Chapter 34

CHAPTER 34

Keira walked back through the castle, trying her best to keep the tears at bay.

As she had finished sewing up Scott’s wound, she had been desperate to find out the outcome of the battle. She had gone down to the courtyard to find Noah and to thank him for saving her life. She wished she had not done so, now.

I cannot bear it anymore, she thought; I must leave this place at once. If Scott is well enough to travel, we leave tonight.

She reached her chambers, wiping furiously at her cheeks and trying to regain some of her composure before going back inside. She did not want Scott to think there was anything amiss.

It was a wasted effort, however, as he was fast asleep.

Keira moved across the room and sat beside him. There was a slight frown on his face from the pain he was in, his hand clutching the bedsheets at his side.

She looked about the rooms, bidding them a silent farewell as she took in the familiar brickwork and the merry little fire. She had grown used to them, and was aware that from the moment she set foot inside, she had felt comfortable and calm.

She wasn’t sure what her future held, but she could not imagine they would find a situation like this where they were going. It would likely be a life of traveling and uncertainty for a long while.

Scott muttered in his sleep, and she felt a stab of guilt at the thought of uprooting her siblings again, all because of the choices she had made in her life.

Her thoughts moved to Fenella and the obvious attachment that existed between the maid and her brother.

Am I selfish to take them away from all this happiness? Should I stay simply so that they remain where they are safe and thriving?

Do something for yerself —that’s what Daisy had told her, and Keira knew that it was good advice.

She could not sacrifice her own happiness to extend theirs. She must find her own way in the world far from this beautiful place and the kindness that had been shown to her family.

But most of all, she had to get away from Noah and the life she so desperately craved. The life he was unable to give her.

Earlier that evening when he had stood at her side, watching the crowds gathering below them, she had finally put a name to the confusing feelings that she felt for him. She knew that she loved him, and it had been a shocking realization. She had fallen in love with a man who would never love her back.

Scott grumbled and rolled over in his sleep, sitting up abruptly in bed and crying out in pain as his hand came up to touch the bandage over his wound.

“It’s alright. Ye were dreaming,” Keira said, placing a cool towel over his forehead and pushing him back into the bed.

“What happened?” he asked. “Where were ye? I woke up and ye were gone.”

“I went to bid farewell to Laird MacAllen,” Keira replied, seeing no reason to delay telling him the truth. “I am sorry, Scott, but I think we will have to leave this place.”

Scott frowned at her. “But I thought ye were engaged?”

“Nay. It was spoken of perhaps, but he cannae give me what I want. He believes he is better off alone and I willnae be a part of a marriage that isnae loving and real.”

Scott’s brow knitted together as he took her hand. “Are ye sure, Kee? Ye seemed so happy.”

Keira wiped the tears from her eyes and sniffed, looking away from her brother and trying her best to stay strong in the face of such pain.

“I am sorry to make ye leave. But we cannae rely on others forever.”

Scott squeezed her hand. “I like it here, but I dinnae wish ye to stay simply because of us.”

“I ken,” she said softly. “I am lucky to have ye both.”

She kissed his cheek and went to pack her things.

It was time to be on her way.

As Cuddy the donkey walked ahead of them into the village, Keira felt a sense of foreboding and uncertainty dogging their steps as they walked down the familiar roads.

Lucas was gone, but she was aware that many of the villagers were angry at Noah’s actions and did not believe his death had been justified.

If she could have, she would have gone to a different village and found a new place for them to live until the boat departed, but in the end, they had all agreed it would be better to test the waters somewhere familiar.

If they were shunned again, they would leave, and this time, there was no crazed priest who would follow them.

As Cuddy walked the familiar path back to the cottage, his nose happily sniffing at the air, Keira saw a few villagers emerging from their homes, all of them watching them with grim faces.

She pulled the donkey to a stop and pushed Daisy and Scott behind her. What kind of reception would they receive?

The villagers were hesitant. None approached them, and for a long while, they all just looked at each other, no one speaking a word.

Then, from one of the doorways, Keira saw a face she knew well. It was Marcus Blackwood, the man who had started it all and who Lucas had accused her of raising from the dead all those weeks before.

“Good mornin’, Keira,” Marcus said, stepping forward as Scott stiffened beside her.

“Marcus,” she replied, her gaze moving across the faces behind him, trying to gauge their reaction.

“I’ve told them all, now that Lucas is gone, that ye are nae witch,” he said firmly. “It was all lies; I kenned that from the start. Ye saved me life, that’s the truth of it, and anyone who says otherwise is a fool.”

He crossed his arms over his chest, glancing back and leveling the other villagers with an angry stare.

From the house behind him, Agnes appeared and came to stand beside Marcus. She stepped forward, smiling faintly at Keira, looking frightened but determined.

Agnes took a deep breath, her gaze flicking to the other villagers, who seemed to be waiting for her to speak.

“I am sorry,” she said, her chin raised in the air, her eyes only on Keira. “I daenae ken what came over me when I went with them all to the castle. I am ashamed of what they did and that I was a part of it. I ken what ye said is true, Keira. Ye have only ever looked after me and me bairn, especially after David died. I couldnae be more grateful that yer safe and back amongst us again.”

She hurriedly stepped back once she had said her peice, and as she did so, Marcus gripped her hand. Keira raised her eyebrows at him, and he gave her a rueful smile.

“I have another reason to be in your village from now on, as well, so I can vouch for ye,” he said happily, and Agnes gave her a soft smile.

Keira was happy for them. Agnes had lost her husband to a fever three weeks before their child was born, and now she had someone to care for them again.

“Have ye found yerself a good woman then, Marcus?” Keira asked, as the tension all around them eased.

“Aye,” Marcus said softly. “That I have.”

“Agnes, are ye well?”

“Quite well, Keira. Thank you,” Agnes said awkwardly. “I am sorry for what happened,” she said as Marcus pulled her closer. “Me faith is important to me, and I believed what he said. I know that was wrong now. You are nay monster.”

Behind her, in the cottage, a baby began to wail loudly, and Agnes went to see to her.

“Come,” Keira said swiftly to Scott and Daisy as the other villagers went back into their homes, too. “Let us be gone from here before they change their minds.”

They led Cuddy back to the cottage, which, to Kiera’s surprise, had been left mainly untouched.

Her garden had been raided for the vegetables she grew, and her front door would need to be repaired, but she was satisfied they could remain there for another fortnight before they left Scotland for good.

She placed her bag on the table as she entered and smiled wanly at Daisy, who went straight to the window, returning all the pieces of sea glass to the windowsill as though they had never left.

Not so long ago Noah stood in this kitchen and told me I dinnae have to face things by meself any longer. How things have changed.

Keira glanced at her brother to find him watching her.

“I am sorry,” he said sincerely. “About the laird.”

Keira shook her head. “There is nothin’ to be sorry about. It is for the best, and we will start a new life away from Scotland and all these bad memories. We can begin again—with nay priests.”

“Are all the memories bad?”

She shrugged sadly. “Nay. But there is nae use dwellin’ on it. Would ye really wish to stay in a clan that has mistreated us so badly? I dinnae think I do.”

Daisy took a little step forward, her expression sad as she looked about their home.

“I dinnae think we would have to leave,” she said, “now that the trouble is over.”

Keira brushed her fingers through her sister's hair.

“We must, flower; the world is callin’,” she said. “Besides, I thought ye wanted to see the lands across the sea. Ye might even see a mermaid.”

Daisy gave her a half smile as Scott put his arm around his sister’s shoulders.

Keira looked out to the garden and was surprised to see a couple of villagers approaching; one of them was hobbling and the other had a nasty rash on her arm.

Keira sighed, even though her heart soared that they were returning so soon.

“Back to work, is it?” Scott asked tiredly.

“Aye,” Keira said. “For now.”

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