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Edwina smiled. “Aye, sweet Miriam. I’ll tell ye every tale I ken.”
“Do ye happen to ken anythin’ about the faerie ring that’s near to Aunt Melissa’s cottage?” Elspeth prompted. “Miriam showed it to me a few weeks ago. I told her it couldnae be a real one, but a true faerie would ken if it is.”
Edwina scratched her chin, putting on a performance. “Och, in that wee glade off the forest road after ye’ve turned at the signpost?”
“Aye, that’s it!” Miriam squealed. “That’s where I live!”
“That’s where Auld Bonny Shillelagh lives, too.” Edwina’s chest flooded with warmth, seeing the little girl’s excitement. “Nae a faerie, but a wee sprite. She’ll cause nay harm, but there’s always mischief when she’s awake. Do ye ever put somethin’ somewhere in the evenin’ and when ye wake up, it’s nowhere to be found?”
Miriam nodded slowly. “Me seashells. I put ‘em on the kitchen table. In the mornin’, they were gone.”
“That’ll be Auld Bonny, pinchin’ them for her collection. It used to be the finest in the faerie world,” Edwina told her. “If ye leave a wee saucer of milk out for her, once a month, she’ll nae steal anymore of yer things.”
Miriam grinned. “Will I see her if I wait at night?”
“Och, nay. She’s much too swift on her feet to be seen. If ye’re lucky, ye might see her milky footprints, though. Auld Bonny has always been a messy drinker.” Edwina hoped she would not get into trouble for weaving such a tale, but it was a story that her father had told her when she was little. She had probably believed in it for longer than she should have, but on occasion, she still left a saucer of milk out for the mischievous little sprite. And, in fairness, she had not lost any of her belongings in a long time, until Kenney decided to remove everything.
Miriam put on an expression of youthful determination. “I’ll leave milk. Auld Bonny cannae have my seashells.”
Just then, Meredith and Melissa returned to the chamber, carrying armfuls of silks and finely woven wools and reams of lace. Jewelry boxes were balanced on top, while Melissa wore four different headpieces upon her head, and Meredith had a tangle of ribbons wrapped around her neck.
Miriam bolted toward her mother, Melissa. “Mama, Mama, I ken a secret!”
“Nay ye daenae,” Elspeth corrected, with a knowing look.
Miriam paused: her face a picture of realization. “I do, Mama! I ken that… Aunt Edwina is goin’ to wear the thistle gown!”
Elspeth and Edwina smiled at one another, allied in their commitment to keeping the magic of faeries alive for the younger girl. Of course, Edwina knew Miriam would eventually tell her mother what she had heard, but Edwina planned to inform Melissa before that could happen. That way, everyone could be involved in the magic.
“The thistle gown.” Meredith nodded her head approvingly. “I kenned it would complement yer complexion, Edwina. That beautiful hair of yers begs for a dark green. Och, and I have just the necklace for it!”
Melissa plucked one of the headpieces off her head—a thin circlet of interweaving silver bands, with small holes to slot wildflowers into. “This would be perfect, Edwina. We can pick some thistles and any other flowers ye like to adorn yer hair.”
“Can I pick some?” Miriam asked.
Melissa kissed the top of her daughter’s head. “Of course ye can, love. Ye and Elspeth can pick the best ones.”
“Now?” Miriam jigged with anticipation.
“Nay now, Love, or the flowers will wilt before we can put them in Edwina’s hair. We can pick them the night before the weddin’ and put them in some water, so they’ll stay fresh. Can ye wait that long?” Melissa chuckled.
Miriam pouted for a moment, before her face cracked into another grin. “I can wait. I’m good at waitin’. I wait for me dinner and I hardly complain.”
The three women laughed at the sweet ignorance of the little girl, filling the chamber with a familial warmth. It cheered Edwina’s soul to be so welcomed by these women, as if she had always belonged. Of course, she had adored her father with all her being, the two of them as thick as thieves, but there had been a distinct lack of women in her life.
As she had never gotten to know her mother, she had never been guided by that maternal hand. Nor had she had many female friends in her life, so this sensation of womanly fellowship was entirely new and exciting and wonderful to her.
“So, shall we adorn ye and see how ye look?” Meredith brandished the necklace she had spoken of.
Edwina nodded. “I think we shall.”
Ye cannae get rid of me now, Felix.Her heart swelled as Meredith and Melissa buzzed around her, trying this necklace and that ring and this headpiece.I fear ye’re nae the only one who has gotten too close.As Kenney had cast her aside, and the rest of her family were all gone, she refused to lose another.
* * *
Bruised and exhausted and so hungry he would have eaten the bark off a tree, Felix limped into the village of Kinloch, leading his weary horse. He had lost the rest of his men when the brigands had erupted from their hideouts like pheasants spooked out of the long grass, the idiots racing off in all directions. Desperate to catch at least one man to interrogate, Felix had ordered his men to give chase, splitting off in order to have the best chance.
The sun had set not long ago, and Kinloch was the closest village to Castle Moore. Even so, it was at least two hours’ ride, and his horse would not manage such a journey without a rest and some good oats.
