She gulped audibly. “Take care of me how?”
“I’m going to cut your head off and bury your body in the back.”
She stepped away from him, unsure whether or not he meant that. His face was stern and serious enough.
“That is a jest, correct?”
“Mayhap. But if you don’t leave me be, woman, you’re going to find out first hand why I choose to live alone.”
Aenos returned with the ax.
Ewan grabbed it from him, and handed him the empty pitcher. “Take her inside to finish her meal, Aenos. I’ll be back later.”
“Where are you going?” Nora asked.
He didn’t answer.
“Leave him be for a bit,” Aenos whispered. “He’s only going to work out some of his anger.”
“How?”
“He chops wood. I’ve enough of it now to fuel the whole village through the harshest of winters. But it calms him down, so I never say anything. Come, my lady, let’s get you inside so that you can get dried off.”
Nora followed him back to Sorcha.
“Where is Ewan?” Sorcha asked.
“The wood pile.”
Sorcha sighed. “Poor lad. At the rate he’s going, we’ll be able to build a castle.”
Nora retook her seat. “Is he always so angry?”
“He’s a man in pain, my lady,” Sorcha said quietly. “He’s forgotten how to live without it. Forgotten how to find joy of any sort.”
“Remember when he was a boy?” Aenos asked.
“Aye.” Sorcha smiled as she wiped a cloth over her table. “He was such a happy lad. He used to get up and stagger down the stairs asking, ‘Where’s my Kieran.’” She smiled at Nora and explained her comment, “He thought he owned his brother. And Kieran, bless his heart, very seldom ever ran out of patience with him. I don’t think I ever saw one without the other.”
“Until they fell in love with the same woman,” Nora breathed.
“Aye. Isobail was an evil lass,” Aenos said. “Turning them against each other so that she could get what she wanted. I know the devil’s saving a special corner of hell for her.”
“Aenos!” Sorcha gasped. “Watch your tongue before the lady.”
“Sorry,” he muttered. “But ‘tis truth.”
Nora ate in silence as she thought about the man outside. What would it be like to live with such guilt?
She couldn’t imagine it.
Once she finished her meal, she left them and headed outside again to find Ewan. There was a small path that led from the back of the cottage into the woods.
It didn’t take long to find him. She could hear his chopping even from a distance.
What she didn’t expect was to find him shirtless. His body was covered in a fine sheen that fair glowed in the moonlight.
He was beautiful.
