Theo turned his attention back to his work as he continued his questioning.
“And where were ye when it happened?” he asked, daring to steal a glimpse at her.
Lavina closed her eyes, remembering the sun on her skin, her sister’s dirt-caked hands. “In the castle, cleanin’ up from our time in the garden. Maisie and I had just planted foxglove as we do every spring, expectin’ the storm to water them for us. We had just stepped in when the rain came.
“Maisie had gone to change in the other room when I spotted Johan ridin’ hard through the side window. Something in melurched when I saw him, and I just kenned something wasnae right.” Her voice cracked with the emotion she tried to keep under control. “Then, Johan came runnin’, blood on his face, sayin’ that our parents were gone as well as our braither.”
She looked away, blinking furiously. Out of the corner of her eye, she noticed Theo’s head bobbing slowly as his stoic expression shifted.
“Did ye get a chance to see the bodies before they were buried?”
“Nay.” Her voice was barely a breath. “They were buried before we were allowed to go to the hall to mourn. Johan said the bodies were too…” Her lips trembled. “Too broken.”
Theo’s silence rattled her. She wished she knew what was going through his mind.
He paused his work and leaned on the rake, his eyes fixed on her. There was no malice or contempt in his gaze, but there was something she couldn’t put her finger on. Something in the way he tilted his head and looked at her.
“That’s rather convenient, wouldnae ye say?” he asked with an arched eyebrow.
“What are ye sayin’?” she demanded, her voice rising with an anger she couldn’t quell.
It was as if she had stepped into a fiery furnace; every inch of her skin burned as her blood boiled with ire, threatening to cook her alive. But no matter what she did to calm herself, the memories of those dark days tormented her.
“That I shouldnae have believed him? That I should have questioned a man who swore to give his life for me faither? I was sixteen and terrified! Me world collapsed that night.”
“Ye came into me home, accusin’ me of killin’ them, when ye didnae even see their bodies,” Theo mumbled quietly as he propped the rake against the wall.
He moved toward her, closing the space between them in a flash. Lavina’s eyes widened as he towered over her.
“Ye already had it in yer head that I was a monster. Granted, I may carry the scars, but Lavina, I dinnae think that makes me the beast here.”
She flinched as though his words had struck her. “I didnae mean to?—”
“But ye did.” He stepped into her, his frame a towering wall of restrained fury. “Ye looked at me and saw the man ye needed to blame. And I can understand that. Hell, I’ve even played the part for me clan. But I didnae murder yer family.”
She backed away, her heart pounding, but her pride jabbed her like thorns. The fact that he remained calm and collected while her anger smoldered only added fuel to her fire.
“And ye ask these questions like ye ken something I dinnae. Well, just tell me.”
He stared her down. “And what do ye want to ken? What secret knowledge do ye think I have over ye?”
They circled one another slowly, like wolves sniffing out the truth in the other. Lavina’s body tingled as if her ire was hot oil popping from water dropped on it.
“Where were ye five years ago?” she asked, her voice laced with accusation. “During the spring?”
Theo stiffened. His eyes darkened, and his lips thinned. “How many ways must I tell ye the same thing?”
She arched an eyebrow, watching him carefully. “Until I’m convinced otherwise.”
“Ye came out here to apologize for accusin’ me of murderin’ yer family, and yet here ye are again, doin’ the exact same thing,” he huffed, throwing his hand up in frustration. “I dinnae have time for this. If ye want to go around in circles, go play with Amber. I’m sure she’ll love the game. I have more important things to do.”
“Why cannae ye answer the question? Where were ye five years ago?”
Theo hesitated, clenching his jaw. “I wasnae in a good place.”
“I deserve a better answer than that,” she insisted, folding her arms over her chest.
His voice was raw when he spoke again. “I was lost at sea. A storm caught me boat off the northern coast. I was stranded for weeks without proper food and water, and nearly lost me sanity. Me boat was destroyed, and me leg was nearly shattered. I had to drag meself across rock and tide to survive.”
