Page 33 of Claimed
“I am Mother Iseabal of Inishail,” the second woman spoke up. She had a thin, sharp voice that immediately made Drew’s irritation rise. “Kneel before me, so I may bless ye.”
Drew did as bid, lowering herself on one knee before the prioress, while Mother Iseabal made the sign of the cross above her.
“Ye can rise now,” the prioress said, her tone commanding.
Getting to her feet, Drew met the woman’s eye and watched the prioress’s gaze narrow at her boldness. She obviously wasn’t used to others holding her gaze like an equal.
Ye will make an enemy of the prioress within days.
Carr’s words came back to her then, and Drew tensed her jaw. Of course the man knew her well; he understood how difficult she’d find it to take orders from anyone, let alone another woman. At the time, Drew had dismissed his comment—he’d been trying to convince her not to take the veil after all.
But now that she stood before the prioress, a chill feathered down her nape.
This woman wasn’t like Mother Shona, the former Abbess of Kilbride. Although Drew had never met her, Coira had told her of Mother Shona’s warmth, her bravery, and her kindness.
Mother Iseabal dragged a disapproving eye down Drew, taking in her damp clothing and the muddy hems of her kirtle and cloak. “Ye shall enter Inishail as a novice,” she informed Drew. “Sister Lorna will take ye to the dormitory so that ye might change into yer habit.”
Drew’s gaze flicked from the prioress to her mother. Both garbed in black habits and veils, their faces were framed by crisp white wimples.
“What will I do with my clothes?” Drew asked.
“They will be burned,” Mother Iseabal replied, her gaze dropping to the rings that Drew wore upon her fingers. “Ye must give me those … no nun is allowed to wear adornment of any kind.”
Drew did as bid, removing the gem-studded gold and silver rings from her fingers and handing them over to the prioress. She’d expected this, yet now that she was about to be admitted into the order, her chest felt tight and sweat trickled between her shoulder blades. How would she feel when she actually donned that crow’s garb?
As the prioress took the rings, Drew noted how her fingers tightened possessively over them. Was that an avaricious gleam she’d just seen in the woman’s eye?
“I take it, ye shall use the rings to feed the poor, Mother?” Drew asked sweetly. “I’d hate to think that the priory hoards its riches.”
“Of course we don’t,” the prioress snapped, her gaze gleaming with outrage. “We live in poverty here. Go now and change into yer habit. We shall meet again in the kirk for prayers.”
16
Ye Have My Heart
“MOTHER ISEABAL SEEMS a … humorless woman.”
Drew’s comment broke the uncomfortable hush between mother and daughter as they crossed the yard to the dormitory. It was dark outside now, much later than Drew had thought. They had kept her waiting inside the prioress’s hall for longer than she’d realized. Braziers illuminated their path.
Sister Lorna cut her a sharp glance. “She is a god-fearing woman,” her mother sniffed. “Which is more than can be said for ye.”
Drew arched a brow. “I’m here, aren’t I?”
“Aye … no doubt in penance for the wicked life ye have led.”
Drew let her mother’s comment lie between them for a few moments, before she answered. “I have flaws, Ma … but I’m not wicked.”
Sister Lorna snorted. “Our Lord will be the judge of that.” Her grey eyes narrowed when they focused upon Drew. “Never again address me as yer mother. Here, we are not related … we are bonded merely in service to God.”
Drew held her mother’s gaze, unflinching. For years she’d lived in fear of Lorna MacKinnon. When she’d been a bairn, she’d been terrified of her, and of the willow rod she’d used to administer beatings. Their mother had thrashed Duncan the hardest—until he’d grown big and strong enough to fight back—but Drew would never forget the sting of the rod upon her back or the screech of her mother’s voice.
An icy sensation settled in the center of Drew’s chest as she realized just how much she disliked this woman.
She’d given her life, yet she’d never given her love.
No wonder I’m as I am,Drew thought bitterly.No wonder I’m afraid of giving my heart to anyone.
Coward.
