“Of course I can. I was just feeling worrisome today.”
“Raynor must do what he must; you have done all you can for him,” Fiona said. “Are you certain, though, that you have not come to care for him?”
“I am certain. I have enjoyed his company. He showed interest in me and it was easy to speak with him. We shared stories of our youth and of my healing skills, and he knew I was Aliss—that I will miss.”
“It will not be long before our identities are revealed, but we will do the revealing.”
“I will have patience till then.”
Fiona was relieved to hear the confidence in her sister’s voice. “I think we will do well.”
“I do like it here,” Aliss admitted. “The clan has generously welcomed us and genuinely accepted us. It is as if we have always been part of the Hellewyk clan.”
“I feel the same myself. They have not once treated us like outsiders.”
“It would be a good place to call home.”
“I agree,” Fiona said. “It has been a long time since we have felt at home.”
“Uncle Tavish did his best to make us feel welcomed.”
“And Leith did his best to make us feel like outsiders.”
“He was jealous of you,” Aliss said. “He was jealous that his father talked more with you, his niece, than with his own son.”
“That was because uncle Tavish knew his son was an idiot.”
They both laughed.
Aliss spoke low. “Perhaps here among the safety of those who care for us we could begin to find out about our past.”
“Mother warned us to be careful,” Fiona reminded. “She was adamant about us trusting no one.”
Aliss looked up at the blue sky dotted with white clouds. “Do you ever wonder who we really are, Fiona?”
Fiona followed her sister’s glance, her eye catching a cloud in the shape of a large woman. “That I do. I wonder about the woman who would give her twin daughters away, and if she did it to protect us or because she did not want us.”
“I wonder if she gave us names.”
Fiona took her sister’s hand. “Is that what has upset you?”
“It has been a haunting thought since we have begun this charade. We switch names that truly are not our given ones. The question then is, who are we?”
“There will come a day we will find out.”
“Mother waited too long to tell us,” Aliss said. “She barely had a breath left in her when she confessed that she was not our mother and that we were to be very careful and let no one know. She feared for us but could speak no more.”
“Her last whisper was of her love for us,” Fiona said, a tear catching in the corner of her eye.
“I will never doubt our mother’s love. She showered us with it and I will be forever grateful that we were left with such a generous and loving woman to care for us.” Tears clouded Aliss’s vision and she wiped them away with her finger.
“It is this ruse of ours that has brought this all to light.”
“Perhaps it is time that we discover our true identities,” Aliss said. “We have spoken of it in whispers and secrets and now may be the time for us to begin our search.”
“Let us settle this with Tarr first, and then we can pursue our past in earnest.”
The sisters squeezed hands and kept them locked firmly as they always had done as a sign of reassurance. Together they would survive and they would let no one come between them.
It was late, the keep settled for the night, when Aliss was summoned to Raynor’s room. He complained of severe pain in his head, and she hurried along the stairs having hastily dressed.
Suddenly a hand covered her mouth, cutting off any chance to scream. She was yanked into the dark shadows and pressed against a muscled body.
“It is me, I will not hurt you,” Raynor whispered in her ear.
His words did not alleviate her fear; she remained tense.
“I leave now. Do you and Fiona wish to come with me?” He dropped his hand away from her mouth.
“No, we have not finished our work here, though I wish you Godspeed.”
“You are sure?”
“Aye, Fiona and I have talked and it is not time for us to leave.”
“I am sorry to hear that,” he said.
A rag was shoved in her mouth and a sack draped over her head before she realized what had happened. Her arms were secured behind her back and