“Please do,” Flora said, trying to make sense of why Henry might be a foe rather than a friend.
“A couple of days here and while the Highlands certainly fascinate, I still cannot understand why you would give up life in Edinburgh or England for that matter. Life teems in those places. Knowledge is around every corner and its power grows, scholarly men helping to forge a wise leadership. Your da was one of them. Many respected his opinions. His lecture rooms overflowed with men eager to hear him speak. Do you not miss those days? Would you not like to partake of them again? I would bring you along with me to lectures just as your da did. You could continue to gain the knowledge you sought with such passion.”
“There was a time I would have thought I could have lived no other way, Henry. But then I knew no other way of life and now I realize it was an insulated life. Here in the Highlands a vastness of knowledge was opened to me, and I wake every day looking forward to what I will learn, to talk with the family I have gained, and most importantly to share a loving future with my husband. But enough of that, Henry, tell me what you have been doing. You mentioned a trip. Why did you go?”
“France,” he said.
“That is where my mum and da were. Did you see them there?”
“They were in Paris. I was on the coast,” he said. “I was devastated when I returned and found out they had died, and you were gone. I wish I could have been there for you. Things would have been different if I had been.”
“Lord Simon helped me a great deal. I do not know what I would have done without him.”
Henry reached out and rested his hand over Flora’s. “I am sorry to tell you this, but it was not long after you departed Edinburgh that Lord Simon died unexpectedly.”
“Oh no!” Flora said, aghast at the news. “He was such a good friend to my da and mum, and to me as well. What happened to him?”
“I was told the physicians believe it was his heart. It just gave out. Though I am a scholarly man and would accept their word, I believe his heart broke and never healed after losing Lady Adare.”
“On that we agree, Henry,” Flora said, her heart aching for a friend she had deeply respected.
“I hear you have a ghost in the keep,” Henry said with a chuckle. “You know that is nonsense. There are no such things as ghosts.”
As if Henry’s word had insulted, a powerful roar ripped through the Great Hall with such force, it blew out all the candles, almost doused the hearth’s flames, and turned the room icy cold. The servants did not hesitate, they ran screaming out of the keep.
And so did Henry.
CHAPTER28
Flora sat alone in the Great Hall for a moment and was pleased when Anwen entered, looking not at all frightened.
“I feared this would happen with how bad the wind is today, my lady.”
“I expected it as well, Anwen,” Flora said as she got to her feet. “Give them time to calm, then see that they return to their tasks. They need to learn there is nothing to fear in the keep, though I will admit that was the strongest moan yet.”
“And unlike the others, more sorrowful,” Anwen said. “You will remain here, my lady?”
“Aye, Anwen, and please tell my husband if you should see him that I have gone to the tower. I worry what the forceful wind might had done to those crumbling stones.”
“You should not go there alone, my lady,” Anwen cautioned.
“There is nothing to fear there, Anwen. I will be fine.”
“I will get the message to Lord Torin, right after I speak with and calm the servants,” Anwen said and hurried off.
Flora reached for one of the smaller torches in the Great Hall as she headed to the stairs, thinking how Anwen was right. The moan was unlike the others, sorrow heavy in it. She climbed the staircase cautiously suspecting the wind most likely blew out some, if not all, of the torches along the stairwell.
As she suspected, she stopped to light a few torches along the way. She was surprised that Henry ran as he did. His tempered manner sometimes could be misconstrued for lack of strength but being a knowledgeable man, certain things would not easily frighten him. She had expected curiosity from him, not retreat. She stopped, her brow wrinkling as she tried to recall a memory about Henry. Was it something he did? Something he said? Something said about him?
I do not believe Henry would be a suitable husband for Flora.
She had forgotten that she had heard Lord Simon say that as she waited outside his solar for them to leave for the abbey while he spoke privately with someone. But who? Her da and mum had already left for France.
Henry would know how to handle her never-ending chatter, even with her words being much like weapons, hitting her mark every time.
That was where she had heard that remark, but who had said it? She struggled to remember.
Flora only aims and hits at those deserving of it, and I doubt any man would tolerate it for long, even your nephew. I regret to say that I cannot help you in your endeavor to see Henry wed Flora.