Page 21 of Ensnaring the Dove
Aedan’s expression sobered. “It’s what everyone here believes anyway,” he pointed out, irritated at her response. “Don’t worry, I’ll keep my hands to myself.”
A tense silence fell between them then, stretching out until Aedan finally broke it. “Enid is a magpie,” he said tersely, “and she coveted that jeweled belt of yours, from the moment she set eyes on you.”
Colombia glanced down and ran a finger along the delicately wrought belt. It was indeed beautiful, threaded with gold and semi-precious gems. “This was a gift frompater,” she murmured, “for my sixteenth birthday.”
Aedan frowned. He hadn’t realized the belt had sentimental value. “I’m sorry you have to give it up,” he said, his tone softening.
Colombia looked up, her lips curving. “Paterwill understand,” she replied. “I’d like to think he’d care more about my safety than a belt.”
Aedan marked the way her voice flattened then. He wondered at her relationship with her father; he imagined they hadn’t seen each other often over the past years, since he was a garrison commander on the frontier.
And he didn’t know his daughter was nearby either.
He wouldn’t be surprised if she was worried how he’d react when she turned up unannounced at Onnum.
Colombia adjusted the ankle-length tunic and knotted a length of string under the bodice. The material was a faded pale blue, and it smelled musty. It was also coarse and scratchy against her skin. Nonetheless, Colombia pushed aside the discomfort and wrapped the woolen shawl Enid had given her about her shoulders. It was surprisingly warm and soft, reminding Colombia of a smaller version of the voluminous palla she’d left behind.
Stepping out from behind the goatskin hanging, which divided a tiny sleeping alcove from the rest of the dwelling, Colombia found Aedan and Enid sitting together before the hearth, talking in low voices.
Listening to the lilt of their conversation, she reflected on how musical their language was compared to her own. She wished she could understand what passed between them—especially when Aedan said something that made Enid cackle.
Not being able to understand put her on edge and made her feel like an outsider, even more than she did already.
Nonetheless, Enid fascinated her.
The wise woman had a face like a wrinkled walnut, and when she laughed, she revealed more gum than tooth. However, her dark-blue eyes glinted with sharpness and vibrancy.
Enid was indeed a magpie, and from what Aedan had told her, insufferably nosey, but she had taken them in while others had turned them away. The villagers’ lack of hospitality had surprised her, although pride meant she was careful not to admit so to Aedan.
This settlement was isolated. Nearer the forts, folk would be more open-minded.
Glancing up, Aedan’s gaze settled on Colombia.
He scrutinized her for a moment, and she found herself growing warm under his stare.
“Do I look presentable?” she asked hesitantly.
He cleared his throat, blinked, and shifted his gaze to the glowing embers of the hearth before him. “Yes.”
Enid rattled off a long sentence then, flashing Colombia a wry, gummy smile.
“What did she say?” Colombia asked.
Aedan glanced up, his mouth quirking. “Enid says you look like one of us … that if you were wearing a torc and bracelets, you’d pass for a chieftain’s wife.”
Colombia’s cheeks warmed. “Tapadh leat,” she murmured, using the phrase that Aedan had taught her earlier. She then cast him a sidelong glance, hoping she’d pronounced that correctly.
She clearly had, for her thanks earned a nod from Enid.
Aedan rose to his feet then, stretching out his back, and yawning. “It’s been a long day … Enid says we can sleep in the alcove.”
Colombia’s pulse quickened. She hadn’t reacted well earlier when she’d learned Enid thought they were lovers. Her response had been instinctive, yet when she’d seen Aedan’s gaze shutter, she realized she’d offended him.
Even so, she wasn’t sure about spending the night in the same bed as him. She’d just come from the alcove and had noted that the pile of furs they were to sleep upon wasn’t that wide.
“And where will she retire for the night?” she asked, trying to ignore the warmth rising to her cheeks.
Aedan turned to Enid and asked her something.