"Is Kevin a normal lad? I mean, he gets upset when you are hurt. I thought he might pass out when Neil was born."
"He loves me and he was afraid I would die. Sometimes women have difficulty when a child is born."
"Yes, but is that normal when a lad loves a woman?"
"I believe it is. Kevin says he does not want to live without me and I feel the same."
"But were you unhappy before you married him?"
Anna lovingly brushed a stand of hair away from Rachel's face. "Why all these questions, Smudges? Are you thinking of a marriage for yourself?"
"I do not need a husband and I doubt I ever will."
"I felt the same way once." She wondered if she should tell her sister how glorious the love of a good man was for a woman, but decided it was not the best time. "We should go back, Emily is teaching me how to sew and I should not keep her waiting." She stood and gave her little sister a hand up. "Poor Emily has been trying to teach me for years, but I do not learn on purpose."
"Why?"
"When I first came here, it annoyed me when the lasses would not let me learn. But then I noticed the joy in their eyes when they were allowed to do things for me."
"Is that why you teach them English instead?"
"I must have something to do or I will go daft." Anna hugged Rachel and walked away. "Try to stay inside the wall."
Rachel watched until her sister was out of sight and then went back to her favorite tree to watch the men.