Page 19 of Moon Craving

as he and her stepfather worked out arrangements for where to pitch the soldier's tents.

For once Abigail was grateful she could not hear. She could not be forced to listen

to her mother's words and she chose not to watch Sybil's lips.

The decision to pitch the tents for the English soldiers on the west side of the

cottage, farthest from the keep, made little difference to Abigail.

She wanted a chance to see the man she had been commanded to wed, the laird

she had to deceive about her affliction.

At least until they reached the Highlands.

Later that night, Abigail willed herself to sleep as she lay in the small bed in the

corner of the cottage. Only it was to no avail. Her mind was whirling with questions and

possibilities.

Why had her intended groom been out hunting when she and her family had

arrived? Surely he had known the date of their arrival; it had been dictated by him through

his king to hers.

He had yet to return to the keep, having missed the evening meal.

Was this his way of showing his unhappiness with the prospect of marriage to an

Englishwoman? Was he delivering a slap at her stepfather's consequence? His dislike of

the English was no secret, but he had agreed to the marriage and all the stipulations

surrounding it.

Stipulations that scared the tiredness right out of Abigail and filled her with worry

on top of the apprehensions already plaguing her. His king had required the marriage be

consummated before they left the Lowlands. Abigail had no idea why Scotland's

sovereign would demand such a thing, but the prospect leant additional discomfort to a

situation that already had the power to terrify her completely.

None of those fears were soothed in any way by the fact that she had yet to even

see her groom from a distance.

When she looked into his eyes, would she see cruelty? Hatred to rival her

mother's? Would he recognize her affliction despite her best efforts to hide it?

Tonight's dinner had been a trial unlike anything she had experienced since first

losing her hearing. It was hard enough to keep track of several people speaking at once;