7
Meeting Ava
“What a beautiful room!” Caitlyn exclaimed. In spite of its secluded location, the room was bright, lit by dozens of candles in gold candelabras. Crystal vases of flowers stood on every little round mahogany table, and the heady scent of hothouse roses and carnations filled the air with a special kind of joy. The mahogany bed was richly carved with lilies and angels and canopied with deep crimson velvet, its fat silk pillows edged with cream lace. Thick curtains at the windows were also crimson, with gold tassels to hold them back and let in the daylight.
The walls had been painted a rich buttercream color, and there was a sparkling chandelier above their heads that patterned the walls with rainbows.
On one wall was a painting in a carved golden frame of a woman in a red dress holding a ginger kitten in her arms and looking out at the viewer with kind brown eyes.
“Our mother,” Ava said, following her gaze. “Is she not lovely?”
“Indeed she is,” Caitlyn agreed, smiling warmly.
“Was,” Alastair supplied. “She died of smallpox when Ava was very young.” Once more the heavy sadness was back in his voice. Then he brightened up. “Ava, shall I leave Caitlyn to talk to you?” he asked cautiously.
“I can go if it makes you uncomfortable,” Caitlyn offered.
“No, I am very comfortable with you,” Ava smiled. “Maybe because you are a woman. It’s the first time for months I have not felt scared.” She looked at Alastair, then hugged him and whispered something in his ear. He stared at her for a moment in surprise, then turned and went out.
“Sit down and tell me about yourself,” Ava said, smiling. Alastair had given her a glass of spiced wine too and they sat by a crackling fire in two exquisite mahogany and brocade chairs.
“There is not much to tell,” she said, sighing. “I’m fortunate to have two parents who love me very much, and love each other. My mother had four miscarriages before she had me, so I suppose I am their treasure, but I have no brothers or sisters, which is a pity. However, I count myself lucky to have such wonderful parents. It must be lovely to have a brother, especially one like Alastair.”
“Do you think he is handsome?” Ava asked, her eyes twinkling.
“I think he is extremely handsome,” Caitlyn answered honestly. “Why is he not married?”
Ava smiled. “That is a very long story, but I have the feeling he will tell you it’s because he has not met the right woman yet.” Her eyes were twinkling with mischief. “I am just his sister, and men are strange creatures. I think they hide multitudes of secrets to which we are not privy.”
Caitlyn laughed, then her face grew solemn as she spoke what was on her mind, looking at Ava over the rim of her wine glass. “Alastair said you had a bad experience a few months ago.” Her voice was gentle, and her manner suggested that she was willing to listen.
Ava said nothing for a while, but twisted her handkerchief between her fingers.
“I felt for a long time that I could not say anything about it,” she said at last. “I felt that if I did they would hear about it and come back for me. I know it is not rational, I know it makes no sense, but I cannot help it. I feel safe here, and I feel safe with you, even though I have just met you.”
Caitlyn reached out and touched her hand, smiling. “I’m glad,” she murmured. “Alastair told me most of it but he could not feel what you felt; after all, a man cannot be raped. I hope I am never in the same situation, but it must be good to know that your brother is there to protect you. I have none. Did you try to get the thugs? Because that is the best way to feel safe, or so I am told.”
Ava frowned. She did not want to remember the experience, Caitlyn could tell, but she knew she had to. It was the first step towards healing.
“I know that Alastair did try, but everyone was too scared to talk.” She sighed, then seemed to pull herself together. “When I went out that morning I felt glad to be alive, but when I saw those bandits”—she paused for a moment—“the first thing I felt was disbelief. This kind of thing happens to other people, not to me.”
“I think we all think that way,” Caitlyn observed. “We cannot think about all the accidents that might befall us every time we step outside—”
“Or you might end up like me,” Ava finished Caitlyn’s thought for her and Caitlyn nodded guiltily.
“I only felt terrified for the first time when they were all around me,” she went on, “and of course when that man was going to rape me. After I had made up my mind not to resist I almost felt relieved, but I am sure I saw some disappointment in that man’s eyes. I think he wanted me to fight so that he could hit me and punch me again.” She shook her head and hugged herself as tears began to leak from her eyes.
“This is upsetting you,” Caitlyn said gently. “Let us talk about something else.”
Ava went on as if she had not heard her. “When I heard those horses’ hooves I thought it might be more outlaws. I did not even have the strength to crawl away. It was not until Alastair came and put his arms around me that I knew I was safe, but one of those beasts has my horse and one has my precious jewel, which is all I had of the mother I never knew. I do not expect to see either of them again.” She sighed, and put her head in her hands.
Caitlyn stroked her hair for a while, letting her collect her thoughts. After a while, Ava smiled at her and began to speak again.
“This bedroom is not my own, but I remembered it and asked Alastair to secure it for me, since it cannot be easily seen, but is near the middle of the castle. He put a guard outside at first, but I was not happy having a man there, so he put extra locks on the door. The windows are barred too but he decorated it to my taste, making sure all the painting was done by women.” She sighed. “I am as safe as I can be in my beautiful cage, but I am not free.”
Caitlyn studied her for a moment. “May I say something?” she asked, in a cautious tone.
“Of course,” Ava answered. “Anything.”
