Page 67 of Love with a Scottish Outlaw
Ignoring her, Cat went to find Finn. She stood with her arms akimbo, blocking Finn’s escape from the great hall. “I hear the harvest festival is tomorrow. You are not attending unless you bathe.”
The boy mutinously crossed his arms over his chest. “Nay, I’ll not. The pool is freezin’.”
“You wouldn’t know, because it’s been so long since you’ve been in it.”
He scowled.
“Very well, I’ll tell Himself that you’ve chosen to stay here tomorrow.”
She turned around, and didn’t have long to wait before Finn grumbled, “I’ll do it.”
She hid her smile of satisfaction. It drained away when she saw Duncan enter the cave. Giving him her back, she said to Finn, “I’ll accompany you and make sure it’s done.”
“I don’t need a nursemaid!”
“I do believe you’ve totally ignored Maeve when she’s requested the same. I’ll make sure you actually bathe this time, rather than wash around the edges. Go find a change of clothing, and I’ll bring the soap and towels.”
Finn stomped away and she hid a smile, in case he saw it and was offended. Normally, he was such a mild-mannered boy, that his attitude surprised her. He seemed almost afraid.
Her hunch was correct. By the time Finn joined her in the cave pool, after carefully laying a shoe in the passageway—“Are ye certain no one will come in?” Finn kept asking—Cat felt like she could see the whites of his eyes, the way he stared so hard at the pool.
“No one has ever bothered me,” Cat said patiently. “Isn’t the waterfall beautiful?”
But Finn only stared at the dark pool. He crossed his arms over his chest. “I’ll not go in there.”
Cat withheld a sigh. “You have to, Finn. You smell. This is your chance to be seen by a nice family.”
She thought he might revolt against that part, but he ignored it altogether.
“I cannot swim—I’ll drown!”
“It’s not over your head, I promise. Shall I go in first and prove it to you?”
He frowned uncertainly. “Ye’d do that?”
“If you don’t mind seeing me in my chemise.”
“What is a chemise?”
“The undergarment beneath my gown. It’s as thick and sturdy as a nightshift.”
Still looking suspicious, Finn only nodded. Cat thought he might be using any means to procrastinate, but she was willing to take the chance. Turning her back, she unlaced the bodice of the gown, set aside the stomacher resting behind the laces, and peeled the bodice over her shoulders. After untying the laces of her skirt, she let it fall to the floor and stepped out of it. Her stays unlaced in the front, and she took a deep breath when they were gone.
When she turned around, Finn was watching her with bewilderment. “Why do ye wear all that? Surely ’tis uncomfortable.”
She smiled. “It is what a woman wears. I’ve spent my whole life like this.”
“Ye remember something?” Finn asked eagerly.
Her smile faded as once again she was confronted with the knowledge that she’d have to lie to all the friends she’d made in Clan Carlyle. When she wavered in her resolve, she imagined their reactions upon knowing it was her father who benefited from the sale of Carlyle children—who didn’t care about hurting a little boy like Finn. She felt like a coward, protecting herself. But perhaps she was also preventing strife within the clan, which might happen if they had to take sides against each other over her. And all of this was because of Duncan Carlyle and his dishonorable behavior toward her.
For just a moment, she thought about having a measure of revenge by revealing to his people that he’d known who she was from the beginning. He deserved anything she’d do to him.
But she looked into the sweet—but dirty—face of Finn, and knew she couldn’t destroy Clan Carlyle. That’s what might happen if they knew the truth and lost all respect for Duncan. He was lucky she was a better person than he was.
Cat touched Finn’s chin. “Sadly, I have no new memories.” Which was true—they were old memories that kept coming back to her, scenes here and there kept popping up while she’d helped wash clothes, from the shocking time her mother had explained what men wanted on their wedding night, to the charity ball in London where she’d first realized she might be attractive enough to find a husband someday. It was as if, now that her memories were free, they tumbled over each other in a hurry to surface.
Finn heaved a sigh. “Ye’re so brave. Tell me again how it felt to wake up and not know yourself.”
