Barnabus smiled at the memory. “That meant everything to me. I could survive a difficult day on the streets easier knowing someone loved me.”
She set a hand on his chest. “I wish I could’ve known her, Baz.”
“So do I,” he said softly. “You’d have liked each other. I’m certain of it.”
For a moment, they stood in silence, his arms around her, Gemma leaning into his embrace. A wave of memories rushed over him, moments like this one in which holding her had felt peaceful and ... bittersweet. Mingled with them all were the difficult, painful, dangerous moments of his childhood, thepiercing pain of losing his mother, the feeling of failure at never having rescued her from the life she’d hated so much.
After a time, Gemma spoke. “Do you suppose Móirín will be upset if I stay up here and rest for a spell? I know we’re meant to be supper guests.”
“I’ll tell her you’ve had a difficult day and need a bit of peace and time to yourself. She’ll understand.”
Gemma stepped back, breaking the embrace. Her quick smile was forced. He could tell it was.
“Gemma?”
She shook her head. “I’ll be fine. I only need a lie down.” She sat on the edge of the bed.
He closed the door behind him and made his way quickly down the stairs. Móirín was at the bottom, watching him with a question in her eyes.
“Gemma’s had a shattering day. She’s asked to be allowed to rest for a time.”
“Of course. That’s my room you were in. She can stay there all night if she needs to.”
“Thank you.” He popped quickly into the sitting room. “I’m going to be just a touch rude,” he told Brogan. “I need to deliver an urgent message.”
Brogan watched him with narrowed gaze.
Barnabus pulled a single penny from the pocket of his vest and, making certain Brogan saw it but not Vera, flashed the coin to his fellow member of the Dread Penny Society.
Brogan gave a quick nod. “God speed.”
theBachelor
and theBride
by Mr. King
Installment III
in which our Hero encounters theBean-Nighe!
Duncan paused as the trail he was on began to turn. Before he knew it, he would be facing Loch Dreva and the feared Washing Woman. Now was the time to switch his sturdy boots for the soft shoes Granny Winter had provided for him. How much quieter they would be!
The shoes fit him perfectly, which would have been surprising had they come from anyone other than Granny Winter. There was a reason she was so widely assumed to be theCailleach.
He slung his sack on his back and once more began walking carefully and slowly toward his destination, amazed at how quiet his steps had become. However, as he began to hear the sounds of water, his heart pounded so loudly he wasn’t certain the soft-soled shoes would help at all.
Once I see her, I must not look away. Mustn’t make any noise. Mustn’t let her see me. Must snatch her up off the ground. Must require her to answer three questions.
He silently repeated the list as he walked, hoping that by making the instructions quite clear in his mind, he would be able to adhere to them without difficulty. He would have but one chance.
His heart ached as he thought of Sorcha waiting for him on the other side of the hill. She had waited alone for her family all those years ago, not realizing they had been unable to escape the monster as she had. He didn’t want her to suffer like that again. And he most certainly didn’t want to die.
His footsteps, silent under the influence of his borrowed shoes, took him closer and closer to the sound of water. After a time, the swishing sound of water being agitated joined the cacophony. That, he would wager, was theBean-Nighewashing her terrifying shrouds.
Duncan searched the area, determined to know where she was so he wouldn’t accidentally give himself away. Closer and closer he drew. Nearer and nearer he came. A slight rise in the path afforded him a view of the entire loch—its pristine, luminous waters, the mountains on every side. And what appeared to be a haggard old woman hunched over on the shore, her back to him, washing.
TheBean-Nighe.