A Warrior's Heart by Avelyn McCrae

Author:Avelyn McCrae [McCrae, Avelyn]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Fiction, Romance, Medieval Romance, scottish romance
Publisher: Avelyn McCrae
Published: 2016-01-19T16:00:00+00:00

Chapter Seventeen

“Thank you for meeting with me, Mother Superior.” Roran spoke with utmost respect, bowing slightly to the severe woman in stiff brown robes. She might have been a beautiful woman once, but the nuns here lived a very hard life and it showed in her features. Deeply etched lines mapped over skin that had once been young and supple; eyes that might have once laughed and glittered in amusement were now as hard and unyielding as the black stone they resembled. And lips that might have once curved and parted in youthful anticipation were thinned into a permanent scowl.

The effect of her bleak appearance and unflinching self-control gave even a battle-hardened knight-warrior such as Roran a few moments of pause. He couldn’t imagine his sprite’s feisty spirit surviving in a place of such heavy sobriety.

She nodded her head once in acknowledgement. For the most part, the order followed a strict vow of silence, but as the Mother Superior she was allowed minimal communication with outsiders when the situation called for it.

“About sixteen years ago or so, a girlchild was left on the steps of the abbey. Do you remember?”

The woman’s eyes softened slightly and she once again answered with a nod.

“Can you tell me anything about the circumstances of her arrival?”

The nun closed her eyes briefly as if remembering. “The child was very ill,” said Sister Charity, her voice little more than a whisper, rough with disuse. “We did not think she would survive. We called a priest to administer Extreme Unction.”

“But she did survive, did she not?”

A beatific smile ghosted her features. “God had a purpose for that one.”

“Do you have any idea who left her here?”

The rare smile faded. The Sister shifted uncomfortably and averted her eyes. Roran picked up on it immediately. She would not place her soul in peril with a lie, but she did not wish to share her knowledge, either.

“Mother Superior,” said Roran, firmly but gently, “I assure you that my motives are pure. I ask on behalf of the child you once saved.”

Cautious hope lit her eyes. “She lives? She is well?”

“Aye, on both accounts.”

“Is she with you?”

“No. She waits in the village. She did not think she would be welcome.” From the little she’d told Roran of her time at the convent, he had to agree. Apparently she’d been a real handful.

To his surprise, the nun’s lips actually twitched a little, then sobered again. “Perhaps it is for the best.”

“Who brought her to you, Sister?”

She didn’t say anything for a long time, so long that Roran was afraid she would resume her silence. She closed her eyes again; her lips moved slightly, as if in prayer. He remained quiet and still; he was a patient man.

Finally she nodded and opened her eyes. “The girl was not alone. A young woman brought her.”

Roran’s interest spiked. “A young woman, you say?”

“I believe she was the child’s mother, barely more than a child herself. Both were gravely ill. The girlchild survived, but the woman did not.

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