Page 22 of Conquer the Highlander

After hours of frustration, someone finally sent for Titus. Esme would never forget the moment their eyes met – he looked shocked, but there was also something else there. Something curious… interest, even.

Somewhere inside him, a spark burned deep.

She could see it.

After a brief conversation, Titus had taken her back to his cottage in a rather large village at the base of the fortress where there were dozens of cottages constructed in neat rows. He’d given her some blankets and told her to go sleep on the floor.

And that was where she found herself now.

The cottage had two rooms and she was in the larger of the two, a chamber with chairs, a table, a few chests, and other personal possessions. There was a second, smaller room that Titus had disappeared into the night before and she noted that the door was open. Rising to her feet, she timidly made her way over to the open panel.

“My lord?” she called softly. “My lord, are you awake?”

Receiving no answer, she stuck her head into the open doorway to see that the only thing in the chamber was, in fact, a very messy bed. Linens were strewn about and pillows were on the floor. Clothing was also tossed all over the chamber as if a tempest wind had blown through.

Since she had told Titus that she would keep house for him, she thought she might as well start. The entire place was a mess, so she went right to work.

She very much wanted to earn her keep.

The first order of business was the laundry. Clothing was all over the place, so Esme collected everything she could find, including the bed linens, and put them into a big pile next to the door. Once she had it neatly organized, she realized that she had no idea where to wash anything. A further inspection of the cottage failed to turn up a broom or anything to clean with, not even a tub. Once the laundry was wrangled, she was stuck.

But she wasn’t stopped.

Timidly, she opened the door to the cottage, revealing a bright morning and the warrior’s village. Titus’ cottage was on the fringe, on an elevated position, looking down into the collection of rock cottages. Taking a few steps out of the cottage, she was awed by what she was seeing – the vast complex of cottages and stone outbuildings, plus the castle on the rise.

The property itself was nestled on the top of the hill range with a view to the south that went on for miles. The castle with its circular curtain wall and enormous gatehouse was at the crest of the hill with the village spread out below it. She could also see a large structure off to the east, or at least part of it. It was built into the hillside, but she couldn’t quite see what it was. As she held her hand up to shield her eyes from the sun, she heard a female voice.

“We were wondering when ye would come out. Good morn tae ye.”

Esme turned to see two women sitting in front of a neighboring cottage. One woman was tall and lovely, with red curls, while a second woman with beautiful brown hair was seated. Both women had infants in their arms as a tow-haired toddler played in the dirt at their feet.

Esme smiled timidly.

“Saludos,” she said. “Greetings.”

Both women smiled in return, but the redhead spoke.

“My name is Isadora,” she said. She indicated her companion. “This is Lilia. Titus told us tae watch for ye and help ye find yer way.”

Esme made her way over to them. “I am Esme de Gracia,” she said. “Where is Titus?”

“At the Fields of Mars,” Lilia said, rocking the sleeping infant. “That is the big arena over there, cut into the hill. Ye can only see the top of it from here, but it goes all the way down to the bottom of a glen.”

Esme looked over at the structure in the distance. “I see,” she said. “I thought it looked strange. I could not tell what it was.”

“That is where the men spend most of their time,” Isadora said. “On fight nights, the entire arena is lit up with a thousand torches. Ye’ve never seen anything so bright.”

Esme’s gaze lingered on the distant arena a moment longer before turning to Isadora and Lilia. At closer range, they were both quite lovely and seemed friendly enough. But she sensed unspoken questions for all their politeness simply from the way they were looking at her, so it was better to get it out in the open.

“Did Titus tell you why I am here?” she asked. “If he did not, I am happy to tell you.”

Isadora shook her head. “He dinna tell us anything,” she said. “He simply asked if we’d keep watch for ye and help ye along if ye needed it.”

Esme nodded in understanding, but she realized that speaking about her situation wasn’t easy. It was complicated. Moreover, she’d never been one to speak of herself much, mostly because she never had any real friends at Culroy. The women there had been disparaging and shunned her because she wasn’t Scottish, so opening up was difficult.

A new life, she reminded herself.

Perhaps with these women of the Ludus Caledonia, things would be different.