Chapter Twenty-Five
The little sewing room where Lilia did all of her work was also her sleeping chamber.
It was a tiny interior chamber with no windows and only a door.
The way the second floor of the manse was configured, it was built into the curve of the stairwell.
It had a small hearth and a transom built over the door for ventilation, but in all, it was a small and dingy chamber.
It had been Lilia’s home for the past two years and she was glad to be rid of it.
When Lilia had first come to Hawkhill, she’d brought everything she owned in the world in a little reed basket – two extra shifts, a broadcloth dress, a comb, hose, shoes, and little more.
But her two years at Hawkhill had changed that situation dramatically – Lady Currie had been generous in giving Lilia her cast off clothing, so Lilia had accumulated quite a wardrobe of nice dresses.
Her favorites were an amber silk, a blue brocade, and two dresses of the exact same style, one in unbleached linen and one in a dark green wool.
But those were dresses strictly reserved for the visits to the Ludus Caledonia.
For her chores around the manse, she wore a standard shift with a broadcloth skirt and leather girdle.
All of those possessions, new and old, went into a satchel with a torn corner that Lady Currie had given her.
Lilia was able to shove a good deal into the old satchel, including shoes and combs and soap. Everything she would need to start a new life with Brody. She was careful in packing things, never leaving the satchel sitting out in the open for all to see. At the moment, it was sitting under the bed.
As she promised Brody, she was being discreet.
It was a good thing, too, because when her back was turned, the door to her chamber pushed open, almost gently, and Colly stood in the doorway. Glancing up, Lilia could see the expression on the woman, grim and focused as she stood there.
Immediately, Lilia’s defenses went up.
“Does m’lady need me?” she asked. “I heard her earlier… yelling. Is she better now?”
Colly stepped into the chamber. “She’s still quite upset,” she said as she closed the door quietly. “Lilia, we must talk.”
With the door closed, Lilia fought off a creeping sense of fear. “Why did ye close the door?” she asked. “Open it, please. I dunna want tae be in a closed room with ye.”
Colly didn’t open the door but she didn’t advance, either. She simply stood there, looking Lilia over in an appraising manner.
“Did ye think I wouldna notice?” she asked.
“About what?”
“The warrior Lady Currie brought from The Cal,” Colly said. “It’s the same man ye brought here tae Hawkhill those months ago, the one ye said saved ye from the sausage thieves. The one who almost killed me.”
So the old hag had noticed. That answered the question that had come up between Lilia and Brody.
But Lilia wasn’t prepared to confess anything.
Brody looked differently enough now with his beard and clothing that she could say the old woman had made a mistake.
Colly couldn’t prove otherwise because she knew Brody would never admit to it, either.
Therefore, Lilia had to take a stand.
“They do look a bit alike,” she said evenly. “The man I knew… he was clean-shaven and dressed in rags. Lady Currie’s warrior has a beard and wears fine clothing.”
“That makes no difference,” Colly snapped, already becoming frustrated that Lilia wasn’t telling her what she wanted to hear. “I’m not blind, Lilia. It is the same man.”
Lilia shrugged, trying to keep her end of the conversation calm. “If it is, I’m unaware.”
Colly sighed sharply. “Ye’ve always been a liar,” she said, trying to provoke her. “Ye’re lying now. Why can ye not tell me the truth?”
“Ask the man yerself if ye dunna believe me.”
“I’m asking ye,” Colly said, her voice becoming stronger. “Ye may as well confess because I know it’s him. I’ve told Lady Currie and she knows it’s him, too.”
“She never saw the man that was here before. How can she know it’s the same man?”
Colly was growing agitated. “Because I say it is,” she said. “But there’s more that ye’ve lied about. Lady Currie’s warrior told her that he had a wife. I can only assume that’s ye. Are ye married, Lilia, and ye never told us?”
“I’m not his wife.”
“Ye’re lying!”
“And ye’re imagining things that arena there. Ye have a touch of madness, Colly. Ye always have.”
That was all it took for Colly to charge.
Unfortunately for the old woman, she didn’t move very swiftly.
That gave Lilia time to dodge out of the way.
Colly crashed into the wardrobe, ramming her shoulder into it as Lilia moved to the door.
Just as she opened it, Colly charged again and slammed it shut, narrowly missing slamming it on Lilia’s hand.
“What do ye want from me?” Lilia demanded, her fear taking hold now that Colly was clearly intent on hurting her. “I told ye I am not his wife. I told ye it is not the same man. What more do ye want from me?”
Colly picked up a small, three-legged stool and wielded it like a club. “I want the truth,” she snarled. “Ye’ve been a thorn in my side since ye arrived at Hawkhill and that is going tae end today. I’ll beat the truth out of ye.”
She came at Lilia with the stool raised over her head.
Lilia ducked behind her sewing table and Colly brought the stool down on the tabletop, sending everything scattering.
Thread, needles, fabric – everything went flying, including a big pair of iron scissors that Lilia used to cut fabric.
As Lilia ducked underneath the table, she picked up the scissors from the floor.
She had to protect herself.
Just as Lilia came out from under the table, Colly swung the stool again, clipping Lilia in the shoulder. She screeched, lurching to her feet and running to hide behind the wardrobe because Colly was blocking the door.
“Tell me the truth!” Colly boomed. “Tell me the truth or ye’ll regret it! Ye and the man are conspiring against Lady Currie, arena ye? Ye’ve brought him here as part of a terrible plan!”
Lilia had the open wardrobe door in front of her, a shield from Colly and her stool, but the woman was slamming the stool into the wardrobe door, battering Lilia on the other side.
“Go away!” Lilia roared, clutching the scissors like a dagger. “I’ve done nothing wrong!”
Colly was beating on the doors, splintering them with the strength of her blows. She may have been old, but she was surprisingly strong.
“Ye were going tae kill Lady Currie, werena yet?” she shouted. “Tell me the truth, ye little chit! Tell me!”
The stool managed to take out of chunk of the door, sending splinters into the side of Lilia’s face. Gasping, she pulled out two big ones, leaving small wounds on her jaw.
“Ye’re mad!” she screamed. “Get out of here and leave me alone!”
Colly wasn’t listening. Fury was feeding her, making her irrational. When the stool disintegrated in her hand, she tossed it aside and yanked open the battered wardrobe door, revealing Lilia cowering on the other side.
What Colly didn’t see was the scissors in Lilia’s hand. She didn’t see them until she grabbed Lilia by the neck and Lilia brought up the shears.
By then, it was too late. Lilia plunged the scissors into Colly’s neck and blood erupted.
The old woman emitted a gurgling cry, grabbing the hilt of the scissors as she toppled over onto Lilia’s bed.
She lay there, twitching and trying to speak, pulling at the scissors that wouldn’t come free.
But it was no use; death was imminent. Sightless eyes gazed up at the ceiling as she breathed her last.
Lilia stood there, hands on her mouth in horror as she realized that she had just killed the woman.
It had all happened so fast. But she knew, without a doubt, that Colly had meant to kill her, so she had little choice but to defend herself.
Years of contention between the two of them, and Colly’s impulsive brutality, had built to this point.
The door to her chamber was closed but Lilia knew that others had heard the fight.
There was no way they could not have. Shaking with fear, she knew that she had to leave immediately.
Lady Currie would be devastated about Colly’s death and she would turn her grief against Lilia, even if the woman had acted in the effort of self-preservation.
Punishment would be swift and severe, no matter if it had been justified.
Therefore, she had to go.
Now.
With trembling hands, Lilia pulled her satchel out from underneath the bed and sealed it up.
Colly was laying on her bed, with blood now starting to drip onto the floor, so Lilia tossed a blanket over the woman and covered her up.
She didn’t know why she did it; she wasn’t thinking clearly.
It wasn’t as if the blanket could cover up the increasingly widening pool of blood.
Lilia cracked the door open to see who was out in the corridor.
She could hear voices, but she couldn’t see anyone.
Surprisingly, the corridor seemed vacant.
Silently, she slipped through the door, closing it so quietly that it didn’t make a sound.
With her satchel in-hand, she headed for the servant’s stairs that were directly across from her chamber, taking the darkened steps to an alcove on the first floor.
From there, she bolted for the stables.
*
The horse was spirited, no doubt. Even putting the saddle on the animal had it jumping around as Brody labored to secure it. Angus and Tynan were standing by, watching Brody wrestle with the horse.
“Are ye going tae ride him, Brody?” Tynan said excitedly, trying to avoid hooves that were as big as his head. “Does he have a name?”
Brody grinned at the enthusiastic child whom Angus had evidently been training in the ways of the stables since Brody had left.
“I dunna know if he has a name,” he said. “Angus? Do ye?”