“I did sleep well,” Agnes said, eying Katherine wearily as she presented a pot of ink and a stack of parchment that she must have gotten from a maid. “And I can tell ye slept well.”
“Aye, me bed is quite wonderful. I didnae want to get up,” Katherine chirped as she settled down beside the girl. She looked at Liam then. “Are ye goin’ to stay?”
“I am,” he confirmed, standing near the wall with his arms over his chest. “Carry on.”
Her smile wavered for a moment, a blatant display of her nerves. She fixed it quickly and said, “Right, of course.” Clearing her throat, she passed Agnes a quill and a piece of parchment before grabbing a set of her own. “Ye were lookin’ through a book of stories when I arrived. Can ye read?”
“A wee bit,” Agnes said quietly. “But I still get some of the letters mixed up.”
“They’re difficult sometimes,” Katherine said sympathetically. “I thought that today we could start by tracin’ letters. Do ye ken how to write yer name?”
Agnes brightened a bit. She pulled her shoulders back and said, “Aye. I can write me first name and me last name.”
“Show me,” Katherine said as she uncapped the ink and slid it toward Agnes.
With a solemn nod, Agnes picked up her quill and dipped the nib into the ink pot. Then, her tongue sticking out in concentration, almost frustratingly slow, his daughter started to write her name.
Katherine sat patiently as the girl wrote. Even when Agnes paused, times when Liam himself would have stepped in and instructed, she waited. It wasn’t until Agnes leaned back with a small but proud smile on her face that Katherine examined the page.
“Ye did quite well,” she said after a moment, dipping her own pen into the ink. “But the ‘s’ should be standing up straighter. And there’s an easier way to write a ‘g’.” She pushed the paper back to Agnes. “Do ye see the difference? Ye’re nae too far off.”
Liam’s jaw clenched. This was nothing like he had imagined. While he was glad Katherine was gentle with his daughter, he knew Agnes wouldn’t learn anything if she was being coddled. It even seemed as if Katherine was praising mistakes.
I cannae interrupt yet. She’s just started.
“I have trouble with the ‘s’,” Agnes said, writing her name again.
“It’s because of where ye’re startin’ it,” Katherine said as she reached over, using the point of her pen to point at the page. “Ye daenae need to give yerself so much room. Try startin’ from here.”
Liam leaned forward, unsure that Katherine’s gentle instruction would produce any change. Agnes adjusted her grip, looking over at Katherine’s hand to mimic her. Then, she tried the letter again, starting at the point that Katherine had indicated.
After nearly half a minute, Agnes removed her hand. She smiled, small but incredibly bright, over at Katherine. Then, to Liam’s surprise, Agnes turned to him, the pride in her eyes making his chest warm.
“I did it,” she said, her voice soft but satisfied. She traced the nib over the letter again. “It’s right side up now.”
“Aye, ye did it,” Katherine said, her excitement sounding surprisingly genuine. “And with a bit more practice, it willnae take ye quite so long.”
“Really?” Agnes asked, still bright.
I rarely see her like this.
“Of course,” Katherine confirmed. Then, seeming to sense his daughter’s hunger for knowledge and need for challenge, she said, “Now, let’s work on the letter ‘g’. When ye get that one, we’ll work our way through the entire alphabet.”
Having seen enough, Liam stepped away from his place against the wall. Quietly, he moved toward the door. Just as he opened it, Katherine stopped him, saying, “I thought ye’d be observin’ the whole lesson.”
“I’ve seen enough,” he said, careful to keep his voice neutral. “The two of ye may continue.”
Neither of them needed to know that he was still unconvinced by Katherine’s teaching methods. There weren’t any rules, it seemed. Mistakes were not only allowed but apparently welcome.
It was nothing like the strict discipline that he knew worked best. This wasn’t what he’d hoped for his child. Even so, it was rare for Agnes to take to someone so quickly, and it wasn’t as if she wasn’t engaged in the lesson.
But life isnae all about fun. Yer mistakes have consequences.
Chapter Eight
“Stop!”
The word echoed in the room, shaking the walls like thunder rolling overhead. Sudden, sharp silence followed it. It was the sound of a nightmare retreating back into the depths that it had crawled out of.
