A burst of pride warmed Abigail’s insides to be married to such a fine man. She did not know what her sister Emily had found so lacking in Talorc of the Sinclairs, but Abigail thought him to be a king among men. Her feelings for him grew steadily with each passing day and her plan to rejoin her sister became a secondary consideration to the hope of staying with the man she was coming to love permanently.
All was not blooming roses and sunshine among the Sinclairs for her, however. Hiding her affliction became increasingly difficult the more people she came to know and the greater the clan’s acceptance of her grew. Every night she went to bed thanking God for another day that her secret had not been revealed.
And while Una’s attitude had markedly improved, Osgard’s had not. Oh, he was careful enough in her husband’s presence, but when they were alone, he often made hurtful comments to Abigail. Una told her to ignore the old man’s words as he wasn’t really pleasant to anyone.
Sometimes that was a harder task to undertake than others. Like one morning when he “kept her company” while she mended one of Talorc’s shirts in the great hall.
“I suppose you’ve noticed you’re never left alone.”
It was difficult to sew and watch the older man’s lips, but Abigail had spent years learning to do this sort of thing. Thank goodness. The last person she wanted learning of her deafness was the crotchety old man.
“Yes, I had noted it.” How could she not? She’d assumed her husband was watching out for her safety and felt good because of it.
“Ye know ’tis because your laird and your clan dinna trust you.”
She stared at him, at a loss how to respond. She could not be sure he was lying, but she hated to think his words could be true.
He nodded, warming to his theme. “Ye cannot be left without supervision lest ye betray us in some fashion.”
Tears burned the back of her eyes, but she absolutely refused to show weakness in front of the cranky old man. She focused her attention completely on the small stitches she made with her needle, unwilling to dignify the barb with an answer.
It was easy to ignore him since she didn’t even know if he was speaking unless she looked at him, and that she refused to do. He’d pricked her with enough poison for one day.
Over the next few days, she wondered which was the truth: that her constant escort was the result of her husband’s concern for her safety or her trustworthiness? She was too disheartened by the prospect of the latter to ask one of her new friends for their opinion.
Even with Osgard’s animosity and the stress of hiding her inability to hear, Abigail found her life among the Sinclairs the happiest it had been since her sister Emily had come north.
The only thing missing was Emily herself. Even though Abigail no longer wanted to go live with the Balmoral, she desperately wished she could see her sister. To be so close and yet still unable to speak to her beloved sibling was hard indeed, but Talorc would not consider a trip to Balmoral Island right now. He said he had spent too much time away from the clan already.
Abigail suggested going by herself with an escort. However, he was even more intransigent on the subject of her traveling there without him. She would not complain, though. Magnus and Susannah had taken Abigail’s gifts and letter to Emily and returned with gifts and a long missive from her sister.
And Talorc had promised to extend an invitation to Emily to come for a visit.
Circin and his brother Muin arrived with two other Donegal warriors, both of whom were not even shaving yet. Guaire arranged for the four to sleep with the unmarried warriors in the barracks built into the thick wall surround the motte and tower. Talorc spent even longer days training with his soldiers after that, and often came to their bed exhausted.
Never too exhausted to make love, however. And no matter how long her own day had been, Abigail’s body always responded to her husband’s passion-filled touch.
Chapter 13
A week after the Donegal soldiers had arrived for training, Talorc found Abigail working what had been an overgrown herb garden, tucked away in the courtyard behind the tower.
She’d discovered it soon after her arrival at the Sinclair holding. Abigail had begun clearing the weeds immediately, thrilled to find something she could make her own. Next to reading, gardening was her favorite pastime. She’d learned much about plant and bed preparation watching the gardeners in her father’s keep and working with them when they allowed it.
She also knew a great deal about healing with herbs, having researched everything she could about the art in hopes of healing her own ailment. Though she’d never discovered a cure for her deaf ears, she had learned to treat a wide variety of illnesses and injuries.
She was digging in the dirt around a fragrant stand of lavender when she noticed her husband’s approach. She looked up with a smile. Though she hated doing so, she avoided him as much as possible during the day on the supposition that the less time they spent in each other’s company, the less likely it would be for him to discover her secret.
Her heart always filled with gladness when she saw him, however. And she was sure it showed on her face. “Good day, Talorc.”
Her current escort bowed to his laird in greeting. Talorc returned the greeting and then dismissed the young soldier to other duties.
“You plan to rescue my mother’s garden?” he asked Abigail.
Shocked, she rocked back onto her heels. “This was your mother’s garden?”
“Aye.”
“She was an herbalist?”
He gave Abigail that look that said she was still a mystery to him and he blamed it on her English roots. “She studied the art of healing both body and spirit with herbs, if that is what you mean.”
Abigail nodded. “I wish I could have known her.”
For a woman who had gone so long speaking so very little, Abigail too often found her foot in her mouth now.
Thankfully, Talorc did not look offended by her unthinking observation. “I too wish you had that opportunity.”
“Thank you.” She bit her lip. “Does it bother you I am working in her garden?” Perhaps it had become so overgrown because Talorc had not wanted anyone else to touch his mother’s plants.
“No. It is fitting.”
“Because I am now lady of the Sinclairs as she was?”
“Because you are my wife and a sweet angel. She would have liked you.”
Abigail’s heart was about burst from the praise. “Thank you for saying so.”
“It is never a hardship to speak the truth.”
If only he knew. Some truths caused nothing but pain.
“She kept a diary of her recipes. Perhaps you would like it?” he asked.
Warmth suffused Abigail. “I cannot think of anything I should like better.”
“Nothing, my angel?” he asked with a wicked glint in his blue eyes.
She felt a blush crawl up her neck and could not speak in reply to save her life. She loved this playful side to her husband and saw it all too rarely.
“Thank you,” she said, meaning both his generosity and for sharing this side of himself with her.
“You need not thank me, but if you insist, you can do so by waiting for your escort before coming down the stairs of a morning.” His frown was marred by the twinkle in his gaze.
She grinned. “I’ll consider it.” But they both knew she wouldn’t.
It was shaping up to be one of those arguments like the one between the blacksmith and his wife regarding the disparity between the Sinclair and Balmoral clans. Neither held any true rancor over the subject, but neither would they change their view in regard to it. It felt good to have something like that between her and Talorc, something so normal and domestic.
“I now understand why you argued so fiercely for me to give my clan a month to get used to you. You were hoping that by showing leniency, I would learn to tolerate your flaunting of my authority.”