Total pages in book: 107
Estimated words: 99593 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 498(@200wpm)___ 398(@250wpm)___ 332(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 99593 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 498(@200wpm)___ 398(@250wpm)___ 332(@300wpm)
“We’ll eat and go speak with her,” Esme said. “She might know the healer who attended your birth.”
Ida’s face paled when she opened the door to see Lord Torrance standing there, though her worry eased some when she saw that Lady Esme was with him.
“How can I help you, my lord?” Ida asked.
“I have a few questions, if you don’t mind,” Ryland said and ushered his wife in, leaving Ida unable to deny him.
Ida stood staring at them for a moment, then closed the door. “Please sit, my lord and lady. I will get you a hot brew.”
“Nay, Ida, you sit along with my wife while we talk and a brew is not necessary since we just finished the morning meal,” Ryland said and pointed to one of two benches.
Esme hurried to sit knowing Ida would not sit before she did, and the woman looked too frail to be standing yet there was a spryness in her eyes that suggested she had strength despite her advanced age.
“What can you tell me about my mother?”
Ida smiled, gently. “Lady Claire. She was a lovely woman, kind, generous, thoughtful to all in the clan.” Her smile faded. “Her life was so sad. I wept along with others when she passed.”
Ryland nodded to his wife, leaving the conversation to her, knowing Ida would talk more easily with her. He took a step back closer to the corner of the small hearth where Ida might forget he was there and speak freely to Esme.
“What do you mean, Ida, when you said that her life was so sad?”
Ida got teary-eyed. “When you’re young, you dream about the future, how you see it, how you hope it will be.” She shook her head. “It never turns out how you dreamt it. Fate has far different ideas. Mistress Claire fell in love with someone outside her station, but she dreamed her father would grant her permission to wed him. Her father had different ideas. He arranged a marriage for her, one that benefitted the clan. Lady Claire was heartbroken. She had no choice but to do her duty and our hearts broke for her again when we discovered that her husband could be a cruel man. Some believe it was his fault that she lost their first bairn.”
Ryland’s eyes turned wide, alerting Esme that he was not aware of that.
“Lord Torrance is not the first-born child of Lady Claire and Lord Randall?” Esme asked.
“Nay,” Ida said, shaking her head. “She gave birth to a daughter, though she barely took a few breaths. She had delivered her at Purdom Keep just as she did Lord Torrance.”
“Lord Torrance was born at Purdom keep?” Esme asked, even though she was aware of it, wanting to hear all of what Ida would say.
“Aye,” she said with a wide smile. “And we all celebrated the birth.” Her smile faded once again. “Unfortunately, her life did not go well after that. Her husband refused to allow her to return to Purdom Keep and visit her family. Some say it was jealousy that she preferred Clan Purdom to Clan Glencairn. Others believe he was angry that she did not give birth at Clan Glencairn like generations before.”
“Do you know why she gave birth at Purdom keep and not Clan Glencairn?” Esme asked, to see if her story would confirm what they had already learned.
Ida’s voice turned whispery soft as if revealing a secret. “Some say it was despite her husband that she hated him and traveled to Purdom without his permission. By then, a snowstorm prevented her from returning to Clan Glencairn to deliver the bairn.”
“Who attended the birth?”
“Let me think,” Ida said.
“Was it the healer who delivered Claire’s daughter?” Esme asked.
Ida shook her head. “Nay, she left the clan not long after.” She scrunched her brow trying to recall, then she smiled. “I remember. It was Claire’s mum. She had a wise healer brought here for the task fearful her daughter might lose another child, though I don’t recall her name. I don’t know if anyone knew her name.” Her eyes widened. “Verna. She was a loyal servant to Claire and willingly went with her to Clan Glencairn. She might know.” Her eyes turned sad, and she shook her head. “Though she may have passed by now, since she would have returned to Clan Purdom after Lady Claire’s death and she hasn’t been back.”
Esme tucked that name away to share with Ryland, and asked, “Lord Randall must have been thrilled to have a son.”
“If he was, he certainly didn’t show it. He was furious with her when he arrived the next day. He raved and ranted and even swore at her. Lady Claire’s mum had him physically removed from the bedchamber. Some believe that was why he forbid Lady Claire to see her family.” Sadness filled Ida’s eyes. “Poor lass, she looked so heartbroken when she left a week later. I think she was hoping for a miracle that would keep her home, but it never came.” She leaned across the table and whispered again, “It was heard that Lady Claire forbade him to ever touch her again, the reason they never had more children, and in retaliation Lord Randall turned his son against her. But it was no secret he had his mistresses to please him. The poor lass had a moment of happiness with the man she loved and a lifetime of misery with a man she hated.”