Page 6 of Christmas Secrets

CHAPTERTHREE

“Please. Release my brother,” Holly begged the man, taking the opportunity to get off his lap as soon as he slackened his hold.

“I’d be glad to, as long as the little whelp stops pulling my hair.”

“Noel, leave the man alone,” she scolded.

“And no more biting, either,” added the man before Noel tried to bite him again.

“But he’s trying to kill us,” said Noel, squirming and looking up at Holly. He was so young but sometimes acted so brave that it made her smile inwardly. He was trying to protect her, and doing a good job at it too.

“I am not going to kill you or even hurt you.” The man looked like a warrior and she wasn’t sure she really believed this. Still, she and Noel were no match for an armed man.

“You claim you won’t hurt us, but then why were you holding your sword to my brother when I walked in?” Holly boldly bent down and used both hands to pick up the man’s blade at her feet. It was heavier than she thought it would be. Although she wanted to point it at him in return, the tip fell and she found it hard to hold it outright at all.

“Give me that before you hurt someone.” The man released Noel and jumped off the bed, yanking the sword away from her. She quickly moved away from him, her back now against the wall. “I told you, I’m not here to hurt anyone,” he continued. He threw down his sword atop the table. “I thought you were thieves, that’s all. I wasn’t expecting to find anyone here, and you took me by surprise.”

“Oh,” Holly commented, swallowing the lump in her throat. Looking at his face this closely in the firelight, he no longer seemed so threatening, but almost kind. Actually, he was a very handsome man. He stood tall, his build medium, his blond hair hanging long and loose around his shoulders. It seemed as if it had been pulled back, but her brother probably yanked it loose in the fight. His eyes were a light green and almost seemed to glow in the firelight. Shadows fell over his sculptured face, making him look mysterious. She found herself curious and needed to know more about him. “So... who exactly are you?”

“Me?” His hand turned upward. “I’m Percival Hamilton. My brother is lord of Rothbury Castle. Who are you?”

“Percival Hamilton,” she repeated, making her way slowly toward her brother. “I know for a fact that Lord Walter Beaufort is lord of Rothbury Castle. My grandmother told me so. He is quite old, and you are much too young to be his brother.”

“Aye, you are right,” Percival answered with a nod. “Lord Walter Beaufort was lord, but he died. My brother, Bedivere holds that title now.”

She supposed this could be true, since she hadn’t been back to Rothbury in years now. “When did Imanie die?” she asked, her heart aching just to say the words aloud, admitting that her grandmother was really gone.

He seemed to think about it for a minute, scratching his head as he answered. “I’d have to say mayhap two or three years ago. I never knew her personally, but my sister-by-marriage did.”

“Two or three years ago?” she mumbled. In deep thought, her fingers stroked the heart brooch that was clasped onto her cloak. Had things really changed that drastically over that short amount of time? Now she regretted not having had the chance to spend more time with Imanie.

She saw Percival’s gaze go to her hand. “Ah, you’re wearing one of those heart brooches like the girls wear. So you belong to the group as well,” he surmised.

“Pardon me?”

His long finger pointed at the brooch holding closed her cloak.

“Lady Morag and her sister Fia, as well as their cousins, Maira and Willow, all have those. I hear Imanie had one too.”

“Yes, the heart brooch,” she said, looking down and rubbing her fingers over the pin once again. She remembered well that her grandmother used to wear one just like her mother. When she’d asked about them, she was told that when the time was right, they’d tell her more about them. It never made any sense to Holly. It seemed as if they had some kind of secret that they didn’t want to share with her. She’d always loved the heart brooches, and asked for one as well. Her grandmother told her that those were given to them by the late Queen Philippa, but she wouldn’t say any more. Now, the brooch was Holly’s, and she cherished it even more than when she was young. This was the last remembrance she had of her mother.

“Ah, the brooch does change things,” Percival observed. He also did something extremely odd and spoke from behind his hand. It was almost as if he were telling her some sort of secret.

“I’m sure I don’t know what you mean.”

“You don’t need to keep it a secret from me. I know all about it.”

“You do?” she asked, having no idea what he was talking about.

“You are part of that secret group of strong women. The one with those followers of the lonely hearts. I mean... secret hearts. Right?”

“I-I… if you say so.” Her hand clutched the metal heart pin, as she now wondered exactly what her mother and grandmother had not told her. Secret group of strong women? This was the first time she’d ever heard something like this. The idea intrigued her.

When her mother gave the brooch to her on her deathbed, she also told Holly to take Noel and go live with their grandmother. She said the brooch would protect her as well and to never lose it or give it away. Holly dismissed the odd thing her mother said, thinking the poor woman was delirious with pain from the breathing illness that had come upon her and killed her so suddenly.

Thankfully, the rest of the serfs said they’d wait until morning to inform Lord Neville of her mother’s death. They also promised to give her a Christian burial. What little money Holly had, she gave to her neighbors to pay the priest at the church to bury her mother. Her friends also said they would not tell Lord Neville that she and Noel ran away, but it wouldn’t take long for him to notice they were missing. Holly prayed the rest of the serfs would not be punished for her leaving.

She followed her mother’s dying wish and thankfully was able to find the cottage and the secret garden again after all this time.