Lady of Fire by Melanie Frome

Author:Melanie Frome [Frome, Melanie]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Melanie Frome
Published: 2020-01-09T07:00:00+00:00

Chapter 12

Still gripping the blankets tightly around me, shivering from fright, and feeling a moment of confusion as I woke up in unfamiliar surroundings. All I remembered was the vivid green eyes, but I could not recall if the face had been Damian’s. The silence outside was eery. Having fallen asleep to the sounds of hellhounds outside, I had somehow expected to hear them upon waking. The soft knocking on my door startled me, it was the Abbess.

“Lady MacRae?”

“Come in, Athdara.” I called out.

“I thought I heard ye cry oot? It’s still before sunrise. Are ye alright?”

She sat down on the edge of my bed, and I sat up under the covers.

“Yes, I am thank you for asking. Just had a bad dream.”

“It’s nae wonder, look at what has befallen ye these last few days? May I call ye, Moireach? I ha’ heard that name used by my sister-in-law so often I feel that it is the only name I can imagine calling ye.”

“Of course, you may.”

I managed a polite smile on her behalf.

“Before we meet up wi’ my nephews, I wanted to ha’ some time alone wi’ ye. Would ye walk wi’ me in the garden, Moireach? We can gather some fresh vegetables and herbs for our breakfast.”

After last night’s nightmare, gathering herbs and vegetables was the last thing I wanted to do. I felt as if I had been run over by a runaway carriage. Still, I needed answers, or, at the least, some sort of explanation.

“If you would be so kind as to permit me time to dress? I will be in the garden shortly.”

“As soon as ye can, lass.” her expression turned somber. “There is much I want to share with ye.”

Once in the garden, we walked along the paths and Athdara guided our way along the rows of plants, all the while talking about the various ways to help them grow. I noticed she was gazing left and right and keeping an eye on the proximity of the other nuns who might hear us. Then she directed us towards the furthest corners of the gardens. She was methodical in choosing the right vegetables—carrots, tomatoes and peas. We could now carry on our conversation out of hearing range from the other nuns moving about the grounds carrying out their morning tasks.

“I dinna ken how much ye ha’ been told about yer mother, but I saw her journal in yer hands yesterday,” she said, as she uprooted a carrot. “I apologize if I am jumping ahead in the story, but it is important. I had hoped time would be in our favour, but now I am nae so sure.”

Walking towards the shaded part of the garden, a boxed section filled with herbs, we slowed down. Athdara, still alert to the presence of others, pointed to the chives and the rosemary. I leaned down and started gently pulling from the stems and added them to our basket.

“How much do ye ken o’ the MacKenzie history, Moireach?” she asked.

“To be honest, I didn’t even know about Roderick and Kenneth until yesterday.

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