“Yes, I do. It’s my home — my family’s home. We fought hard to keep this place from the English, too. A lot of Scottish families weren’t so lucky.” His voice became more serious, sober after the laughter of lighter stories. “We have Colin to thank for that. He’s not just a great warrior and leader — he’s a skilled diplomat, too. He’s been able to get the English on our side enough to let us continue our lives here. I owe him not only my life, but my livelihood. And so does everyone in this castle, and in the nearby village.”
A loyal man, as well as a dedicated one. Cora liked Ian more and more. She smiled and took his arm again as they continued walking — it was beginning to feel much less quaint the more she did it. They crossed the courtyard. Weak sunlight was filtering down from a mostly cloudy sky, and there was a lot of activity going on. By the north wall, a group of men with swords seemed to be practicing drills — a grizzled-looking older man was barking at them in such a thick Scottish brogue that Cora could hardly understand him. There were a few horses being put through their paces in the yard, most of the riders doing a much better job than Ian had, Cora noticed with amusement. As if he could tell what she was thinking, he hurried her past the riders to the stables.
“Here’s where your best mate lives,” he told her, gesturing to a stall halfway down the row. A familiar snout poked out over the top of it, and the horse whinnied. Here in the light of day, she could see him properly — he was black, as she’d thought, and powerfully built. She could tell why Ian chose to ride him. It was a shame he did such a poor job.
“How you’ve bewitched him I’ll never know,” Ian said, a little jealously, as she stroked the horse’s nose. She smiled, but his words had reminded her of the troubling things Mary had almost told her in the hallway earlier. Glancing up and down the stables, she noticed that they were alone — did she trust him enough to ask about this? She had no choice, really — she trusted Audrina, of course, but Audrina wouldn’t know about a woman who’d disappeared before she arrived.
“Ian — who’s Bellina?”
He frowned at her. “Bellina Corso?”
“I suppose so? I’ve heard that I look like her, some of the servants were talking… ” That was technically not a lie, but it was a little dishonest, and he sensed it — she could tell by the way his jaw tightened.
“She lived here a long while ago. I was telling you about her last night, in fact. A distant cousin of the Laird’s mother, by all accounts. She was a midwife, and a healer — very talented. Too talented, it seems. She went home to visit her family in Italy one summer and never returned. We got word that she’d been captured by the Inquisition, and that was that. They don’t look too kindly on witchcraft there.”
“Did she practice —”
“No!” The horse whinnied at the force in Ian’s voice, and Cora shushed him, stroking his nose to soothe him. “No,” Ian said more quietly. “She was like Maeve — like you — she knew the properties of herbs, that was all. A skilled healer. But some men don’t take kindly to knowledge they themselves don’t own. It’s a terrible situation. Maeve herself almost fell afoul of accusations of witchcraft — but she and the Laird got out of it, thanks be to God.”
“How awful,” Cora breathed.
“But true, the more I think of it, the more I see the resemblance.” Ian smiled. “She and Maeve were thick as thieves, too. They grew up together, always laughing and giggling. Learned the healing craft together, though Bellina was always more interested in being a midwife than a healer.”
“Sounds just like me and Audrina.”
Ian fixed her with a measured stare. “Our Maeve was taken from us unjustly, but she came back to us in time. Perhaps our Bellina has done the same thing.”
“Surely not,” Cora rejoined, a little discomfited. “I’m not — I mean, Audrina was always so drawn to Scotland…and she had all those wild dreams about the place… She was destined to be here. I’m just… I’m just a midwife from San Francisco, Ian. Really. I don’t have some mysterious ancestry or special destiny...” She tried not to think about the strange dreams she’d had the night before. “If I was brought here for a purpose, it was to help Audrina — to help Maeve with her babies. That’s all. She’s the one with all the power — she brought me here. And I’m sure that once she’s back on her feet, she’ll be able to send me home.”
Ian cleared his throat. “So you’re not staying?”
Was that disappointment in his voice? Surely he couldn’t be that attached to her…they’d only spent an afternoon together, after all. And he was second in command of the castle, by all means an important man with all kinds of prospects — if he didn’t have a wife already that she hadn’t heard about. No, surely his concern was all professional. He was concerned for his Lord and his lady, that was all, and for the well-being of his clan. Silly of her, she scolded herself. Silly to be thinking about anyone at all in that way, when she was in the middle of probably the most important thing that had ever happened to her. Not that she’d ever had much time for romance back in San Francisco… God, her life back then seemed so much simpler now. But just because a handsome man was being polite and showing her around a castle, didn’t give her any excuse to let her imagination run away from her. He was looking out for the interests of his family, and she was doing the same — because his family included one of her dear friends. She’d die for Audrina — for Maeve — before she let any harm come to her, and she suspected that Ian felt the same.
“Don’t worry, Ian. I’ll not be leaving until I’m certain that Maeve’s back in fighting form and the babies are healthy. And I’ve already talked to Colin about training up a couple of young healers to take my place, so you’ll not be without a midwife again on my watch.”
He hesitated a little, then nodded, a kind of mask clicking back into place over his eyes. “That’s — good. You’re a good woman, Cora Wilcox.”
If he was a little quieter than he had been on the way back to the castle keep, Cora didn’t mention it. She had enough to be thinking about for the time being — like those dreams she’d had, and what they could possibly mean. She needed to find out more about Bellina Corso, this mysterious woman who’d been so tragically lost, so that she could prove once and for all that they had no connection to each other. It was a coincidence that they looked alike, no more.
But Cora was definitely going to ask some questions. First, she’d talk to Audrina. Back in San Francisco (it was feeling further and further away the more time passed here) she’d always been the best person to talk to in a dilemma — she had this incredible clarity that cut through confusion like a knife. Cora needed that in her life.
She said her goodbyes to Ian, who was still a little quiet, and headed up the stairs for Audrina’s chambers. Hopefully her friend would forgive these repeated intrusions.
Chapter 11
Cora almost didn’t make it up the stairs to Audrina’s room. Her body was beginning to complain in earnest about the way she’d been treating it. She wasn’t an unfit woman, of course. She did yoga a few times a week and got out for a jog whenever she could — it had always been important to her to care for her body like it cared for her — but her calves were aching from all the unaccustomed stair-climbing. The lack of sleep wasn’t helping, either. From what she could gather, she’d slept only four or five hours that morning. Now that it was beginning to get dark, the sun low on the horizon and long shadows creeping across the castle grounds, her body was crying out for sleep.
So they were heavy steps that brought her to Audrina’s door. She’d spotted the Laird downstairs on her way up to the room, deep in conversation with someone in the kitchen. He looked like he could use a night of sleep or three himself, the poor man. Still, she approved of the way he hadn’t left her dear friend’s side. She deserved a man that supportive and caring. Honestly, she deserved the entire world and all the stars beside, but Colin would do for now.
“And just what do you think you’re doing?”
Co
ra put her hands on her hips and struck a threatening posture in the doorway. Audrina looked up from the bed, looking as guilty as a child that had been caught with her entire hand in the cookie jar. She had sat up and swiveled her legs around to the side of the bed and seemed to be about to stand up and walk around the chamber.
“Colin wouldn’t let me get up,” she complained, sounding for all the world like a child too. “I don’t want to just lie on my back for the rest of my life, I’m bored.”
“Then I will bring you some medieval magazines,” Cora said darkly. “I did an extremely good job of stitching you up, all things considered, and I will not have you tearing up my beautiful work. Got me? You just pushed two healthy Scottish babies out —”
Audrina laughed. “Enough, enough! Look, I’m lying back down, okay?” She obediently settled herself back onto the bed.
Satisfied, Cora crossed the room to tuck the blanket around her. This made Audrina groan like a small boy being fussed over by his mother, but Cora caught the secret smile that played around her lips. She was as delighted to have Cora back in her life as Cora was to have her. It would be such a heartbreaking thing to leave her behind…but that was something she would think about later. Much later. At least a few weeks, maybe longer, depending on how obstructive the stubborn woman was about her recovery.
“Now. Tell me everything. What’s with tall, blond, and handsome?”
“Colin? Oh, he’s—” Audrina looked down, suddenly coy, clearly trying to hide a very love-struck smile. “He’s wonderful, Cora, honestly. I wish you could have been at the wedding.”
“Well, I was a little busy not being born for another few hundred years. What year is it, exactly?”
“Fourteen hundred and something,” Audrina replied, not looking up. “Honestly, Cora, there are days when I don’t believe it myself, and I’ve been here for years. Whatever it was that brought me here — magic, divine intervention, freak accident, whatever you want to call it — it’s nothing I’ve ever seen before. I wouldn’t even know where to begin looking for a way back for you.”
“Well, that’s a big project for later, isn’t it? For now, I’ve got a nuisance patient to be dealt with. I wanted your advice, actually. Young mother, just gave birth to twins, less than ideal conditions to be honest, but we made do — it’s been less than twenty-four hours and she keeps trying to get out of bed! What am I supposed to do? Camp out under her bed at all hours of the night and grab her leg if she tries to get up again?”
Audrina giggled. “She sounds like an absolute cow.”
“Too right she is,” Cora said, attempting the Scottish accent again and failing miserably. God, she’d be in trouble if she ever had to pass for a local.
“Cora! That reminds me! I’ve got a pet cow!”
“You do not.”
“I do. She’s in one of the paddocks with her calf, you can go and visit if you like. She’s an ornery old thing, but I bet she’d love you.”
“This castle has an abundance of ornery animals,” Cora muttered. “Ian’s horse, your cow —”
“Ian,” Audrina drawled pointedly, “is a very nice young man.”
Cora ignored her. She’d gotten good at that — Audrina had always been trying to set her up with people. She was more interested in Cora’s love life than her own, it seemed. But her comment had reminded her of something, and she leaned forward, her voice dropping into a more serious register.
“Audy, I need to ask you something. I had a talk with Ian earlier — stop it, he’s just being polite — about something I’ve noticed. The staff, they think I look like — there’s this woman who was here a while back. Apparently she looked just like me. Like, spitting image. Like, Mary thought I was her, that I was using a fake name.”
Audrina was staring at her, bedclothes tucked around her chin and eyes clouded with a mixture of worry and confusion. “Yeah,” she breathed, a little distracted, “yeah — yeah, I almost remember — dark hair like yours. Something about — something about my tower! And the herbs — we studied them together…”
“Are you okay? You look like you’re channeling something. No offense.”
“I kind of am. I have some of Maeve’s memories,” Audrina explained, as though it was the most natural thing in the world. “Mostly from dreams, I think — the longer I’m here, the more things I remember. Most of it’s about Colin — after all, she used her love for him to make the spell. But there are other kinds of love… I thought I was just dreaming about you because I missed you, but maybe… maybe it was her in my dreams…the woman… Bellina! Bellina Corso!” Audrina sat bolt upright as she cried out the name, then immediately winced and lay back.
Cora hissed. “Don’t hurt yourself, for God’s sake, woman. So — so this woman, she was real.”
“Yeah. She was. God, she looked like you. You don’t think — Cora, maybe she’s your ancestor the way Maeve was mine!” She leaned forward, excited by this new discovery. Cora felt ill. “Have you had any strange dreams about witchcraft? Any kind of — recitations? Poems? Anything like that?”
“No. Well — today, when I slept for a little while, I maybe — just some strange images. Could have been anything. But Audy — this woman, she died at twenty-five. She was burned alive. A heretic. I can’t be her descendant if she didn’t live to have any children.”
“That’s not necessarily the case. Maeve hadn’t had any children when she was taken, either. But here I am — and I’ve had one for both of us!” Audrina glanced fondly toward the corridor, where Cora knew the babies had been set up in a nursery all their own — only the best for the Laird and his wife’s son and daughter. Heirs to the castle, after all.
“Does that mean — does that mean you’re your own great-great-great-great-great…something…grandmother?”
Audrina grinned. “Pretty good, huh?”
“You always did have to be special, didn’t you? Couldn’t just be a regular person —”
“But seriously, Cora. That might well be what’s happened. Maybe it was me that brought you here, and the likeness is a coincidence. But given what brought me here — given that Maeve and Bellina were close childhood friends — I think it’s worth looking into. You need to find out more about Bellina. Strengthen the connection you have to her. See if you have any more dreams about her life.”
“She was burned alive for being a witch, Audy. I’m not — I don’t really want to know much more than I have to, about that.”
“I know, love.” She heaved a great sigh and turned her head to gaze out of the window into the darkening sky beyond it.
Dusk had gathered remarkably quickly, and Cora made a mental note to have someone sent to this chamber quickly to reset the fire — it wouldn’t do to have the new mother catching a chill. Not in a time without antibiotics, at any rate.
“When Maeve died — it wasn’t pretty. I had a lot of dreams about her. How afraid she was. How awful the man was who — anyway, I got through it. And when I met that man, face to face, I got revenge for the both of us. Not enough revenge, of course — nothing could fully repay what he did to Maeve. But I got to see him shake in his boots, and that was enough.”
Cora was struck silent. This was a side of her friend she hadn’t seen before, not quite so rarefied — this strength, this wisdom. For a brief moment, it wasn’t her best friend she saw sitting in the bed, but a Scottish queen — a highland warrior princess, gazing with dignity across her domain. Audrina looked back to her finally, and must have read something of her awe in her eyes, because she smiled and took her hand in hers.
“We both come from a long line of witches, Cora.” She squeezed Cora’s hand tightly, eyes fierce. “And witches protect each other. I think you ought to talk to Mary. Bellina was her cousin — she’ll know more than anyone.”
“I guess I kind of have to,” Cora admitted. “Can’t have the servants thinking I’m some witch who survived being murdered.”
“No way. One of those is more than enough for this cas
tle.” Jabbing a thumb at her own chest, Audrina grinned that cocky grin that Cora loved so much. A rush of relief broke like a wave over Cora, draining away the unease and the tension that had been building since that uncomfortable conversation with Ian in the stables earlier that afternoon. A lot of strange things were going on — a lot of unpleasantness remained to be untangled. But Cora was brave, and strong, and clever — and she had an even braver, stronger, cleverer woman on her side. Her best friend, returned to her by God or Providence, not murdered or kidnapped, but alive, thriving, radiant and fierce. With Audrina backing her up, Cora knew that she could deal with anything this ridiculous old castle threw at her. Because what was medieval Scotland in the face of two warrior women?
Chapter 12
She stayed with Audrina a little longer, just talking and laughing about the old times. Both of them seemed to feel the same subconscious urge to avoid speaking of heavier things — there was enough grim reality to be faced out there in the cold night air. For now, in this room, with a fire roaring happily in the hearth, they could just be together. Cora laughed until her sides ached at impressions she’d forgotten of various people they knew at the hospital, but she retained the presence of mind to stop Audrina from leaping out of bed to imitate people’s walks. She’d remembered the good times she’d had with Audrina of course, but she’d forgotten how funny the woman could be when she tried.
But by the time true night had fallen, with servants coming demurely in to light the torches on the wall, Cora could tell that her old friend was getting weary — as well she might. She could’ve talked all night, but instead she tucked the blankets close around Audrina and stole away to the door. That bossy voice stopped her in her tracks.
“You will talk to Mary, won’t you, Cora?”
“Yeah. I’ll ask about Bellatrix.”
“Bellina,” Audrina corrected irritably. “Take it seriously.”
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