to rest. Dead because Keevah hadn’t kept her safe. Dead because she’d married a most foul, ugly man. Dead because Keevah had ran away.
It should be Kiernan here with Brigid, nae me. I may have given birth to Brigid, but Kiernan is and always will be her mum.
Lachlan sat in a chair by the door; his legs stretched out and arms over his chest. He dosed off and on only because he knew Euphemie’s man, Charles, had all entrances to the brothel guarded. Both against Dermott as well as the killer at large. He sat, listening at first to Keevah and Brigid whispering, then their steady breaths after falling asleep.
He could not help but wonder what was going through Keevah’s mind. How long had it been since she’d seen her friend or her daughter? Had she given any further thought to his proposal?
He’d marry her today if she’d have him. Together, they could raise Brigid to be a fine woman. Together, they could bring the Chisolms around and make the keep and lands even more prosperous, sans the coin earned from the brothel of course.
Before coming above stairs, he had signed the deed to the building and the business over to Euphemie. He could sense she still didn’t believe there wasn’t a catch, even after signing the document.
In her line of business, ’twas probably prudent to be more a pessimist than your average fellow. They might cater to a higher class of clientele, but it was still a rather shady business.
Tonight, tonight he would have a heartfelt discussion with Keevah. The one he had wished they had been able to have before he left to begin his new life. The one in which he would give her the words of his heart and convince her that marrying him wasn’t such a bad idea.
He must have been more tired than he realized and had fallen into a deep sleep. He didn’t hear Brigid slip from the bed; didn’t even know she was standing right beside him until she tugged on his tunic.
In a soft, sweet whisper she said, “I has to pee and Keevah is asleep.”
He rubbed the sleep from his eyes with the backs of his hands, stood, and took the child by the hand. Quietly, they tiptoed from the room and down the stairs in search of Euphemie.
The moment they reached the second-floor landing, he realized, mayhap, he should have awakened Keevah. There were a few men in the drawing room, and each was surrounded by beautiful women. A few of those women were in nothing but their chemises. The others were dressed in fine gowns. Gowns that revealed a little too much of their bosom.
He picked Brigid up and carried her down the stairs hoping to shield her from the goings on. A woman in a plain brown dress was coming out of the kitchen with a heavy tray just as he was trying to enter.
“What do ye need?” she asked, pausing in the little hallway between the two spaces.
“I has to pee,” Brigid told her.
The woman rolled her eyes and told them to wait.
She returned with an empty tray and a scowl in short order. “Euphemie said nothin’ about child mindin’ when I took the position as cook and housekeeper,” she said as she glowered at Lachlan.
Her scowl disappeared the moment she took Brigid from his arms. “Ye can call me Auntie Bess, lassie. I will help ye.”
Lachlan was much relieved to have the woman’s help. He didn’t know the first thing about children.
Keevah slept like the dead until late in the afternoon. When she woke, she found Brigid had at some point slipped from the bed. Panic rose as she sat upright, her sleepy eyes searching the room before she heard a giggle.
There, on the floor near the brazier sat the two people she loved most in life. They were playing with little wooden toys. Brigid was making the little carved horse ‘gallop’ across the floor. “Then what happened?” she whispered.
“The warrior slayed the infidel, sending him straight to hell,” he whispered back.
Appalled, for she didn’t believe he should be telling such a story to someone so young, she cleared her throat.
“Ah! Our queen has awakened,” Lachlan said, giving her a wink.
Brigid spun around and smiled. “Keevah!” She all but flung herself into Keevah’s arms. “Lachlan and I were playin’,” she told her. “He just slayed the infidel.”
“So I heard,” Keevah said, giving Lachlan a glare that said she didn’t approve.
Brigid hugged her tightly before returning