"Did he mind?"
"He did not seem to. She fell asleep on his shoulder and he often kissed her cheek. I have never seen a man do that before." Catherin giggled. "I wanted him to kiss my cheek too."
"And let you fall asleep on his shoulder?"
Catherin laughed. "Aye."
"On a horse?"
Catherin couldn't stop laughing long enough to answer and nodded instead. At length, she took several deep breaths to calm herself. "It feels so good to laugh. I swear, I will never let anyone take the laughter away again."
"Nor will I."
Her dark memories started to fog her mind, but Catherin pushed them away, "Justin tried to teach me how to carve wood and he did not yell when I made a mistake."
"All lads yell, even Harold."
"Justin did not. He is a thoughtful man. His English is not good, but he does not speak until he is sure of what to say."
"I believe you like him."
"I believe I do too. But..." Catherin started to leap up when Rachel fell, but the child laughed and Catherin relaxed.
"We are afraid they will hold us down."
"Aye. If Athena were here, she would tell us the truth. The King said she broke a man's arm."
"Did she? I would like to learn how to do that."
"So would I. Do you think they would let Rachel and I live with Athena?" Catherin asked.
"Perhaps. Would you rather have a cottage of your own?"
"I would indeed. I wonder if your husband would let me."
"I think my husband would let you do whatever you want. He let us leave and did not chase us. I thought he would. If he had, I would have hated him for it."
"Perhaps he is wise as well as handsome. But the wall, Anna. I cannot live again inside a wall."
*
Kevin sat on the bed, unlaced one of his shoes and took it off. He was exhausted, but just like all the other nights; he didn't want to sleep without at least knowing she was alive. He looked around the room. Everything was exactly the same as it had been before he rode out that day to make Anna his wife. She changed nothing and now there was little evidence she had ever been there. The scarf Mary made for her hair and the clothing she wore to ride her horse the day she left were still there. However, Katie put those away so he wouldn't have to see them. Sometimes, he touched his mother's hand mirror just because she had touched it. No one spoke of Anna now, not even Katie, and he admitted there wasn't much left to say.