“Then give me yer hand and I shall prove I am nae lying, or are ye afraid that ye are wrong?” Elvira challenged him. Rorycould not hide the unease that flickered across his face. He pressed his lips together, and Elvira was satisfied that she had backed him into a corner. If Rory refused, then he was hard-headed and afraid that she was right. If he accepted, then Elvira could say all the things she wanted to say about him and, of course, she did not need to read his palm to know these things. But it would help add to her mystique, and it might make him think about things differently.
“I’m nae afraid,” Rory said, although he did not immediately give Elvira his hand. She uncurled her hands and held them open, waiting expectantly for Rory to offer her his palm. He stared at her hands and gulped.
“If ye are gaeing tae insult me, then at least give me the chance tae defend myself, or dae ye always make up yer mind about people without giving them a fair chance?” she said acidly. Rory frowned and sighed, knowing that he had been corralled into this difficult situation. He reluctantly gave her his hand. Elvira wrapped her own fingers around the back of his palm, holding it steady. Her slender fingers reached to his wrist. His hand was broad, the skin leathery and taut. The tips of his fingers were calloused after years of hard work, hammering away at the forge. The lines were etched like deep furrows in smooth stone. She drew her index finger along the longest line, dragging it all the way to the heel of his palm. She could feel Rory attempt to hide a shudder, and his instinct was to pull his hand away again. But Elvira had a tight grip on him, and she did not let him go. The strength that coiled in his body ran all the way through to his hands as well. She could tell that he was a hard-working man, a man whose experience belied his years, although she did not tell him those things.
Elvira pursed her lips. When she spoke, her voice was still even and slow, but he could feel the resonant anger behind it. “Nae a fool, but a coward. Aye. I dinnae need tae see yer palmtae know what kind of man ye are, Rory. Ye are a coward, hiding from the world in yer wee forge, refusing tae take action when people need ye. The thing that ye need tae be cautious of is that the world hae a habit of finding ye. How can ye hide from something that is all around ye? Yet still ye turn away. Cruel, cowardly, craven. Yer heart is a stone. Now, ye tell me if ye believe that or nae.”
Rory’s eyes twitched. He had always considered himself a good person, noble in intention if not always in deed, yet here his flaws were laid bare, and he did not like the picture they painted. He still didn’t believe that Elvira had any special insight. She was likely just speaking about the way he had treated her when she had come seeking help. However, her words cut much deeper because he was reminded of the way Torrin and the others had come to him for help. Sadly, he could not say anything to dispute Elvira’s claim. Hewasa coward, and the realization of this left a bitter taste in the back of his mouth. It had all been done in the name of trying to protect himself and move on from his past, but had he protected himself so much that he had ended up turning away the entire world?
He pushed the chair back and stormed out of the tavern without sparing her another glance, shaking his head in dismay at how Elvira had so easily gotten under his skin. She had played him like a fiddle, and he had danced to her tune. He had made so many strides towards making his life simple, and yet complications still arose. A dark shadow shrouded his face as he made his way back to the forge, wishing that he could just slam the door for eternity and keep everyone out. At the same time, he found himself cradling the hand that Elvira had touched. It was maddening the way his mind went hazy around her, and how her scent lingered. It was smokey and sweet all at the same time. The soft touch had been intense, perhaps because it had been so long since he had that kind of contact with another person. Yet, forher, it was just a way of business and his personal humiliation. She was so different from him that he couldn’t make sense of her, and he thought it better if she moved on quickly.
7
Elvira was stunned when Rory left so abruptly. She had expected him to fire back, banter with her, but he seemed to have been genuinely insulted by her words, which had not been her intention. Of course, she was angry, but she had hoped to jolt him into action. Instead, he had cast her as the rogue, and he seemed to be just as ignorant as most other people. He had dragged his hand away as though she was poison, and insulted her skills. Part of her wished she had lashed her tongue more directly at him, while another wished she had been softer so that she could have gotten to the root of what caused this tension. Her gift of palm reading was fed by an innate curiosity to understand how people’s minds worked. She could pick up on the currents of emotion that flowed within them, and she understood that there was always a reason for people to feel the way they did. Sometimes it just took a little work to uncover the truth, like massaging out a knot from a muscle. What could make a man so cowardly? Despite finding him hostile and callous, she did want to understand why he acted in this manner. After all, if there were more people in thevillage like him, then it was going to be difficult for them to rally against Laird McKovac.
She apologized to the person who had been waiting, explaining that her voice was hoarse and she needed a drink. They nodded, although the look on their face suggested they believed that Elvira had been flustered by Rory’s reaction. Elvira found Isla, who was wiping down a table.
“Do you know much about that man?” Elvira asked, gesturing to the door through which Rory had just stormed out.
“Oh aye, that’s Rory He’s a harmless lad, even though he dinnae sound it taeday. Must be something about the forge that makes men angry. Ian would hae days like this as well,” Isla replied.
“Harmless? Sae he dinnae hae a reputation for being cruel?” Elvira enquired.
Concern came over Isla’s face. Her brow knotted. “Lass, did he say anything tae ye? I can get Torrin tae hae a word with him if ye like.”
“Oh nae, it’s naething like that. It’s just… well… I went tae the forge last night, hoping that Ian was there. I used to know his family well when I was a child. But Rory dinnae believe that I knew Ian and turned us away,” Elvira had told Isla how an old friendship with Ian had brought them to this village.
“Ah, I’m sorry about that. Unfortunately, some men never learn good manners. What he needs is a woman in that forge with him. All he hae is a cat, and I think he’s learned some bad habitsif ye ask me. He’s nice enough, ye know, but I think he’s been alone for sae long now that he dinnae remember how tae be with other people. He spends all day hammering on that forge. It must be enough tae drive a man crazy,” Isla shook her head gently.
“Sae ye would nae describe him as a cruel man?” Elvira asked.
“Nae, like I said, sometimes a man just needs a soft touch. Torrin was the same before I met him, always prone tae dark moods. It’s amazing what a wee bit of tenderness can dae,” she said.
Elvira thought on her words. If Rory had been in any other forge in any other village, then she wouldn’t have been so burdened with thoughts of him. But he was in this village, and he lived in Ian’s forge. Whatever faint bond lingered from childhood, it was enough for Elvira to want to understand how Ian could have allowed a man like Rory to take over for him. Besides, if she was to gauge the attitude of the village, then she needed to understand men like Rory. So she did what she had to. She left the tavern trailing after Rory, her cloak billowing behind her.
She increased her pace, as his long strides carried him quickly. She saw him from afar rushing into the night. “Rory,” she called out, before he made it to his forge. He slowed his pace and turned, wearing a dark look.
“What dae ye want? Dinnae ye run out of insults back there?” he asked, a hurtful tone to his voice.
In Elvira’s experience, it was rare to find someone who possessed a callous heart to be so sensitive to insults. Usually people like that cared not for what people thought of them, yet Rory seemed to be wounded just as surely as if he had been pierced by an arrow.
“I dinnae mean tae insult ye. I can only offer the truth as I perceive it. But if I am wrong, then I would like tae give ye the chance tae prove it. Show me that I am mistaken about yer character. Give me a sign that ye are a better man than what I hae been shown already.”
Rory’s green eyes had a darkness about them that was as deep as the night. He looked down his nose at her, but there was not a sense of smugness or superiority at all, just a stormof emotion behind his eyes. “I dinnae hae tae prove myself tae ye. Besides, ye can hurl insults at me all ye want, but at least I am nae a liar, preying on people’s fears. Ye should be taken up tae the keep and put in the stocks for yer crimes. Is that how ye make a living, moving from village tae village and convincing people tae give away their coin by telling them that they’re gaeing tae fall in love, and that they’re gaeing tae be happy? Whatever words ye tell them, they’re all empty.”
Rory moved to turn away from Elvira. The disrespect he showed her ran deep, for not only did he insult her, but he also mocked the way her people lived, stretching back for generations. Still, Elvira quelled the sharp words that were waiting to be unsheathed. It would do no good to get into an argument with him again. Nor did she want to tell him the true reason why she had come to Boyd lands. He’d likely just think it was another lie.
“I dinnae lie tae people, and I dinnae tell them what they want tae hear. I dinnae know why ye are sae quick tae think the worst of me, Rory. I hae done naething tae offend ye. Is listening tae people a crime? Is giving them advice something tae be feared? I am nae a criminal. It seems tae me that if people took the time tae understand what I and many of my people dae, we would nae be treated like pariahs. Frankly, I’m surprised ye hae nae come out and accused me of being a witch, cursing my dark magic.”
“I’m nae fool enough tae believe in magic,” Rory muttered.
“There’s that word again,fool. Are ye afraid of being taken for a fool, Rory? Is that why you are determined to view everything with suspicion?” she asked, using all the gifts Maria had passed down to her to try and get through the tall walls that Rory had erected around himself.
“If I view ye with suspicion, it is only because ye deserve it. Aye, ye may think that ye are giving people simple advice, but ye are charging them a pretty penny for daeing sae.”
“I am daeing what I must tae keep my family afloat. I’m sure ye are observant enough tae notice that I am accompanied by my grandmother and my two siblings. There is nae a man among us who can give himself tae labor. I must make use of the skills I possess.”
“I hae heard thieves justify their actions by self-preservation before. It dinnae mean they are innocent,” Rory sneered, although a flash of emotion came across his face, and he looked as though he flinched.
