Page 39 of Highlander Lord Of Vengeance (Highland Revenge Trilogy #3)
“ H ow are we to find the answer to a secret so long buried?” Ryland asked, still trying to comprehend the shocking news. “And why was Torrance and I separated?”
The Old Woman glanced at Esme. “Where do you think you could find such answers?”
Ryland turned his attention on Esme as if she had the answer.
It came to Esme without much thought. “I would start with the healer who delivered the twins.”
The Old Woman smiled, though it soured when she shifted her attention to Ryland. “Pay heed to Esme, for she is wiser than most.”
“It is why I don’t hesitate to seek her counsel,” Ryland said proudly, “and one of the reasons I love her so much.”
That he believed she was wise stunned her and it showed in her expression, her eyes turning wide.
She never thought herself wise. Her mum often reminded her to hold her tongue around men and pay them no mind.
But when alone with her grandmother, she would tell her that her mum only got part of that right.
She cautioned Esme to hold her tongue around men and pay heed to everything they said and learn from it.
Perhaps she had gained more wisdom than she believed.
“You don’t know who the healer was who attended the birth, do you?” Esme asked.
“It pains me to admit I do not know,” the Old Woman said with a touch of annoyance. “All healers seek my help, not so this particular healer. But she may have been sworn to secrecy and healers do hold on to their secrets.”
“If you can’t find her, how can we?” Ryland asked.
“We start with Torrance’s mum’s family,” Esme said, the slight scrunch of her brow and the brightness in her eyes a sign that her thoughts were churning rapidly. “We find out if she had any siblings and if so where we can find them. Then we find out where your mum gave birth.”
“Torrance spoke about a room in the keep where all heirs to Clan Glencairn are birthed. I assume that was were Torrance and I would have been born, but Patrick informed me that Torrance was born at Purdom Keep due to a snowstorm that stranded her there.” Ryland shook his head, still finding the news that Torrance was his twin brother difficult to digest.
“Then he could know more than he says, and other elders might know something.” Esme said.
“We need to speak to elders in your mum’s clan who were around when you were born and see what they remember.
Did Torrance ever mention his mum’s clan?
If not, maybe one of the elders would—” She stopped abruptly and looked to the Old Woman. “You know.”
The Old Woman smiled but said nothing.
“Of course,” Esme said with a wide smile.
“What am I missing?” Ryland asked then shook his head. “Purdom. She was from Clan Purdom, which is why you wanted to meet here, where it all began.” He nodded this time. “Patrick is older, he might know something. He waits for me?—”
“He returned home,” “the Old Woman said, “before the snow stranded him here.”
Ryland left Esme’s side and went to the door and opened it. The snow was falling heavily. It would be foolish to travel in it. He shut the door and turned ready to demand to know why she didn’t warn them.
The Old Woman didn’t give him a chance to speak.
“You two need time to talk, time to be alone without worry. The snowstorm has provided that for you. There is a small cottage just beyond this one. It is there for those in need. You are in need. I have told you all I know. The rest is up to you. If I learn more, I will let you know. Now go and find the secret of the twins’ birth that will free you both. ”
Ryland drew Esme to his side the moment they stepped outside the cottage. Snow whipped around them in wild gusts, biting at exposed skin and blurring the world to shades of white and gray. He wrapped his arm around her, holding her tight to him, shielding her as best he could from the storm’s fury.
“This way,” he said close to her ear, his voice a low rumble against the wind.
Esme tucked herself into him, her head beneath his chin, her arms wrapped around his waist, trusting him to lead the way.
Their boots left tracks in the deepening snow as they made their way, and a layer of snow soon covered their cloaks, the snow was falling so rapidly. The cold seeped through layers of wool and fur as they made their way along the barely visible path.
Ryland pressed on, determined to get Esme to the safety and warmth of the smaller cottage nestled just beyond a thicket of wind-blown trees. He was relieved when he finally spotted it and saw that smoke curled from the chimney in a slow, steady plume. Heat would be there to greet them.
He shouldered open the door and ushered her inside.
Warmth rushed over them, the fire crackling in the hearth, filling the space with much needed heat. The cottage was modest, a table and two chairs, a narrow bed against the wall, and shelves lined with crockery and baskets filled with root plants. It was a perfect sanctuary from the storm.
Esme stepped forward, snow trailing behind her, and held her hands out to the fire.
Ryland closed the door behind them, shutting out the wind and leaning back against it for a moment, watching her.
Gone was the fear and worry of what might have happened to her when she left to meet the Old Woman with Breann as her only companion.
Those meaning her harm could have found her, taken her, killed her.
He chased the torturous thoughts away. She was here with him and safe, and though the Old Woman could be annoying, he was grateful she offered them sanctuary and grateful to the snowstorm that gave them this time alone.
Esme turned to him, her cheeks flushed from the cold, eyes bright. “Are you all right? I can only imagine how it feels to learn Torrance was your twin and separated from him.”
He went to her and slipped her damp cloak off her shoulders then slipped off his and went and hung them on pegs by the door to dry. He returned to her and circled her waist with his arms to draw her back against him.
“I believe I am too stunned by the unexpected news to fully comprehend it.”
Esme rested her arm over his at her waist, comforted by his strength. “What troubles me is how a mum could separate her twins, most likely, at birth. Unless she had no choice and if that is the case then my heart breaks for her.”
“Torrance never mentioned his mum. His sole thought was on one day ruling Clan Glencairn.”
“Did you ever think to ask either of your parents why you looked so much like Torrance?”
“I asked my da once since I didn’t want to hurt my mum with such a question.
He told me that some things just don’t make sense, and one shouldn’t waste time worrying over it.
I did hear him mumble something when I was leaving his solar.
“‘From sacrifice miracles are born.’” Ryland gave her waist a gentle tug.
“I didn’t understand what he meant though I do now.
The sacrifice that I made brought me a miracle… you.”
She turned in his arms, her eyes misty. “I love you, Ryland.”
“You truly meant what you said in front of the Old Woman?”
“Every word,” she said softly then chuckled. “I thought I was going mad when feelings began to stir in me for Torrance. I couldn’t understand how I could feel something for someone so cruel. It truly was a relief to find out that I had fallen in love with a good man.”
His fingers slipped beneath her braid, brushing lightly along her neck, her silky soft skin stirring his desire for her. “I will be a good husband to you, Esme. On that you have my word.”
“A word I can trust and that means much to me after so much deceit.”
He leaned in, resting his brow against hers, his voice low. “Deceit is not something you ever have to worry about with me. I will be honest and sometimes bold with my words to you, like now when I tell you I want to strip you naked and make love to you.”
His blunt words sparked her passion sending a shiver of desire through her, and she whispered, “And what, may I ask, is stopping you?”
He grinned and went to kiss her when her stomach rumbled loudly, reminding him that he had left her hungry hours earlier.
“Ignore it,” she insisted.
“I think not,” he said, his grin turning wicked. “You will need fuel for what I have in mind.”
Her cheeks flushed imagining what he meant, and she had no intention of waiting too long to experience such pleasure.
“I spied some root vegetables in the baskets on the shelf. If you can fill that cauldron,” —she gave a nod to the black pot on the hearth stone— “with snow, then I can set a vegetable stew to cooking.”
“That will take time and you’re hungry now.”
“Aye, but hungrier for your touch than I ever thought possible.” Her hand rested on his chest and drifted slowly down lower and lower and…
Ryland grabbed her hand. “I’ll fill the cauldron with snow.”
He reluctantly left her, slipped on his cloak, then grabbed a large bucket and hurried to the door, saying, “I will be right back.”
Esme grabbed a basket of root vegetables off the lone shelf and set them on the table.
A bucket of snow to melt and have ready to wash her hands would be good and she could grab that before Ryland returned.
He would know enough to pick a clearing where the snow would be the purest which would take him further from the cottage.
Besides, she could use a quick, private trip outside before they settled in for the night.
She grabbed the bucket and her cloak and hurried outside, staying close to the cottage, barely stepping around its side to get done quickly when Ryland emerged from the falling snow and entered the cottage.
He kept his head bent, shaking the snow off his cloak as he walked to the hearth to hang the cauldron on the hook and push the hook back over the flames.