The Witch of Black Isle by Keira Montclair
Chapter Nineteen
As Ethan strode inside the gates, he came upon Cori, who stopped just for a moment and said, “I still love you, Ethan. But that lass is daft and dangerous.”
“Why do you say that?” He couldn’t help but notice that Cori appeared a bit ruffled, her gown askew in spots and dirty as if she’d taken a fall. “Did something happen? You are a bit of a mess.”
“Never mind how I look. I am warning you about the lass with the gold in her hair. She’s cold and ruthless.”
“Why would you know that of her?” Ethan was struck by the true reason behind Cori’s words. Shaw would tell him she was jealous of Jennet. Could that be so? It was an emotion he didn’t understand, but his brothers loved to speak of two lasses crooning over the same man.
“Because. Just because. I’ve heard the rumors, and if you choose her over me, you’re making a terrible mistake.” Swiping a few strands of hair from her face, she spun on her heel and left.
Ethan didn’t know what to make of it, but he intended to find out. Shaw had stopped to speak with Marcas, so he waved to him and headed inside to find Jennet. The women hadn’t been near the burn, so he thought he’d look in the courtyard. He was nearly through the gates when he felt a tug on his tunic. He turned around, expecting to see one of his brothers, but it was the young lad name Runi, son of the healer Rune.
“What is it?” he asked.
Runi stared up at him, quite seriously, then said, “’Tis the lass you like. Be careful. Trouble is headed her way.”
“How would you know that? And how do you know which lass I like?”
Runi had dark red hair and a kind smile but haunted eyes, as though he knew something he couldn’t tell. He’d looked the same earlier. “I saw you with her. The pretty one with the brown hair with streaks of gold. She’s in trouble.”
“Now?”
“Nay, but she will be.”
Ethan knelt down so he could look into the lad’s eyes. “And why are you so certain about this, Runi?”
“Because I can see things. Here.” He pointed to his head. “When I sleep, I have dreams that come true sometimes. She was in my dream. I didn’t like it. Papa told me to warn you. He called me a true seer.”
“What happened in your dream?”
“Something with water. ’Tis all I recall. I must return to Papa.” With a quick smile, he pivoted and ran through the crowd.
A seer. His sire was never sure he believed in them, but many people did. Tara said her sister was a seer, so maybe he should talk to her. He made his way through the crowd, now moving into the courtyard for the roasted pig that would be done soon. As he passed into the courtyard, he caught groups of people stopping to stare at him, as if he were the chieftain or carrying a boar over his shoulders. Why would they be staring at him?
Focusing on the people who stopped to stare at him, not even trying to be the least bit discreet, he couldn’t help but wonder what he’d done to make his peers so blatantly rude. He heard whispers and saw fingers pointing toward him. The whispers were about a lass. He perked his ears up to give the wagging tongues his complete attention.
He moved slowly, catching whatever conversation he could.
“He wishes to marry one of the healers.”
“Said she’s a witch.”
“…plenty of roasted pig for all of us.”
“They say she’ll curse all the Miltons.”
“Ludan doesn’t trust her. Telling the chief.”
“Does Matheson know she’s a witch?”
“She wants to live on Black Isle.”
“…must stop her from…”
He could only pick up bits and pieces of conversation, but he was sure of one thing. The rumor about Jennet being a witch was everywhere, and he knew that once rumors started, they were hard to stop. It was as if they’d all been in the forest when she’d told the reivers she was a witch and threatened to curse them.
He was fortunate to see Tara out of the corner of his eye. They were in the garden, away from the crowd milling about for the roasted pig. A fence protected the herbs by keeping everyone away. He headed their way, doing his best to shut out the conversations so as not to become too upset, though it was difficult.
Once he was close enough, he called out to them. “Jennet, you are hale?”
“Aye,” she answered, blushing a light shade of red. “I was talking about my sire. I got a wee bit emotional over his condition, wishing I knew for sure how he was. You look upset. What is it?”
“Do you believe in seers?” Under these circumstances, he decided to get straight to the point. If danger was indeed imminent, there would be no time to waste. He opened the gate to the herb garden and strode down the path. He stopped in front of the bench where Brigid and Jennet sat. Tara stood and leaned against a tree.
Jennet looked at Tara and Brigid, her lips pursed and the tiny lines between her brow becoming more furrowed.
Tara jumped right into the conversation. “I definitely do. My sister, Riley, is a seer. Why do you ask?”
“Do you believe every dream your sister has?”
“Nay. Sometimes her visions come to her in her dreams, other times they come while she is awake. But those are much more disconcerting. More likely to be a dead person trying to speak to someone they left behind. Have you met a seer?” Tara stepped closer, her interest piqued by the topic. Her freckles across her nose were much more visible in the daylight. Ethan hadn’t noticed them on her before, but Tara was quite pretty.
Not as pretty as Jennet, though.
Ethan continued. “The new healer we met. His son is a seer. Rune sent his son to tell me he had a dream last night that Jennet was going to be in trouble.”
“In what way?” Brigid asked, squeezing Jennet’s hand.
“He didn’t say. Just that it had something to do with water and the healer with the golden strands in her hair.”
Brigid and Tara both turned to stare at Jennet. Tara let out a little gasp.
“I don’t believe everything I hear, Ethan. I could sprain an ankle and Runi would be considered correct. If you believe it, it does not have to be something truly bad,” Jennet tried to rationalize.
“You must be verra careful, Jennet. Shaw said I must warn you.” Ethan was worried, but he didn’t wish to upset Jennet any more than she already was. Worry about her sire was probably taxing enough for her, but she had to understand the situation…as well as why he couldn’t leave her alone.
“About what?”
“Cori wishes to marry me, and my brothers worry she’ll have Alva tell her brother to get rid of you. Shaw said I should warn you because Alva usually gets her way and so does Cori. He said you should never go out alone while you’re here. Now that the seer said you could be in trouble, I think I will choose to stay by your side for the rest of the night. You need a protector.”
“Ethan,” she sighed, “I don’t need a protector.”
“Aye, you do,” Tara said. “And we’ll not budge on this.” She held her finger up to point at her cousin. “Cori just visited us, Ethan, so we know exactly what she wants. She told us.”
Brigid added, “And based on that visit and the seer, I agree with both of them.” She turned to Jennet. “Just allow Ethan to be by your side the rest of the night.” Brigid held her hands up as if to say, why fight it?
Jennet started to argue with them, but then her eyes caught something in the crowd. She paled in front of Ethan, and the fear in her gaze made him want to kill someone.
“What is it?” Brigid asked her, noticing the same as Ethan.
Ethan spun around to see what had caused her such a fright. Once he saw what she had seen, the look on his face matched hers. Two of the four men who’d attacked Jennet were fast approaching.
Tara grabbed Jennet’s hand. “What is it, Jennet? Tell us. Please!”
“Who is it?” Brigid whispered, her hand rubbing Jennet’s back. “Just tell us who.”
“Slim and Red.”
“Who?” Brigid looked over at the crowd.
Ethan didn’t know what to do. Should he go after them or stay with Jennet? He decided to do exactly what everyone wanted him to do. He would stay by Jennet’s side to protect her. “I’ll stay with you, Jennet. I’ll not let them get to you.”
“Who?” Tara was kneading her hands in near panic.
“Two of the four men who accosted her. They’re here.” He glanced back over his shoulder, then said, “Or they were. Now they’re gone.”
Jennet whispered, “They just disappeared.”