Chapter 5
Afew days of rest had helped Mazey. She almost felt human again. The pain was still there. Bruises that were once deep purple now had a mottled yellow color to them. Mazey sat in bed, fiddling with some yarn, but working with one hand was difficult.
The door burst open and Mazey jumped in alarm.
“Maze!” Siusan yelled out. She jumped onto the bed and smothered Mazey in kisses. Mazey tried her hardest not to cry out, but a whimper escaped. “Maze? What happened?”
Baile rushed in. “Ye ran away from me so fast ah couldn’t keep up, Siusan. What are ye doing to poor Mazey?”
“What’s wrong with her? Is she broken?” Concern mixed with horror crossed her face.
“Aye, she’s a wee bit broken, but nothing rest can’t fix.” Baile sat on the bed next to Mazey and took Siusan’s hand. “She’ll be all right, lassie.”
Siusan cried pitifully, jumping into Baile’s arms. He looked as perplexed as Mazey felt. “What’s wrong, child? She will be fine. Don’t ye worry one bit.”
“Her bairn!” she wailed. “Her bairn…did it die? Ah wanted a sister to play with. A wee small one, not like Mally.”
Mazey hid her grin in her good arm and tried not to laugh. “Wee’un, my child is fine. She did all right. Ah look much worse than ah feel. The bairn is okay. And she’ll not be yer sister, but yer friend.”
Siusan sniffed and pushed her hair back out of her face.
She rubbed a small hand over Mazey’s belly.
A kick hit her hand. She giggled and grabbed her father’s hand and put it in the same spot.
Mazey felt her face flush with heat. Baile politely waited while Siusan chattered on about what she would do with the baby once it was born.
When the baby kicked Baile’s hand he smiled again and pulled his hand away with an apologetic look at Mazey.
“Are ye feeling up for a short walk? The trees outside are blooming.”
Mazey nodded and pushed herself up. “Aye. Ah’ll walk. If anyone can help, ah’ll need a bath soon. Ah’m covered in poultices from Cohlm and they smell mighty fierce.”
Baile took her by the arm and helped her to her feet. “Ah’ll arrange it today after supper.”
The walk outside was short, but refreshing. Her head ached, but the fresh air rejuvenated her. “How is yer arm?” Baile motioned at her wrapped limb. Cohlm tied it about her waist to keep it from moving.
“It’s painful, but ah’ll manage.”
“Ye’re a tough woman.”
Siusan ran ahead of them, picking up sticks on the ground and swinging them at leaves hanging low on the trees.
“Ah’m used to pain.”
A frown creased his brow. “Ye shouldn’t have to go through all that. Ye deserve better.”
“Ah dunno about that.” Siusan ran down a hill just out of sight.
Baile stopped her abruptly and stood in front of her. “Ah know. Ye deserve much better. Yer heart is good. When ah lost my Moire, my heart was hard as stone. Ah was harsh and unkind.”
Mazey arched a brow at him.
“Ah was. Ye didn’t see it. But ah was lost without her.
The pain ah felt was too much for me. Ah shut everyone out.
Yer not like that and for years now yer spouse tortured ye.
Yer heart is still soft and pliable. Look at how you love on my daughter, my Nguyen, like she were yer own. Yer a remarkable woman.”
He pulled her into an embrace. She rested her head on his chest, his steady heartbeat sounded in her ear. Baile tenderly kissed the top of her head. “Ye’ll be safe here.” They called Siusan over and Baile helped Mazey back to the room.
“Maze, can ye brush my hair?” Siusan handed her the brush and sat on the stool, waiting.
Mazey’s good arm was dominant, so most tasks weren’t too difficult. “Aye, wee’un, ah will. But once we do, yer faither says we have to work on yer letters. He wants ye to read and write, remember?”
Siusan crossed her arms across her chest and pouted her lips. “Ah don’t see why ah need to learn stuff. Girls aren’t supposed to read.”
Mazey inwardly agreed while not saying anything aloud. Best not disagree with the clan chief. “Malmuira reads,” Mazey whispered.
“Mally reads too much,” Siusan whined.
Again, Mazey agreed, but kept her peace. “Well, ye have to do it anyhow. If ye’re faither asks for ye to learn it, ye best do what he asks.”
“Can ah feel yer bairn again? Yer belly is getting bigger.”
Mazey laughed at Siusan’s attention span. She rarely focused on one thing longer than a butterfly lands on a flower. “Aye, but let me finish brushing yer hair first.”
Siusan swung her legs back and forth while she waited and prattled on with enthusiasm.
“Ah’m excited to meet yer bairn. Do ye know what ye will name it?
Do ye think it’s a boy or a girl? Ah think it’s a girl.
But if it’s a boy, that’s okay too. Do ye think ye could name it Siusan?
That would be my favorite. Ah like my name.
My maither named me. Would we be kin? Cause ah always wanted a little brother. ”
The little girl went silent, which was unusual. Mazey could tell something was bothering her. “Is something wrong, love?”
Siusan’s lower lip quivered, and she looked up at Mazey with a sad expression.
Mazey squatted down and looked the little girl in the eyes.
“Ah never got to meet my maither. Everyone else has a maither, but ah didn’t get to meet her.
And now Mally left too. Ah miss her.” The little girl cried earnestly and Mazey’s heart swelled with love for the small one.
“Ah know how ye feel, Siusan. Ah lost my maither too, when ah was small. Ah miss her fiercely.”
Siusan stopped crying and wiped her eyes with the back of her fists. “What do ye do when ye’re sad?”
“Ah feel it. Ah let the sadness weigh down my legs and my arms. Ah feel like ah’m so heavy ah could fall through the floor with it. Sometimes ah cry. Ah only allow myself to feel it for the count of ten. Then ah remember all the good things about her and it helps me.”
Siusan cried again. “Ah didn’t meet my maither. Ah dunno good things about her.”
Mazey wrapped the little girl up in her arms and shushed her, rocking her back and forth. “Well, then, we should ask yer faither. He can tell ye some good things about her and those will be the things ye remember.”
Siusan pulled away and wiped her eyes again. “Really? Do ye think he would tell us some things? He doesn’t like to talk about her too much. He gets all sad.”
Mazey nodded and hoped Baile would oblige. “Ah’ll ask him, okay?”
Siusan nodded and then stuck her hands on Mazey’s belly. “If it’s a boy can we call him Baile? He’ll be strong like my faither.”
Mazey just laughed and touched Siusan’s nose. “We’ll see.”
It was the first time Mazey had been alone for a week.
Her arm throbbed, but it was nice to have small freedom.
Siusan was with Garia in the kitchen. That was one of her favorite parts of the day.
Mazey took advantage of her time alone today and went next door to Baile’s study.
She wasn’t sure if he was there or if he was taking care of business elsewhere in the keep.
She paused in front of the door. Would her questions would be welcome? While she hesitated, the door opened and Baile appeared in the doorway. “Mazey, ah didn’t expect to see ye out and about. Ah was just headed to the gardens. Ah thought ah would do some work outside. How are ye feeling?”
“Ah’m all right.”
“What were ye needing?” The papers in his hand distracted him.
“Ah had some questions.” She regretted her decision already, and she hadn’t even asked him anything yet. “Ah just wanted to talk to ye about Siusan.”
He looked concerned. “Is Siusan doing all right?”
“Aye, she’s fine. Ah just thought ah would ask ye about her maither. She seemed upset and wished she met her. Ah don’t know what to say. Ah never met her maither.”
Baile nodded and took Mazey’s hand, resting it on his arm and patting it. He looked deep in thought. “Aye, ah’ve seen her get that way sometimes.”
“My maither died when ah was young, and ah was talking to Siusan about it. One thing that helped me is to remember good things about her. Siusan never got to meet her, though. Ah was wondering if ye might feel enjoy telling her stories. Let her know who she was through ye. That could help on days she misses her.”
His eyes squinted and eyebrows knit together. “Ah guess ah could. Ah have fond memories of Moire. Ye came after she passed, but she was a kind woman.”
“Aye, so ah’ve heard from Malmuira.”
He led her outside to the gardens to a small bench under a tree.
His eyes closed, and a smile crossed his face.
The sun lit up his features and the shadow under his jaw made the chiseled edge appear even more masculine.
“She was beautiful. Her hair was chestnut and eyes green as leaves in spring. The most beautiful thing about her though was her heart—kindness for the most wretched souls and always seeking ways to help others.”
“Ah figured she must have been beautiful. Malmuira is a beauty. Ah was always envious of how she looked.” Mazey lowered her eyes, ashamed to admit the depth of her yearning.
“Mazey, ye’re an exquisite woman.”
The compliment caught Mazey off guard.
“Ye’re even more beautiful when ye smile like that.
Ah don’t think ah’ve seen that kind of smile on yer face before.
” He reached over and tucked a loose piece of hair behind her ear.
“One of my favorite memories with Moire was when her and ah went for a walk. She was with child. It was Siusan, so just before she passed. There is a grove of trees near the loch near to here. We walked around the loch and came across a meadow filled with wildflowers. She picked a bundle, said she’d bring them to Malmuira.
She was so beautiful that day. The sunlight made parts of her hair look red and ah remember the smell of the flowers, ye know the purple ones. ”