“Mike?” His name caressed her tongue as it left her mouth in a shocked whisper. It had been so long since she had said it out loud that it sounded foreign to her ears. He stood before her with a weary look in his eyes, but they flooded with hope when they fell on her. Her heart did a small flip.
He looked the same with his dark hair in messy disorder. His lean form stood tall and confident in buckskin breeches and a loose shirt that stretched across the rounded muscles of his shoulders. The rustic look appealed to her love for her new world and she found that she could not look away. His clenched jaw seemed to relax the longer they stared at each other. This man had once been the man of her dreams; her perfect match. Until she learned that he was the son of her enemy and had lied to her about who he was. She now felt the conflicting feelings stir with renewed vigor. Did she hate him or did she love him?
“It’s Leishmann’s brats. This one came here seeking refuge. He was asking to talk to you. He’s Leishmann’s heir. Name’s Cal,” a farmer explained, gesturing towards Mike with his wooden spade and effectively pulling Claire from her jumbled thoughts. Cal, not Mike! She’d almost forgotten he had given her a false name in Tyrell.
“The children are more of that demon’s spawn,” spat Winders, the blacksmith. His old, but still muscular hands clenched around the handle of his heaviest hammer.
For the first time Claire noticed Cal’s protective stance, his hands held shieldingly to either side. Two small girls peered around his legs, eyes wide with fear and shockingly white against their dirt smeared faces. A third head emerged from behind his elbow belonging to a young boy who mimicked Cal’s firm expression despite his quivering shoulders. The boy looked to be twelve or thirteen with limp brown hair and ragged clothing that hung from his slender frame. His eyes cautiously watched the gathering crowd. Cal’s arm relaxed and dropped comfortingly around the shoulder of the smallest girl who had popped a filthy thumb in her mouth.
“It’s okay now, she’s going to take care of us.” His voice stabbed her heart like a thousand needles. She wanted to yell at him for hurting her and at the same time she wanted to throw herself in his arms and beg him to love her. She set her focus on the girls to prevent herself from doing either. The flash of hope in the younger girl’s violet eyes stirred an unknown instinct from deep inside Claire.
She found it hard to look away from the child. She was clothed in a tattered sack with holes cut at the neck and shoulders. Her hair was ratted and filthy, the color indistinguishable from the grey layer of road dust. Claire made a quick assessment of the second girl. She too wore an old sack and was just as dirty. All three looked small and malnourished. Claire’s heart broke at the scope of their neglect and an unfathomable anger filled her, completely snuffing out the warmth and longing she had felt towards Cal.
“These are Leishmann’s children? Why do they look so mistreated?” She asked, glaring at Cal accusingly.
“They were,” Cal answered; his voice as hard as the look that entered his eyes when he registered the tone of her voice. He glanced around at the crowd. “Can we talk somewhere? Somewhere a little more private, please?” Claire’s body began to tremble with rage. Anger for what he had done to her and for the abuse these children must have suffered welled up inside her.
“YOU want to talk with me?” She yelled. “What makes you think I could I even trust a word you say to me? I want you to leave; you have nothing to say that I want to hear.” Cal flinched and from the corner of her eyes she noticed the two girls shrink further behind his legs. The crowd rumbled approvingly at her words, making the boy flinch and tears to well in his terrified eyes. A heavy hand rested on her shoulder.
“Claire, you’re scaring the little ones,” Mark warned gently before he straightened and took control. “Cal, you’ll follow us. The rest of you, get to your posts and keep your eyes open. Minnick! I want scouting parties across the valley to see if they were followed here.”
Claire looked back at the children. Tears filled the older girls eyes, the boy looked at her with shock and the smallest of them began crying with sobs that made her body shudder. Instantly Claire felt ashamed. Despite her anger, she had no right to frighten the children. She patted Mark’s hand, silently thanking him for stopping her, then squatted to eye level with the youngest.
“I’m very sorry, Sweetie. I shouldn’t have yelled like that. I didn’t mean to scare you.” The girl looked up at Cal, but Claire didn’t dare take her eyes from the child to see what look passed between them. “The last time I saw your brother we had a disagreement. I guess I am still mad at him. I am really sorry. I promise I will not yell at him like that again.” The girl peeked at Claire, her heart tearing whimpers softening to hiccups. Cal patted her tiny shoulder encouragingly. “I promise.”
“Are you hungry, Sweetheart?” Keith asked from behind Claire. Hesitantly, the girl glanced up at Cal for encouragement. She took the thumb from her mouth, which glowed a healthy pink and proved to be the only clean spot on the child.
“Des peas.” Her soft lovely voice shook as it clumsily worked out the words. “tan mi tista hab sub?” It took Claire a moment to understand that she wanted to share with her sister. She glared at Cal accusingly, knowing many two year olds who spoke more clearly than this.
“Yes, sweetheart. And so can your brothers,” Mark offered, surprising Claire. There was no objection to feeding the kids, but Cal? Claire hid her rage and offered the small girls her hands, but they immediately shied away.
“She’s nice. She is just mad at me for playing a mean trick on her. Just like James plays on you sometimes. You can hold her hand. She would never hurt you.”
Claire bit her tongue before she could retort and tried to keep her smile sweet. She didn’t consider what he had done a childish joke! While she appreciated his support, she loathed that it was needed. When she offered her hands again, they shyly accepted. The young boy stuck to Cal’s side, keeping his distance from Claire and her brothers.
“This way,” Keith said, motioning towards the inn. It was a relief to enter the cool dim room with its rich smells of food. Keith led the miserable group to a table and caught the attention of the innkeeper. “Xina, I want you to feed these youngsters here whatever they would like. And when they’ve had enough you better give them a sugar cookie too.” Keith winked at the girls who considered him suspiciously.
“Realla? We kin hab won?” The older girl asked looking to Cal for confirmation. Her speech was barely better than her sister’s. Claire bit the side of her cheek and shot a sidelong glare at Cal.
“To start with…maybe even two,” Mark said before Cal could protest. He offered his hands to the girls who only accepted after a confirming nod from Cal. He lifted them onto the bench and called to the boy, “how about you, Sport? You like sugar cookies or are you more a pie sorta fellow?”
He glanced at Cal, then bravely joined them at the table, replying, “I like bowf.”
“Now that is a man’s answer,” Mark winked. The boy attempted to hide a smile, but Claire recognized the bond that was already sprouting between them. Claire made a move to join them, but Keith caught her by the arm and tugged her out of earshot.
“Claire, I know he hurt you, but he also saved your life. Remember that when he speaks to you,” he whispered, giving her arm an encouraging squeeze before letting go and joining the others. When she didn’t move he looked over his shoulder and with his eyes gestured for her to take Cal into the other room.
“This way. They’ll take care of them,” Claire said, not hiding the disgust in her voice. Cal quickly explained to the kids where he was going. All three looked at her suspiciously, but were soon distracted when Xina brought bowls of soup and bread.
Aksara