CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
P aige startled when Ruben leaped to his feet, “She is fully awake?” he asked the healer.
“Aye, me laird.”
Ruben’s face was firm. “And is she lucid?”
The healer nodded. “And while it is late, she wants to speak with ye, without delay. Please, come with me.”
They took the stone stairwell that curved gently upwards and came to the top floor. Norah was sitting on her cot, hands calmly folded in her lap. Paige’s heart leaped into her throat at seeing her peaceful expression, miles away from the frantic, panicked girl she’d seen two days ago.
The torches at the end of the room gave enough light that he could see that the healer was right. The girl looked so placid, Paige was not sure if she remembered what had happened that night? Could it be that she had forgotten why she had shattered?
Does she hate me or will she forgive me for hurtin’ her?
“Norah,” Ruben approached her slowly but directly. “How are ye feelin’?”
“Better,” Norah replied, and for once, Paige heard steady, real emotion in the girl’s voice.
He took a seat on the edge of her bed and reached for her. “Tell me truly, are ye all right?”
“I am,” Norah said, her eyes moving over his shoulder to land on Paige, “And I can only thank ye for this.”
“Thank me?” Paige blurted. “But I—I?—”
“Ye made me finally stop ignorin’ the past I’d suffered and start to contend with the truth of what happened. See, before ye told me of what nearly happened to ye, I had put me ordeal behind a curtain, behind a wall. I thought of it as only a dream, nothing more.
“But now, I am dealin’ with the truth of it all.” To Ruben she said, “I think ye want to ken why I called ye here.”
“I do,” he said.
Norah narrowed her eyes. “I ken that look Ruben. Ye are thinkin’ about this part to me, if it is real and how long it will be before I slip back into that girl who only existed but dinnae live.”
“I want to hope,” Ruben said. “But daenae ken if I should.”
“I—” Norah plucked at the sheets before her. “I cannae answer that in truth, because I cannae see the future. I suspect there will be bad days and good ones but that is for another day. What I can do now is to tell ye what I remember. To get this burden off me chest and start to try anew.”
“Go ahead,” he said.
“When I’d left the orphanage, I’d gotten on me horse and began to ride home,” she said. “I’d gotten beyond the township and was on that stretch of road ye say many thieves use to rob people. Only this time, the men who grabbed me dinnae want any coin from me.
“Two of the men hauled me from the horse, bound me arms and feet. They placed a cloth between me lips and then pressed another cloth to me nose, before throwin me in the back of a covered wagon.” she said firmly. “I kenned nothin’ from there on.
“I faintly remember the road grew rocky and I drifted in and out of consciousness,” Norah said. “I was—I was in a cave. Half of the room I was in looked dug out by human tools and the rest was pure natural cave.”
Paige covered her mouth with a hand as her heart began to sink lower and lower in her chest. This already felt horrible, how much worse could it get?
“Nay one told me why I was there, nay one told me who wanted to take me and nay one threatened me with a grisly death. More often than nae, they woke me up by flingin' a bucket of water in me face.”
“Do ye remember anyone who held ye?” Ruben asked.
“There was a man,” she said, looking to Paige. “He had black eyes and small silvery scars that went down the left side of his face. Just like ye told me. He had thin dark hair that could nae cover his head.”
“I killed that man,” Ruben said.
Norah gave him a flickering smile. “But he was nae alone, he had at last two men with him, guardin’ me all the time. They were careful, nay one spoke anythin’ about who wanted me there, nae once in the months they held me captive.”
“I was constantly bound and sat in corner of the room. There were times they would starve me and then only give me few slices of bread and water to live.
“The men would tell me I was nothin’, that me brother dinnae care enough about me to look for me and that when they were done, nay one would remember who I was.” Norah said, her eyes trailing to the roof. “They would say it so much, I’d believe them.”
As her heart sank with sorrow for Norah, Ruben’s spine stiffened and she could see carefully controlled fury darken his face and stiffen his jaw. Ruben was about to punch his fist through the walls around him and take every brick down with him.
“They would rarely take me outside to get some sunshine and fresh air, and when I did, I could nae find any familiar sightings to mark where I was,” Norah said.
“Kidnapped and held hostage for five months with nay hope of ever being found made me think I’d die in that cave.” Norah said. “The fact that I survived still amazes me.”
“Did any of these men touch ye?” Ruben asked.
Norah canted her head to the right, confused. “Touch me… what do ye—” when his meaning descended on her, she shook her head vehemently. “Nay, nay, nothin’ like that.”
“Are ye sure?” Ruben pressed.
“I can attest to that, me laird,” the healer said. “Years ago, when she was returned, we had examined her. She was then and still is a maiden.”
Those words mollified Ruben a little but not too much as his shoulder was still tight, how brows lowered and his jaw clenched.
“A cave, ye say,” his eyes lifted to Paige. “And ye cannae remember much about where it was?”
“All I remember was this strange mountain form,” Norah said tiredly. “Like two devil horns jutting into the air.”
From the way Ruben’s eyes shifted from left to right, Paige knew he was trying to remember where such a mountain could be.
“Ye’re sure about that?” he asked Norah.
“Aye,” Norah said, her voice fading. “I am.”
“Now that you have heard what she had to say, I think t’is best for Norah to rest now,” the healer said.
Ruben reached for Norah and held her hand tight, “Get some rest and thank ye for being brave enough to tell me. And Norah, I am glad to see, the real ye, back.”
Norah squeezed his hand, “Thank ye for listenin’.”
Returning to their rooms, Paige walked with wooden legs; the shock of hearing Norah tell them about her abduction shook her to her core. She drooped the wrap from her cold fingers and didn’t even realize where it fell.
“Lass?” Ruben asked. He reached for her and dropping his hand to her shoulder, stopped her. Gently turning her, he asked, “Are ye feelin’ well?”
“I—” she sank to the edge of the bed and gripped her skirts. “I cannae help but feel ripped apart at what Norah endured. I—I can only think of what I would have endured if those men had taken me.”
“They willnae,” he said. “This is why we train and tomorrow ye are going to learn to swim too.”
She looked at him. “Ye’re nae going to bed, are ye?”
“Nay,” he said. “I am going to gather me men and send out search parties to find where this twin devil peak mountain is.” He cupped the back of her neck and gave her firm, heated kiss.
Pulling away, his thumb stroked over her chin. “Get some sleep, lass. After all of what just happened, I think ye need it.”
When Paige woke again, in Ruben’s bed, she reached over only to find the pillows and sheets cold. She faintly remembered him joining her in the bed, mere hours before dawn, but he was gone again.
After washing, she quickly got dressed and pinned up her hair so that loose curls fell around her face. Wearing a light blue gown that beautifully framed her full breasts and trim waistline, she glanced in the mirror and decided that she was satisfied enough to exit her chambers.
She arrived at the Great Hall to find her mother and Ruben’s father Niall at the head table. Her mother was chatting with him and the emotion on her mother’s face was that of one finding a firm friend.
“Good mornin’, Maither,” she kissed her mother’s cheek. “How are ye?”
“I have missed ye these past few days,” Daisy said. “Were ye ill?”
“Nay, Maither,” she said. “Just preoccupied. Ruben’s been teachin’ me how to defend meself and he will be showin’ me how to swim later today. Speakin’ of me husband, have ye seen him today?”
“Nay,” her mother replied.
“Speakin’ of me son,” Niall said. “He told me how ye were able to get Norah to confront her past.
“As harsh and perilous as it was, ye managed to do somethin’ I feared would never happen. Ye managed to pull her back into herself. I have me daughter back—” he reached over to hold Paige’s hand, his face heavy with appreciation and tender care. “—so thank ye.”
Daisy looked lost. “What do ye mean? What happened?”
Reluctantly, Paige told her about the almost abduction and as her mother paled in fear, she comforted her. “It’s fine, Maither. Ruben was right behind me to save me.”
She then told her how she’d told Norah about the endeavor and how it doing so had taken Norah down a bad turn.
“Or so I’d thought,” she said. “Eventually, she came around and I can tell ye, the light in her eyes was so bright, it was like night and day.”
“I see,” Daisy’s had her hand pressed to her heart. Shaking her head, she said. “But ye should have told me that, Paige. Surely, yer faither would want to ken about the attack?—”
“Nay Maither,” she rushed to stop her, “Ye cannae tell Faither any of this. Please, promise me, ye will nae tell him any of this, nae in a letter, nae even in person when ye go back home.”
“But Paige, do ye nae think this is somethin’ yer faither should ken?” her mother pressed her.
“Nay, Maither.” Paige shook her head, “That will cause more problems that it could ever solve. Please daenae do it.”
Her mother was not happy about it, but she nodded in reluctant agreement, and they finished their breakfast. Parting ways, she headed to her rooms but found herself wondering the halls and exploring the castle.