“I dinnae.”
“Duncan’s death was sudden and gruesome, Bryce. Edna was only ten and couldnae even understand what had happened. I cannae ruin the image of her father in front of her. I have to keep alive the one that lives on in her heart. She must not be exposed to the truths that I have suffered all my life,” her mother replied as Edna’s breath hitched. This house clearly held secrets that she was not privy to. Her mother was keeping something important from her, something she needed to know.
“Is that all, Freya? Or do ye still love that man?” Bryce asked, his tone growing stern.
“I can never stop loving him, Bryce. I loved him with all my heart, and I will always love him.”
“Even after what he did to ye?”
“Yes.”
“Freya, how could ye?” Bryce questioned, his voice rising an octave. “That man was disloyal towards ye. He cheated on ye, and he himself is the reason that he is dead today. If he wasnae involved in that affair, he would have been alive today and ye ken that.”
“Bryce, lower yer voice. I dinnae want Edna tae hear a word of this,” her mother whispered loud enough that it reached Edna’s ears.
Edna remained motionless, forgetting to breathe. Theentire situation had finally become clear to her. Her father had been murdered as a result of his own antics, and she and her mother had been left to suffer for the rest of their lives. She couldn't figure out why shehad kept the truth from her for so long. She wished she'd known sooner. Edna was still stunned, her mind refusing to process what had just been revealed.
“I wish she would hear it. She needs to ken,”
Bryce said, and the glass slipped from Edna's hand andshattered with a loud crash. She was frozen in place. She knew her mother and Bryce had to have heard the shattered glass and realized she was there. However, s he couldn't tell her she had overheard the conversation — she was determined to keep thesecret hidden.
She knelt down and began picking up broken glass from the floor. She heard approaching footsteps and looked up to see Bryce and her mother standing right there, staring down at her. Edna could see the worry on her mother’s features.
"I apologize for bothering you. I was just very sleepy, and the glass fell from my hands," she lied as she stood up.Her mother walked forward and carefully removed the pieces from her hand before throwing them away.
"Are yeokay, my bairn?" sheasked, lovingly touching her shoulder, and Edna forced a smile as she nodded. She couldn't bother herfurther by revealing that she had heard everything — she waspreoccupied as it is.
“I am. It is late, mama. Ye should rest,” Edna said, throwing a glance towards Bryce who was standing there quietly.
“Yes, I will just see Bryce out and then go,” her mother replied with a smile. “Ye must sleep a bit, my dear. Ye look tired.”
“Goodnight.” Edna walked away from the kitchen and quickly ascended the stairs back to her bedchamber. She was tired, to be sure, but sleep refused to claimher. All she could think about was the affair that had just unfolded in front of her eyes, and she wondered what other secrets lay hidden behind these walls and outside that she was still unaware of.
—
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CHAPTERFIVE
The night was darkbut Ronin couldn't bear the thought of sleeping. He was tired, but restingwas out of the question. Even after he returned to the castle, the events of the night lingered in his mind.
“Ronin, ye must sleep now,” Lachlan observed him pacing frantically around the bedchamber. He was completely relaxed as he sat on Ronin's bed. He was overjoyed with his friend'svictory over Bryce and had invited him to celebrate.