The Hands of Time by Irina Shapiro Read Free Book Online

would rather die than tell Alec that he lost it to some Irish captain.  He would just have another one made; the exact replica , and no one would be the wiser. 
    Finn vaulted into the saddle and trotted through the gates on his way to Compton, his thoughts turning back to Mistress Crane.  Alec would be expecting to hear his opinion on the matter, but he had to work it out for himself first.  He was genuinely puzzled.  Seeing her fear in the dining room , he had assumed that his brother was correct and the girl was just running away from something, most likely an abusive husband, but that theory was very quickly disproved.  She went out for a walk with him willingly enough , and failed all his clever tests.  She looked him full in the face when he spoke to her, which was not something a fearful woman did , and conversed easily and intelligently, not just responding to his questions and looking away in fright.  He tried walking closer to her than was appropriate, but she did not seem to notice , and when he raised his hand suddenly to point something out to her, she didn’t draw back or cringe.  A woman who had been beaten or raped would have run a mile from him.  She didn’t reveal anything about where she came from , or who her people were, but Finlay would bet his dagger, if he still had it that is, that this woman had not been abused physically or mentally.  She was not afraid of a person, but of her circumstances, whatever they were. 
    The idea that she was a Protestant sent to spy on them crossed his mind, but he dismissed it immediately.   There was absolutely no reaction when he had mentioned the Dissolution of the Monasteries , and unless she was a very skilled actress , she seemed to be completely ignorant of the history of violence between the Catholics and Protestants during the turbulent years of Tudor reign.  Anyway, who would want to spy on them and why?  They said their prayers and not much else.  There had not been a Catholic priest around Yealm C astle for years , and the only time they had to seek one out , was when funeral services needed to be performed .  Father Paul had lived with them when they were children, posing as a footman for company, but he was long gone, as was his mother , who was the Jesuit’s benefactress. 
    Finlay thought of Mistress Crane’s violet - colored eyes and sweet smile.  He would encourage Alec to let her stay.  What was the harm?  They certainly had the room , and there hadn’t been a woman at the castle for far too long.  They could both use a little female companionship, especially Alec, who unlike Finlay , would not stoop to paying for it.
     

 
     
    Chapter 10
     
    Alec and Finn left for Plymouth the following afternoon , and were gone for several days. I didn ’ t have a clear idea of what they did, but I knew it had something to do with cargo that was coming into port and needed to be unloaded and disposed of .  Alec gave strict instructions to the overseer , Mr. Dobbs, not to admit anyone who wasn’t expected , and not to reveal my presence at the castle.  I was to stay inside and not venture outside the wall s , my walks restricted to the walled garden behind the castle .  I appreciated his efforts to protect me, but knew very well that no one would come searching for me.  No one in this time and place knew that I existed , besides the inhabitants of Yealm Castle. 
    Once the brothers were gone and Betty finished her chores upstairs and went down to launder , I set out on my search.  It stood to reason that if the clock was found in the village at the bottom of the hill, it might have come from the castle.  I thought the clock had been made in France , and Finlay had mentioned that their grandfather had fought the French under Henry VIII.  Granted, Boulogne was in Italy, but maybe he had fought in France before or after the Siege and acquired the clock as a souvenir .  I started with the rooms downstairs , hoping that none of them