Annis ducked down quickly behind a tree and slowly glanced a peek around it. She caught a flash of movement, a cloak if she was not mistaken, and watched as it appeared again through the trees, then it stopped suddenly. Had the person heard her? Fear tingled along her spine. Brogan was right, the woods could prove dangerous, especially when spying on someone.
She remained as still as she could and the figure moved again and stopped after only a few steps. He turned then, his face peeking out from the hood of his cloak.
Brogan.
Why was he here again, in nearly the same spot as they were the other day? She got her answer when she heard another set of footfalls. He was meeting someone. Had that been why he had been here the other day? Had he come to meet someone? Had she interrupted his meeting?
She did not dare try and get any closer for fear of being heard and caught and if it were only Brogan, she wouldn’t care. But she did not know who the other person was and that could prove dangerous.
The woods carried sound easily and she listened for their voices to drift to her. She only got bits and pieces, the distance making it difficult to recognize the voices.
“Nothing.”
“Disappointed again.”
“Must try.”
“No choice.”
“No time.”
“Not just you.”
“End it otherwise.”
A flock of birds burst from some of the treetops, startling Annis and the two men sensed it could very well signal that someone approached. She could not hear the last few words they exchanged before they fled in opposite directions. She waited to make sure neither of them lingered about before she crept away as quietly as she could. She picked up speed once she got close to the village and burst into the cottage to find her sisters sitting at the table, worry heavy on their faces.
“What now?” Annis asked, annoyed that life had turned so difficult so rapidly, and joined them at the table.
“Tongues wag that a wife has been chosen for Lord Brogan,” Bliss said.
“Is there proof to these rumors?” Annis asked, fearing she had sealed her own fate. “I thought Lawler and Cadell were leaving to go to another clan.”
“So it was believed, but now tongues wag otherwise,” Bliss said.
“Then what truly is the truth?” Annis asked, hoping it was nothing more than gossip, something villagers loved to spread.
“I do not know,” Bliss said, feeling more helpless than she ever had. “But I do worry.”
“What are we to do if it is true?” Elysia asked.
“I assume you believe that I have been chosen to be Lord Brogan’s wife,” Annis said, unfortunately, thinking the same herself.
“It would seem likely,” Elysia admitted, wishing it was not so.
“Then there is little we can do.” Annis did not want to believe her own words.
“Our worry could all be for naught,” Bliss said and saw on their grim faces that none of them believed that. “I will think of something,” she assured her sisters.
“I know you hope to,” Annis said, “but there is little chance of that now. And from what I just heard in the woods, there is little chance of being rid of this curse that has troubled so many.”
“What do you mean?” Elysia asked.
“I hid while Brogan met with another man and could hear only snippets of their conversation,” Annis explained. “From what I could gather they were disappointed again and time was not on their side. I imagine they referred to whatever it was they search for, and I can only assume it has something to do with what Brogan said about the curse being fulfilled yet him thinking it impossible.”
Elysia and Bliss stared at Annis, not saying a word.
“What?” Annis asked.
“You don’t call him Lord Brogan,” Elysia said.
“When necessary I do,” Annis said, annoyed she had not caught her mistake.
“Things are changing here much too rapidly,” Bliss said. “I fear I cannot protect you both as I should.”
“You cannot protect us forever,” Annis cautioned.
“I do not want either of you forced into marriage. I would do anything to prevent that,” Bliss said and turned worried eyes on Elysia. “You need to be cautious around Clyde. He has it in his mind to wed you.”
“Not likely,” Annis said. “He raises his hand far too easily and far too often. No woman is safe with him. Saber, on the other hand…” Annis smiled.
Elysia blushed.
“I must agree with Annis on this. Saber appears a good man. It might be wise to wed him,” Bliss said.
Elysia’s blush deepened. “He has made no mention of marriage and I barely know him.”
“He purposely comes here for you to tend his finger that needs no more tending,” Annis said.
“He comes here to drink the brew and take the syrup for his throat,” Elysia corrected.
“That is nothing more than an excuse,” Annis said. “Anyone can see that he favors you and let me point out that I think you favor him as well.”