She stirred, her heart pounding in time with the knocking on the door of her chambers. She sucked in a breath, reminding herself that she was safe here. No captor knocked before entering, nor did they have the voice of a seven-year-old girl.
“Flora!” Elizabeth called again, finally stopping the incessant knocking. When she spoke once more, it sounded as if she was pressing her ear against the wood. “I ken ye’re awake. Ye’re usually up hours before now.”
“Ach, I’m comin’,” Flora said, forcing herself off the mattress. When she opened the door, Elizabeth rushed in, that playful grin affixed to her face. “Had ye nae tricked me into stargazin’ with yer uncle last night, I would have been up earlier.”
“Well, ye dinnae have to look at the starsallnight,” Elizabeth retorted, walking over to the new dress a maid had delivered to the room a few days ago that hung from the privacy screen. “But Uncle Lucas likes spendin’ time with ye. Ye must like spendin’ time with him, too.”
Flora’s cheeks grew hot with an impossible quickness, remembering exactly how much she’d enjoyed the evening prior. She ducked her head, stamping out the inappropriate thoughts. “Perhaps we both enjoyed watchin’ the stars, and he taught me a bit about constellations,” she said. Then, before Elizabeth could press any further, she asked, “Now, why are ye knockin’ on me door so early?”
“I want to go to the market today,” Elizabeth explained, easily dropping the subject as she inspected the scant belongings Flora had collected since coming to the castle. “I was hopin’ that ye’d come along with me. I’m nae allowed to go alone, and I thought it would be fun if ye came with me.”
Flora laughed quietly, shaking her head as she murmured, “I suppose that I could come along with ye. I havenae left the castle since I went to get me gowns.”
Elizabeth made a happy, excited noise as she spun around to face Flora again, abandoning her inspection. “Good! Get ready quickly. I’ll tell the groom that he has to get the carriage ready for us now.”
“Ye tried to go to the market alone?” Flora asked incredulously. It was surprising that the girl would feel confident enough toattempt the journey, though she had to admit to herself that Elizabeth was much more independent than she had any right to be.
Elizabeth didn’t reply, already rushing out of the room. When the door closed behind her, Flora ran her fingers through her hair and began to get herself dressed, remembering to tuck her knife away even though she doubted she’d need it. She didn’t think she had time to call for her maid to assist. If she didn’t meet the girl in the foyer quickly, she’d surely incur Elizabeth’s anger and frustration.
Twenty minutes later, Flora was dressed and standing on the steps of the castle. Her hair was a bit messy, and her clothes weren’t sitting as nicely as they did when she had help. She realized all at once that she’d become accustomed to having a maid assist her, and she wasn’t sure if she was glad or if she resented it.
Elizabeth was already there in a heated conversation with one of the guards. Her hands were moving animatedly, and she could barely keep her feet in one place. The man had an amused smile on his face, politely nodding when Flora approached the two of them.
“Flora, tell Ryan that we daenae need so many guards,” Elizabeth all but whined, turning to her with pleading eyes. “The village is safe.”
“Aye, the village may be safe, lassie, but that doesnae mean that the path there is. We willnae stop ye from doin’ as ye please,”Ryan assured with the patience of a man who’d accepted his role. “I can promise ye that.”
“I’m inclined to believe him,” Flora said, secretly relieved that they would have a group of guards with them. She glanced around, counting six, including the men who were piloting the carriage, all of them stationed next to their horses. “Besides, perhaps havin’ them come with us will be fun.”
Elizabeth let out a sound of frustration before saying, “That’s exactly what Uncle Lucas would say.”
“Laird McGowan and Flora might have a point, then,” Ryan said, leading the two to a carriage that was just arriving. “Come now, let’s get ye settled, and we’ll head to the village. I promise to stay out of yer way.”
“Fine,” Elizabeth sighed, taking his hand when he offered it.
Once the girl was helped inside the carriage, Ryan extended his palm toward Flora. She stared down at it, her own hand twitching at her side. Touching a man she didn’t know, even if it was something as innocent as this, felt wrong, but after a moment, she pushed through that fear, reaching out and allowing herself to be assisted.
It felt freeing, and as she took her place across from Elizabeth, Flora realized that she may not be irreparably broken. She could do hard things, and she didn’t have to do them all at once. And as the carriage began to move, she felt hopeful about what might be for the first time in her life.
“I hope that the woman who sells sweets is there,” Elizabeth said after a bit, seeming to grow bored of watching the landscape pass them by. “When me maither and I visited last time, she dinnae have her stall set up. She was there, though. She gave me a candy and told me nae to tell any of the other children that she’d done it. Maither wasnae pleased. She said I’d ruin me supper.”
“Are ye plannin’ on gettin’ more sweets since I’m the one accompanyin’ ye and nae her?” Flora asked, doing her best to keep her expression serious, though it was difficult to do with Elizabeth’s dramatics. “Ye’re nae goin’ to make me tell ye nay are ye?”
“I’m gettin’ just as many sweets as I would if she were comin’ with me,” Elizabeth protested, though her cheeks were a bit flushed. Then, she answered with a question of her own, “Ye willnae tell her, will ye?”
“I willnae tell her so long as ye daenae eat so many ye make yerself sick,” Flora agreed, the corners of her mouth twitching. “But if ye get ill, I’ll have to tell her why. Otherwise, she’ll worry about ye.”
“Sweets daenae make ye sick,” Elizabeth argued, turning her head back to the scenery just beyond her window. She furrowed her brow, her lips pursing, and cautiously, she asked, “They daenae, aye?”
“They do if ye eat too many of them too quickly,” Flora said, suppressing a laugh when the girl visibly deflated. “It happenedto me once when I was a wee lass about yer age. I dinnae want sweets again for months.”
Elizabeth looked horrified, glancing back at Flora with her mouth open. She closed her lips, swallowing. She frowned as she conceded, “Then I willnae have too many. I daenae want to dislike sweet things.”
“Smart lass,” Flora praised.
Outside the window, the trees began to give way to cottages. People milled about in their gardens, pulling weeds and harvesting crops. A few of them stopped to watch the carriage pass, not bothering to conceal their curiosity.
“We must be nearly there,” Flora noted.
