Tigh Na Faol: House of Wolf (A Wulvers Prequel)

Chapter 13 ~ Revelations

Chapter 13: Revelations
~

Artair sat on the crumbling stone wall that I knelt on, being useful as a block for the bright sun that glared down. I patted down the soil, hoping it would rain soon to help the seeds I'd planted grow. I'd planted a variety of vegetables in this half of the garden and herbs in the other. Lady Lyall had promised she'd get more seeds and had even offered to let me expand the garden a little more.

It was a lot of work for one person.

As Torian had said, I couldn't convince his sister to help me in the gardens but Artair was more than happy to accompany me. I had the feeling Torian had asked him to keep an eye on me and that was just fine, as Artair loved to talk. And I was more than happy to listen.

I'd attempted to guide the conversation towards the dreaded wolves but he'd so far managed to evade my questions. He was a clever conversationalist but I fancied myself clever as well. One way or another, I'd eventually get more information out of someone.

Sitting back, I wiped sweat from my forehead, smearing dirt over my skin. While other ladies may be embarrassed to be caught covered in dirt, I didn't mind. I was more often than not rather unkempt.

"Are you finally finished?" Artair asked, looking eager to leave.

I laughed and shook my head, wiping my hands on the apron that my mother-in-law insisted I wear over my dress.

"No, not nearly," I replied, chuckling as his expression fell. "For today, however, I'm done. The rain will do the rest for now."

"Excellent! Shall we go for a walk and enjoy the weather? There's a river nearby, perhaps we can go for a swim?" he suggested, dragging me to my feet.

I looked down at my dress then back at the grinning man with a raised eyebrow. "I do not have anything suitable to swim in and might that be a little inappropriate?"

"Trust me, my sister, I'd never ask anything inappropriate of you and why would you need something to swim in?" he asked with a frown. "You're skin is waterproof I assure you."

I gaped at him. Was he really suggesting we swam in the nude like that wasn't a completely outrageous thing to do. Or did people here often jump into rivers naked? He laughed suddenly, rubbing the back of his neck.

"Forgive me, it was a joke that wasn't funny," he quickly excused. "We can just sit with our feet in the river, the walk is nice and close to the manor."

I nodded, taking his arm and allowing him to lead the way. He lead me out of the garden and I caught sight of Owen glaring at us both from one of the windows.

"I get the impression that your cousin dislikes me," I mumbled quietly as if worried Owen would be able to hear me from inside.

Artair looked towards the manor then back to me, patting his hand. "He's wary of strangers. He'll warm up to you, I promise."

I wasn't so sure but I smiled anyway and put such troubles to the back of my mind. The walk truly was beautiful with miles of rolling green interspersed with bright wildflowers, sprawling forests of tall oak trees and slim silver birch. Something about it was more wild than my father's land and I looked forward to taking Breò-chlach out to explore every inch.