* * *
Flora caughtsight of her husband and smiled and waved at him then returned to speaking with Enid. She spoke with everyone, but she was particularly interested in talking with the elderly men and women in the clan. She hoped to find out whatever she could about the tower room to make her husband’s decision less troublesome for him.
She had been concerned last night, having been woken so abruptly when his arms rushed off her to find him sitting up in bed staring at what she thought was the door. She had assumed he was dreaming when he asked if she saw the apparition but thinking on it this morning she wondered if she had been wrong. It had been the reason she decided to speak with the elders in the clan besides Philip. Though they were not as old as he was, they might still know something that could help her.
“So, you were born during Lord Hamish’s reign?” Flora asked.
Enid smiled and nodded. “I was and grateful for it as I am now that Lord Torin reigns. He is much like his grandfather, a good, honorable man. Not that I speak ill of Lord Evander or Lord Dermid.” She was quick to add.
“Speak the truth, Enid, they both were not good men.”
Enid shook her head. “It is not good to speak ill of the dead, Marna.”
“Lord Evander cared for only himself and the power he could gain, and Lady Amelia was useless, keeping to herself and caring about no one, not even her son,” Marna said in disgust.
“Was anything told to you about Lord Dermid and his wife?” Flora asked, hoping she might get a hint at why the door had been sealed.
“Lady Roanna,” Marna said, giving a name to the woman. “I do recall myseanmhairsaying something about her having been a sickly woman nearly dying when she gave birth to Lord Hamish. I imagine that is why she never had another bairn.”
“Was anything said about the tower room?” Flora asked, deciding to be more direct.
“Myseanmhairworked in the keep and refused to speak about the tower room,” Enid said. “Whatever she may have known about it, she took to her grave.”
“Probably out of fear,” Marna said, “many whispering about the torture that took place there.”
“Did either of your grandmothers or mums say who was tortured there?” Flora asked, realizing torture had been repeatedly mentioned but no one had ever mentioned the people who may have been tortured.
Both women turned a puzzled look on each other.
“Not that I recall,” Enid said.
Marna thought a bit longer before she responded. “I cannot recall either, but then our grandmothers might have been too fearful to say.”
“True,” Enid agreed.
“How old was Hamish when the room was sealed?” Flora asked.
“Ten and two years maybe,” Marna said, sounding not sure.
What was it her husband had said to Flora about telling a lad not to do something? That it was an invitation for him to do the very thing forbidden to him. Hamish must have known what was going on in that tower room and perhaps out of fear kept the secret it contained not only then but for years to come.
Flora changed the conversation, taking the opportunity to learn more about the Highlands.
The women eagerly answered her endless questions and once done parted with smiles and hopes of talking again soon with them, which both women expressed how very much they would enjoy that.
Flora saw that her husband had lingered in the area, and she was sure he waited around to see that she was safe. She hurried toward him.
“Did you learn much from Enid and Marna?” he asked as she nudged herself in the crook of his arm and he eagerly hugged her against him.
“I did. I am amazed at the love everyone has for the Highlands, though they agree it is not an easy place to live. That it can be harsh and demanding, yet they would live no other place. I cannot wait for the winter to pass. I am eager for the women to teach me about the healing plants that grow in the woods—”
“A place you will not go without me,” Torin ordered.
Flora went right on talking, ignoring his command. “They will also teach me how to dye and spin the wool and how to create a tapestry. I am skilled at stitching, my mum insisting I learn some wifely skills.” She smiled. “I like the wifely skills you teach me the best.”
“So do I,” Torin said and stole a quick kiss before starting them toward the keep.
“Lord Torin!” Kinnell shouted, causing Torin and Flora to turn around.