A Dark Highland Magic: Hot Highlands Romance Book 4 by Jameson Kelly

Author:Jameson, Kelly [Jameson, Kelly]
Language: eng
Format: azw3, epub
Publisher: Jameson Writing Solutions, LLC
Published: 2019-02-10T16:00:00+00:00

Chapter 17

Beitris didn’t say much as she rode with Conall to the small village cemetery to visit her brother Ragnar’s grave. She hadn’t said much at all after awaking, washing, and dressing. And Conall hadn’t pressed her to talk.

The first snow of the season had started to fall, but it wasn’t coating the ground. Conall tied the horse to a gnarled tree near the cemetery and gave her some privacy while she knelt by Ragnar’s grave. The wind blew Beitris’ hair back from her face and he was struck by the sorrow he saw there, wishing he could erase it from her lovely features but knowing he never could. Feeling helpless, he turned and went inside the small, empty church.

He did not fear Beitris would run from him again; they were bound now as husband and wife. The clan had proof of their union. At least, he hoped she wouldn’t be that foolish.

He stood by a window, watching as her small form was wracked with sobs. Silently he prayed for forgiveness, for some sort of affection from her. He knew he probably asked too much for she saw him as a monster. Yet, the way she had responded to his touch in their bed could not be denied.

Beitris rose and headed toward the church. He waited for her to join him by the window.

Her eyes brimmed with tears. He wiped them away but she would not look at him. She stared out the window. His gaze followed hers as outside, an old woman entered the graveyard and placed flowers on Ragnar’s grave. She turned wide, blue eyes to Conall. “Who is that woman?”

The woman turned, as if she sensed being watched, and Kat saw she had a scarred face.

“Her name is Fonia. She was bitten by a horse when she was young and that’s why her face is marked. She was banished from our clan years ago.”

“Why? And why does she place flowers on my brother’s grave?”

“When she was newly married, she claimed to have made a love potion to arouse her husband’s passions, but instead she poisoned him and he died. She always puts flowers on the graves.”

“She is the outcast ye spoke of before.”

“Aye.”

Kat continued to study the woman whose cheeks were sunken with age and whose dark eyes were filled with sorrow. “She’s been alone since she was banished, all this time, all those years?”

“Yea, ‘tis sad. Fonia visits the dead often. None of the villagers will speak to her. They believe she is a murderess. She spoke to me once, as a lad.”

“What did she say?”

He frowned. “I had given her an apple because she was hungry. She looked at me and said, ‘I thank ye for the apple, lad. But when ye grow to be a man, dunna give things away so easily. And never give yer heart to anyone. The only thing that will ne’er betray ye is the fierce Scottish wind and the rain in Scotland, for it is steadfast.’”

“How sad. Do ye believe she’s a murderess?”

“I was a child then.

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