Page 15 of The Highlander's Virgin Nun
Caelan sighed, but he was not surprised.
“Thank ye for lookin’. Might be time to start questionin’ our allies.”
“I agree, it has to be someone we ken,” Jayden concurred. “They ken too much about where ye will be andwhenfor them to be uninvolved.”
“Caelan,” Alexandra spoke up. Caelan turned to her. “Here comes Michaela. She wants to check ye over.”
“There ye are, lad,” Michaela croaked as she hobbled towards him.
She was an older woman with long gray hair, a hunched back from age, and the most familiar warm and tender eyes he could imagine.
Michaela had been present in his life for as long as he could remember. He was sure she had even helped his mother to birth him. She never ate dinner with everyone, preferring to use the time for socializing, and was generally late to everything, including dinner. She was also one of the few people who never called himMe Laird, and he supposed it was for no other reason than the fact that she knew him too well.
“Good evenin’, Michaela. How are ye?”
“I’m fine, lad. It is ye I am here to ask that question. I hear ye found yerself in another battle today?”
“Aye, Michaela. But I’m well, honestly. Nae even a scratch.”
“Ah,” she breathed, shaking her head. “Yer skin may be unmarked, but that doesnae mean the same for yer soul. Ye will have to give me yer time in the mornin’ to assess ye fully.”
“I will try to find the time, Michaela, thank ye.”
Caelan did not feel in need of any healing, nor was he worried about hidden injuries, but he did appreciate her time and wisdom. Michaela had noticed illnesses far before they had shown externally in many members of his family.
She predicted pregnancies in their earliest stages before the belly had even begun to swell. She had cured the pains of the body and the pains of the mind for generations long before him. He would always have time for her.
“Michaela, this is—” Caelan began to introduce Rosaline, but quickly realized that he did not need to.
“Ah, greetings, lass. Ye are soon to be our new Lady Sinclair, aye?”
Michaela hobbled past Caelan and came to stand beside Rosaline. She placed a hand on her back and greeted her warmly.
Rosaline returned the warmth with a nod. “I’m Rosaline.”
“Aye, Rosaline, that’s right. It is lovely to meet ye, lass. If this lad gives ye any trouble, ye just tell me, all right? I’ve given him trouble more times than if he were me own son, and I dinnae intend to stop just because he’s the big Laird now.”
Michaela managed to coax a small laugh from Rosaline, and Caelan drank it in. Her lips pulled back to reveal perfectly straight, white teeth, and her eyes lit up as they crinkled at the corners. She had seemed too reserved, too self-contained for anyone to make her laugh. He was glad to know that it was possible, and was thus determined to make it happen sometime.
Michaela moved on, greeting a few more elders at the table, adored by all, before retiring from the hall to eat in her rooms as usual.
Caelan returned his focus to his food, ravenous after a long day.
“The dress looks lovely on ye, Rosaline,” he overheard Alexandra say to his bride. “It fits ye just right, and that color is just divine on ye—brings out yer brown eyes.”
“Thank ye,” Rosaline uttered, her voice almost a whisper.
“It’s lovely in these warmer months nae to have to walk around with so many furs on. We must remember it and savor the luxury when it comes around, I think,” Alexandra continued, chatty as always.
Caelan saw Rosaline nod in reply only out of the corner of his eye as he continued eating, and turned to her. She did not engage in further discussion. He knew she was intelligent and not shy from the afternoon’s ride with her. She had spoken well, albeit not the entire time, but she was articulate. And Alexandra was one of the easiest people to talk to.
As he wondered further what might be wrong, he looked at her hands, which, while holding her fork, simply moved food around the plate, not bringing a bite to her mouth. For a few more minutes, he observed her out of the corner of his eye, pretending to return to his meal, and saw her only take one bite of bread.
He was about to ask if the food was to her liking when his eyes trailed further up her wrist and arm.
She was very skinny. Her skin wrapped around her bones like tight fabric, not pulling but vaguely showing the outlines of her skeleton. Her waist, tiny in the dress, was not even meeting the lining upon closer inspection.
She was very slim, indeed.
