“The Lucettes, aside from Claud’s family, are good allies and good people. There was nay any reason to be suspicious of them. Of course, I was ne’er allowed to see any of the other Lucettes, either. I fear I thought they ne’er wished my company, but now I ken that the Lucettes or Claud made sure none of them came to visit, either.”
“’Tis the way of such people. They cannae have the ones who care for ye come anywhere near. Claud certainly couldnae allow it or all of his lies would have been revealed and one of us would have freed ye of the trap he had put ye in.”
She sighed. “Brian told ye everything, didnae he?” She had the feeling that Brian had done so because he was angry at what he saw as their neglect.
“About how Claud abused ye? Aye.”
“He ne’er hit me, Callum.”
“What he did was still abuse.”
“I ken it now. Brian made me see that, although it did take a while for it to become clear to me.”
“I will confess that it took me a while to ken how ye didnae see what he was doing from the verra start. Then I understood that what he did was feed ye a slow poison.”
“That is exactly what Brian calls it. Insidious is what it was. Rather like that wee drop of water that slowly wears a hollow in a rock. When I became aware of what he had done to me, I was ashamed. Why had I allowed it? I have thought about it a lot and have decided that I wasnae as certain of myself as I had thought I was. A part of me accepted the implication that I needed a great deal of improvement. I also come from a clan with a lot of strong, good marriages. I wanted that for myself and I think I was willing to believe Claud wanted that, too. Many of his criticisms were weel disguised as advice.” She shrugged. “It doesnae matter. I am recovering. I dinnae e’en hear his voice in my head as often as I did before.”
“I think ye are still wounded enough that ye now hesitate to reach for what ye want.”
“Both people must want it, Callum,” she said quietly, knowing that he spoke of Brian.
“Aye, but that doesnae mean one cannae at least try to convince the other that they both want the same thing.”
She laughed with him and promised him she would think about it. There was some wisdom in his jesting words, however, she thought as she finally left the garden to seek her bed. One could not force love from a person, but that did not mean one had to just sit and wait, hoping it would grow. She could, at the very least, try to show Brian that there was love just waiting for him if he wanted it.
What she knew she could not do was openly declare her love and hope for the best. If Brian could not have his mind changed about sending her home, she did not want to leave knowing she had handed him her heart only to have it tossed aside. Arianna decided that what she needed to do was show him in every way she could that she cared for him. If he wanted her as some thought he did, he would see how she cared and ask her to stay.
Brian woke to the soft sound of Arianna’s voice. He had heard it often during his recovery. The way she had cared for him as he had healed made him think she had some deep feelings for him. He tried not to let that tempt him into reaching for what he knew he could not have. He saw no harm in basking in her warmth for a little while longer, though.
“Ah, ye are awake,” she said, and hurried back to the side of his bed to kiss his cheek. “Hungry?”
“Och, aye,” he said as he sat up and rested against the pillows she stacked behind his back. “I will be glad to get out of this bed, too. A fortnight abed is too long.”
“I ne’er liked being bedridden, either. I once thought that the sun only came out when I was too ill to enjoy it.”
He laughed and then murmured his pleasure when she set a tray of hearty meat, bread, and cheese before him. Another sure sign that he was healed for Fiona was very strict about what an injured or ill person could eat. This food was only for the healthy.
Arianna kept him entertained with tales of what everyone was doing while he ate. It was evident that she had settled in nicely at Scarglas. He knew she and Fiona had become very close. He prayed Arianna would not be too hurt when he sent her home.
Brian then wondered if she was reluctant to leave because she still thought her family had deserted her. That wound had been deep and he doubted it was fully healed yet. Arianna had the sense to know it was not her family’s fault, not entirely, but that did not mean she was eager to face them all.
“So, your cousins are still lurking about?” he asked as he picked up his tankard and then inhaled the scent of good strong ale, another thing Fiona had denied him while he healed.
“Just Callum and Uven,” she replied. “Brett and Harcourt had to leave as they had places they had promised to be.” She frowned. “I have the feeling there is something troubling Brett but he didnae tell me what. I think he got tired of me asking him if everything was fine.” She smiled. “Might be why he left.”
“Could have given him a nudge but I suspicion it was more about some place they had said they would be, some promise they had made. And, at times, a mon doesnae want to talk about what troubles him, nay if it is personal.”