland?”
“Always a Sutherland.”
“The same with the sheet in the great hall?”
Were all of his conversations so circular, so connected? The man had a talent for disarming her, getting her to say things she’d usually keep to herself—as smooth talking as a poet, and as entertaining as an actor. “A barbaric practice.”
“Highlandersarebarbarians.”
That surprised Keely. “How so, sir?”
“What do you think gave Alex the ability to thrive in Constantinople? Sure, his pale skin and hair already set him apart from most—but he adapted quickly—understood the ancient ways of the people. That’s a rare talent. And the nobles of that great place recognized his value, as did I the moment we met.”
“I canna deny the lack of refinement here. We are far away from the king’s court and the elegant cities of Europe. But what we lack in manners, we make up for in morals. The Scots are a noble people, ruled by God and honor.”
“You are a fine match for Alexander,” he said. “A worthy lady.”
“Now, if only my husband agreed with ye.”
“Do not let him forget it. Be everything he thinks you are not.”
She frowned and gazed at Petro. “That willna take much.”
Petro chuckled. “Only the good things.”
“Do ye have a wife?”
The expression on Petro’s face changed as he stared across the water into some distant time and place. “A long time ago. I was married at fifteen.”
“So young.”
“Yes.”
“What happened?”
“Plague.” He visibly shivered. “My wife and son were taken from me too soon.” He looked back at her, forcing another smile. “Even Alex does not know that part of my history.”
“I am sorry for yer great loss.” Words couldna express how sad Keely felt for her new friend. And though Petro seemed to manage his suffering, the pain in his eyes showed, whether he knew it or not. “How is it that Alex doesna know?”
“Alexander carried his own grief, Lady Keely. I refused to add to that burden.”
“B-but Alex would want to know.”
“Maybe someday—when he finally decides what kind of man he wants to be.”
“Tell me of yer wife and son…”
“Anuria and Giuseppe were everything to me. What does a boy of that age know, really? I went from my father’s house to the cottage gifted to us on our wedding day. It was a quiet life, spent together. As the younger children of nobles, we were not expected to toil in the fields, only to produce grandchildren that would keep our family names alive for another generation. But that unholy sickness claimed thousands in Rome that year—no house, no family was left untouched.”
Keely reached for his hand. Petro squeezed her fingers in appreciation.
“We are blessed in the north here,” she said. “The plague has never ripped our children from our arms. But war has many times.”
Petro nodded in acknowledgement. “At least you have a chance to see and fight your adversaries. Sickness is an invisible evil that no man can defeat. Only luck and the grace of God can save you from its clutches.”
She let go of his hand. “Have ye ever swam in a Scottish loch?”
“Never,” he said.
