“So do I,” she replied, smiling at him. They walked on for a few more yards, then she stopped at a large door with a carved frame and the wordsMater Superioron a large brass plaque affixed to it. “Here she is. Her name is Mother Helen, and she is a lovely, gentle lady. She will be delighted at yer gift. Goodbye, Brother Martin.”
“Wait.” He frowned as his gaze met hers again. “May I speak to you before I go?”
She nodded. “Of course. I will be where ye found me.”
Brother Martin was deep in thought as he watched her walk away, then he entered Mother Superior’s study.
* * *
Less than an hour later, Brother Martin went back into the vegetable garden to find Lexie. She had been kneeling down on the ground planting more seeds, and he helped her to her feet.
“I have decided not to become a monk,” he told her suddenly, then he held his hand up as he saw the shock on her face. “Not because of you. Well, partly because you have helped me to see how impossible my life would be in a sheltered community. We both have fine minds. Let us use them.”
Lexie stared at him, her mind racing. “Thank ye, Brother Martin. What will ye do instead?”
“I want to be a teacher and fill young minds with knowledge,” he replied. Then he smiled. “My name is Angus McDade. And yours?”
“Alexa—Lexie Donaldson,” she replied. “I wish ye everything of the best.”
“And you, Lexie,” he replied, smiling.
Then she watched as he waved goodbye and walked away without looking back.
That night she lay awake, thinking. The only reason she was at the nunnery was for food and shelter, and if she could find some way of providing for herself, she could leave this prison forever.
Accordingly, when she was out on her charity work, she began to ask about any work that might be available on the farms. After a few weeks, she found a farmer who needed help in the house and the fields who hired her at once.
Mother Mary Magdalene was shocked but not surprised. “I have seen this coming for a while,” she observed. “Are you sure, Sister Gabriella?”
“I am.” Lexie’s voice was firm and her gaze steady as she looked into the other woman’s eyes. “I am sorry, Mother, but this life is for women who want tae give their lives to God. I want my freedom.”
“Then I will do what I can,” the other woman replied. “But we will be sorry to lose you.”
Lexie looked at Evanna again and came back to the present day. “And that was that,” she said with a shrug, sighing.
“Ye never saw him again?” Evanna asked gently.
Lexie shook her head. “I doubt I ever will,” she replied sadly.
* * *
That same day, Fraser was collecting newly-made barrels from the cooper, Donald Mackieson, and piling them into their cart. The barrels were made of oak, which was a hard, dense wood that was heavy even when the vessels were empty. Donald’s eyes widened as he watched Fraser lift them onto his shoulders and deposit them in his cart.
“Ye know that ye are as strong as an ox,” he said in amazement. “It takes my apprentice an’ me workin’ taegether tae lift one o’ them! How dae ye do it?”
Fraser shrugged. “I have been choppin’ firewood since before I had whiskers,” he answered, laughing. “When I became a soldier, I had tae start doin’ some heavy trainin’, liftin’ rocks, tree trunks, an’ other heavy things, an’ I never got out o’ the habit. I try tae do a bit of weightliftin’ every day. Evanna likes tae watch me, an’ that makes it easier. Sometimes I use her as the weight!”
“Ye will be liftin’ somethin’ nicer than rocks soon, son.” Donald winked and patted him on the back, laughing. “It’s a good thing yer betrothed is no’ too heavy tae be swept off her feet!”
“Aye, an’ she will be. And she will have whatever her heart desires for the rest o’ my life,” Fraser said dreamily, as he saw years and years of contentment ahead of him. Perhaps there would be children. He longed for a son to engage in play fights with and a daughter who would be as beautiful as her mother. But before all that, he longed to make Evanna his, to be inside her beautiful body and show her how much he loved her.
Suddenly, Fraser was jerked out of his reverie by Donald, who was waving a hand in front of his eyes.
“Are ye still with us?” the other man asked, chuckling. “Ye had a silly grin on yer face. Were ye thinkin’ about Evanna?”
Fraser was blushing. Actually blushing like a maid! He covered his face with his hands as he laughed, embarrassed. “I am about tae marry her. Of course I was thinkin’ about her!”
Donald sighed. “My Fiona is gone these ten years now, son,” he said sadly. “I wish I was in yer shoes.”