A Cold Highland Wind--A Lady Emily Mystery by Tasha Alexander

Author:Tasha Alexander
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: St. Martin's Publishing Group

18

Tansy

1676

“Finella Logan? I dinnae like her and I dinnae trust her,” Cora said. “Never have, never will. She’s had shifty eyes since she was a child.” We were out wandering in the mountains, picking up plants to be used as dyes for her wool. For the first time in weeks, Cora had invited me and not Rossalyn.

“She doesn’t seem so bad to me.” I scraped some lichen off a rock and dropped it into the basket looped over my arm. “Most of us improve from what we were as children, shifty eyes or not.”

“Believe what you want, Tasnim. I won’t try to change your mind.”

She was the only person who’d consistently called me by my correct name since I was taken from Tunis. This endeared her to me and made me hesitate to argue with her. Even so, I wouldn’t let her think ill of Finella. “If you got to know her now—”

“Nothing could induce me to do that,” she said. “I know this place and I know these people. I’ve lived here all my life. There’s not a soul in the village who can pretend to be someone they’re not around me. Finella is always up to something. Always, I promise you that. She likes playing with people. Manipulating them.”

“To what end?” I asked. “She’s not in a position of power. What can she hope to accomplish?”

“It amuses her.” Cora brushed dirt from her heavy wool skirt. “Sometimes, people with no power are the most dangerous of all. Look what she did with you and the kirk.”

“She didn’t do anything except point out that Rossalyn wouldn’t want me to be forced to attend services that are part of a religion I don’t—”

“Yes, it’s all very innocent, isn’t it? Dinnae be naïve, Tasnim. Do you think the rest of village agrees with Rossalyn? That you should be welcome to worship any god you like? I take no issue with it, but this is a primitive place. We’re not what I’d call an enlightened group of people. It’s not wise to give brutish Highlanders an excuse to persecute you. You told me how concerned you were when Rossalyn wanted to sneak into the castle and remove possessions she’d left there. Skipping Sunday services is at least as dangerous, especially with all the talk of witches in Balieth.”

I should never have breathed a word about Rossalyn taking things from the castle. That was the trouble with being so far from one’s home. We all need a confidante, someone we can trust absolutely. I’d always known Rossalyn couldn’t be that. Not because she wasn’t kind or a good person but because she didn’t understand what the world was like for me. She wanted to (on occasion) and tried to (on occasion), but it would never matter deeply enough to her for it to be a priority. As long as things were agreeable on the surface, she wouldn’t prod for more. I was content with that and kept myself on guard with her.

From the beginning, however, Cora was different.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.