Beyond a Doubt - By Felicia Rogers Page 0,42

and there, I suppose. I’ve not had a lot of contact with them. From what I gathered from Father, some lived in China, which I’ve never visited, and the others lived in France, which we only visited on holidays.”

“Why do ye live in London if yer family isn’t from here?”

“In 1540 during Henry VIII’s reign, and the churches’ separation from Rome, we moved here. I was three years old and Father felt it would be safer.” Lucy twisted the fabric of her gown. “No one could have foreseen Mary’s reign.” Here her voice faltered and she added, “And what of your family? I know so little about you.”

Bryce settled back, resting his arms underneath his head as he stared at the clouds above. “I guess ye know the important stuff. My name is Bryce Cameron. I’m the son of a sheep farmer. My cousin Grant is next in line to be laird of the Cameron clan.”

“You sound disappointed. Shouldn’t you be proud of him?”

“I am, but he—“

“He what?”

“He wanted me to be a warrior.” Bryce noted the confusion on her face and continued, “Because of my size and strength, he wanted me to train so I could lead his men. He wanted me to be his second-in-command. I told ’em I wasn’t interested but he convinced my father. So when he left home and traveled to the Sinclair keep, which is a long story, I went along as well. I’m afraid I’m nothing but a disappointment to him.”

“I take it things didn’t work out as planned.”

Bryce shook his head. “Ye could say that. I believe my father sent me away in hope of dislodging what he called my ‘foolish notions’.” She knitted her brows together and Bryce realized she didn’t understand. Continuing, he spoke the words he’d treasured in his heart and had been afraid to share aloud since he’d told his parents years before. “I’m a follower of Christ.”

Lucy leaned closer, excitement lighting her eyes.

“Mind ye, my family believes in the Savior as well as anyone, but not in the same way. I guess ye could say I’m of the Protestant faith.”

“But how?”

“Think ye have the market cornered, do ye?” He added a smile to ease the words. “Believe it or not, my laird’s son, Samuel, is a Protestant minister, although few outside the clan are privy to this information. He heard a lecture on Martin Luther’s teachings and it changed his life. The corruption of the church and his unworthiness of redemption hit him like a bolt of lightnin’.

“Fortunately he shared with a few of us, which is one reason I never learned how to wield a sword. I didn’t have it in me.”

“When Grant convinced your father to send you away to lose your foolish notions, where did you go?”

“Like I said, I followed Grant to the Sinclairs’ keep. Little did he know that was the worst place to send me to change my thoughts. Of course, when I first came to the Sinclair keep it wasn’t that way, but I managed.”

“That’s because Duncan wasn’t in charge yet, right?”

“Aye. This is true. The first laird, Cainneach, a close personal friend of Grant’s, believed in very little. He took care of his family the way he saw fit. When they perished, he had nothing to live for. But when his brother came, everything changed. Duncan married a Protestant and converted.”

“I remember Arbella mentioning something about the former mistress. Lyall was her name, I believe.”

Bryce nodded.

“Were you there when Lyall pulled her tricks?”

“Aye. It was my fault.”

Lucy arched her brow. “But from the tales I heard, the woman was crazy. She thought Arbella and Duncan’s daughter was her own lost child. How could you possibly be at fault for such a thing?”

Bryce ignored her questions. It was not a discussion he wanted to have at that moment so he changed the subject. “After everything with Lyall ended and everyone was safe, Grant and I both decided to head for home — back to Cameron lands. I left before him, which is why ye found me headed home alone.”

Fortunately she took his lead and didn’t ask any more questions. That caused his worry to decrease. He had no desire to explain his faults to the woman he was fast falling in love with. There would be time for her to discover those later.

Lucy said, smiling broadly, “I guess it was a good thing I came along when I did.”

“Aye, it was. I bent down to wash and next thing I