Total pages in book: 104
Estimated words: 95326 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 477(@200wpm)___ 381(@250wpm)___ 318(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 95326 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 477(@200wpm)___ 381(@250wpm)___ 318(@300wpm)
“What do you think, wife?” Cavell asked, his eyes still on the Lowlander.
When he got no answer, he turned and was not surprised to see his wife gone. He knew where she went, though he would have preferred that she waited for him. He shook his head and entered the keep.
“Mistress Elsie said to join her in your solar, sir,” Alda said when Cavell entered the Great Hall.
Cavell stopped upon hearing Ann’s voice, the door to his solar ajar.
“I knew this day would come. Secrets never remain secret forever.”
He entered, shutting the door behind him so that no one could hear what was being discussed and went to stand in front of Ann, turning a stern expression on her. “I will tolerate no more secrets. Edith, Ann, Eudora, whoever you are, you will tell us everything, for if I find out you lied, the consequences will be harsh.”
The older woman looked ready to collapse and Elsie was quick to guide her to a chair and help her sit.
Elsie kept her tone gentle, seeing how the woman’s hands trembled and how she had paled after Cavell issued his warning. “Why didn’t you speak up about this?”
“Fear, Mistress Elsie. Fear that has plagued me these many years.”
“You have no choice now, Ann. Or is it Edith or Eudora?” Elsie asked.
Cavell remained silent, not interfering, knowing the older woman would respond more easily and readily to his wife than to him. But, if necessary, he would take charge.
“I am Edith, though I must remain Ann now, and it is not me those men search for. It is my sister Eudora.”
Elsie sat in the chair beside Ann and reached out to rest a comforting hand on her arm, purposely directing her attention to her, knowing that her husband easily intimidated Ann with the way he stood so tall and menacing in front of her.
“My sister Eudora fell in love with a man I tried to warn her against, but she refused to listen. She went with him to live on the border of the Lowlands and Highlands. I hadn’t heard from her in years when she suddenly appeared at my door one day and asked for help. Her marriage had proven disastrous, and he left her for another woman. She had been on her way to establishing herself as a midwife by then, our mum and grandmother having taught us the skill. I am not sure how she got involved with saving unwanted bairns or bairns in danger of their lives being snuffed from them right after birth, she told me it was better I didn’t know. One of the midwives who was part of the group of women who had banded together to help the vulnerable women and bairns was discovered and she lost her life. All involved feared the woman had been tortured to reveal the names of others involved. The group was quickly abandoned and all fled, fearful for their lives. When I was suddenly claimed insane and taken to the abbey, I feared it might have had something to do with my sister’s past. It was either discovered I was the sister of the woman they searched for, or I was mistakenly believed to be Eudora.”
“With the Lowlander’s arrival today, I would assume you had been sent to the abbey to wait for someone to come to collect you,” Elsie said.
Ann looked at Cavell, tears heavy in her eyes. “I am eternally grateful you did not reveal who I am.”
“Highlanders take care of their own and see to their own justice,” Cavell said.
Elsie brought Ann’s attention back to her with a question. “Did your sister tell you anything about the bairns she saved?”
Ann shook her head. “She would not speak of them, fearful of the danger it could bring me and, truthfully, I did not want to know. When I heard your da speak of it, I got frightened for my sister all over again.”
“Your sister is still alive?” Cavell was quick to ask.
“I do not know. She only stayed with me a short while, then left, insisting she would not put me in any more danger than she already felt she had. I have not heard from her since the day we hugged and parted ways, yet I have continued to worry about her all these years, and I have prayed every day that she is safe.”
“You have no idea where she may have gone?” Elsie asked, realizing it was imperative they find the woman.
Ann shook her head. “One thing about my sister is that she is good at hiding. Sometimes when she didn’t want to do her chores, she would hide and my da would get angry that he couldn’t find her, and he would have no choice but to see to the chores himself. Then she would suddenly appear and pretend that she had forgotten. I am glad she has such hiding skills, for I fear what her fate would be if she was found.”