knew the answer. But fear kept them from voicing it.
Long after the nooning meal, while Brigid napped peacefully on the cot, Lachlan and Keevah sat near the brazier. For a long while, neither of them said a word. The kiss had affected each of them in ways neither could have foreseen.
Wanting very much not to broach the subject that hung in the air like smoke from a blazing fire, she decided to talk about the murdered women. ’Twas a far easier topic than the kiss or how it might or might not affect their future.
“Have ye heard from Ewan or Murdoch?” She tried to sound indifferent, but knew she’d failed miserably.
“Nay,” he said with a shake of his head. He was staring at the fire, lost, she surmised from his blank expression and focused gaze, in his own thoughts.
“I have been thinkin’,” she said, scooting her chair a bit closer to his so that she might speak more softly. “Why?”
“Why what?” he asked, his gaze still focused on the flames.
“Why do ye suppose he does it?”
He turned to look at her, his brow knotted in confusion. “What does it matter?”
“Ye see, I was thinkin’ if we could figure out the ‘why’ we might be able to figure out the ‘who’.” She thought it a most excellent concept. Lachlan, however, seemed perplexed.
“He kills because he is insane.”
As if that explained everything. Rolling her eyes, she scooted even closer. “Men kill for all sorts of reasons, Lachlan. They kill for gold, or they kill in battle. Some might kill out of jealousy or vengeance. Aye?”
“Aye,” he said, drawing the word out as if he were trying to catch up to her way of thinking.
“But this man? He kills former prostitutes. Women with at least one child. Why them? If ’tis the prostitutes he hates, why nae kill those who are actually prostitutes? Why kill only women who used to be?”
He gave it a good deal of thought. In the end, he had no earthly idea and admitted such.
“It does nae make any sense,” she told him.
“I agree, it does nae. Mayhap if Ewan ever catches him, he can ask him.”
Her eyes grew wide with excitement. “Och! I would love to hear that conversation!”
“Are ye daft?” he exclaimed, his voice louder than he wanted.
They both looked to see if they’d awakened Brigid. Seeing she was still fast asleep, Keevah answered his question. “Nay, but I am curious. I cannae explain why, but I am.”
He scratched the back of his neck as he shook his head. “I am nae curious as to the why,” he told her. “But I would sure as hell like to know who. I pray Ewan is able to stop this fiend before he kills again.”
“And why only in the morning?” she wondered aloud. “And where does he kill them? It cannae be far. All of the bodies have been found verra close together. How far could he go, carryin’ a dead woman, without bein’ noticed?”
While he could agree she was asking some very intelligent questions, he found the entire topic macabre. “Keevah, we need to away this place.” He didn’t wait for her to protest. “Neither of us can afford to wait until spring. What if Dermott comes lookin’ for Brigid?”
She hated the fact that he was right. The longer they stayed, the greater the risk of Dermott either seeing them or discovering where they were. “Can ye give me one more day?” she asked.
“Aye,” he said, unable to deny such a simple request. “And I will also give ye a promise.”
She tilted her head to one side, most curious.
“If we cannae bury yer friend on the morrow, I promise to bring ye back in the spring.”
Tears pooled in her eyes. “But I fear she cannae wait that long,” she told him. The thought of her friend not being properly buried made her want to weep.
“The friars will take care of her,” he told her, placing a heavy arm around her shoulders. “Ewan gave me his word.”
Swiping away her tears, she finally acquiesced. “I ken ye are right, Lachlan. But I find no comfort in it.”
“I ken, lass. I ken.”
Chapter Fifteen
Keevah decided to take advantage of the quiet and left Lachlan with Brigid to go below stairs. She needed time to think, to parse out everything taking place in her life right now.
On the landing, she met a young woman coming out of one of the bedchambers. Keevah didn’t recognize her. But then, many of the people she knew