He slipped out of the library, closing the door behind him. He stood in the hallway for a minute, reeling at the absolute silence around him. Aside from his own breathing, the Keep was entirely quiet in this part.
It felt… lonely.
5
She dreamt about it that night, of course.
Emma woke up in a cold sweat somewhere in the dead hour before dawn and stared up at the spider-webbed ceiling above her head.
Her box room wasn’t much. It was an irregularly shaped room tacked onto the main circle of the Healer’s Chambers, full of books and bottled herbs and jars of preserved things that even Delphine couldn’t identify. There were no windows, so her only source of light was the leftover silvery moonlight that filtered into the main chamber or a candle.
Of course, Emma had left the lantern in the forest earlier that night, and she cursed herself for her stupidity. Delphine would certainly notice, they had only one good working lantern. Emma knew that she ought to rise early and look for it in the forest but couldn’t bring herself to do so.
What if Gregor was back guarding the doorway?
She shivered at the thought.
She lay in her narrow cot, sweaty blankets twisted around her, and waited for the feeling of dread to wear off. She could still feel his hands crawling all over her, his grubby fingers plucking at the strings of her bodice. She’d found smudgy marks on the linen once she had gotten back to her room.
There’d been no Laird MacPherson in her dreams, barreling through the forest to save her. Emma’s heart clenched at what would have happened if he hadn’t been there. And then he’d hit Gregor and justkepthitting him. Part of her wanted so badly to watch him keep going, to keep hitting and hitting until Gregor was a mass of pulp, but of course, that wouldn’t do.
Outside, the sun was rising, turning the light coming underneath her door from silver to gold. She was up and dressed before the cockerels outside began to squawk and crow, heralding the beginning of the day.
Of course, Delphine was up before her.
“Good of ye to drag yourself out of yer pit,” Delphine remarked archly. She stood at the stone table they reserved for food and drink, pouring two cups of tea. Two steaming bowls of porridge stood ready.
Despite her ordeal last night, Emma was surprised to realize she was hungry.
“I would have done that, Delphine,” she said. “And as to me risinglate, it’s barely dawn.”
“I’m just joking with ye, lassie.” Delphine chuckled. “I’m an old woman, and sleep eludes me these days. Ye enjoy yer sleep while ye can, and I’ll rise early. By the way, I’ve told ye to be more careful with those lanterns. Ye left one outside the door last night.”
Emma flinched, glancing in the direction that Delphine pointed. Sure enough, the lantern from last night stood there. There was even a smear of soil on one side, where it had rolled over after she had dropped it.
Her stomach heaved, and suddenly, the porridge stopped looking delicious and started looking like vomit.
“I… I left it outside, ye say?” Emma managed.
“Aye, I found this morning. I hope ye did not go out last night. I’ve told ye that it can be dangerous to leave the Keep after nightfall. Even inside the Keep can be dangerous, for all Laird MacPherson’s efforts.”
Laird MacPherson. Thomas. He must have returned the lantern.Gregorwould obviously not have done it.
Emma glanced up and found Delphine’s eyes on her. The old woman’s white eyebrows were drawn together in a frown.
“Is everything all right, lassie? Ye are white as a sheet.”
Emma opened her mouth, the whole explanation lingering on the tip of her tongue, ready to be blurted out. She closed her mouth again.
It would be too much to burden Delphine with something like this, especially when she’d worked so hard to keep Emma safe.
It’ll just upset her.
Instead, Emma smiled.
“I’m quite all right, Delphine. Are we going out to see our patients this morning?”
“Not with all that rain last night. Can ye run down to the laundry and see if our linens are done? I think it’s time to change the bedsheets.”
