Page 63 of Conquer the Highlander

“Here,” she said, laying out a set of curtains identical to the ones that Esme had been working on. “I finished these and none too soon. Looks as if the rains are on their way.”

Esme nodded, glancing at Isadora’s handiwork as Niko went straight for the bee bowl.

“Bee!” he cried happily.

Esme smiled at the little boy, who was extremely careful with the bee, even at his young age. With the child occupied, Esme stood up to show Isadora her curtains.

“These should do nicely,” she said. “Thank you for your help with them. I couldn’t have finished them all on my own.”

Isadora wasn’t the greatest seamstress, but she got the job done. “We’ll loop hemp rope through the seams at the top and the bottom so ye can open and close them,” she said. “Can ye mind Niko? I’ll go hunt for the rope.”

Esme was happy to watch the boy. “Of course,” she said. “He can help me watch the bee.”

With her son occupied, Isadora slipped out. No sooner did she leave, however, than there was a knock at the door. Esme opened it to Aurelius. Enormous and muscular, he had skin as white as cream, pale blue eyes, and big, straight teeth. He smiled timidly.

“Buenos dias, Señora abeja,” he said. Good Day, Lady Bee.

Esme was teaching him Spanish. Spoken in his heavy Celtic accent, it sounded funny to the ear, but he was trying very hard to learn. She smiled politely at him.

“Buenos dias,” she said. “Cómo estás hoy?”

His smile vanished and he stared at her, trying hard to think of the answer. Then, his eyes widened and his grin returned.

“Bueno,” he said.

Esme laughed softly. “Excellent, Aurelius,” she said. “Come in. Niko is visiting today.”

Aurelius came into the cottage, filling it up with his bulk. He sat down on one of the chairs at the table, next to where Niko was standing. The little boy pointed out the bee and flowers to Aurelius, who pretended to be interested. As that was going on, Esme stood over by the hearth.

“Let us see how much you remember from last week’s lesson, Aurelius,” she said. “Did you write the words like I showed you?”

Aurelius nodded. “Aye, Lady Bee,” he said. “I wrote them twenty times in the dirt.”

“Good,” she said. “Now, what’s this?”

She was pointing to the fire in the hearth. Aurelius’ brow furrowed as he thought on the question. “Fuego,” he said.

“Very good. And this?”

She was pointing to the stone wall. He continued to look thoughtful. “La pared,” he said.

Esme praised him. She went through about ten more everyday household items and he remembered all of them. Pleased, she moved back over to the table where she had some sentences written down on vellum, but his last word question was for the bee in the bowl.

“La abeja,” he said.

“Abeja!” Niko echoed.

Esme laughed at the toddler, who was just learning to speak English. “Excellent, Niko,” she said. “Now I have two students.”

Aurelius was perfectly happy sharing his lesson with Niko, who was surprisingly attentive for a toddler. He ended up sitting on Aurelius’ lap, listening to Esme’s lesson as she taught Aurelius small sentences related to household or everyday phrases, his favorite being me gustaria agua –

I would like water.

The lesson went on for about a half-hour before Titus returned and Niko jumped off Aurelius’ lap to run to Titus, who greeted the child fondly. He didn’t pick him up, or hug him, but simply put a big hand on the boy’s head and asked him about his visit with the bee. Titus wasn’t hugely fond of children, mostly because he’d never been around them, but he was learning, little by little. Niko seemed to have a great affection for him and he genuinely liked the child.

Titus’ return, however, signaled the end of the lesson, and Aurelius paid Esme two silver coins in exchange for his homework, which was writing phrases in the dirt that she had written down on a piece of vellum. No kicking or anger this time, which was progress where he was concerned. When he was gone and Niko ran back over to the bee in the bowl, Titus took Esme in his arms.

Freely and fully, he did that these days. He embraced her long and sweetly whenever he saw her, holding her against him and savoring the feel of her soft body against his. Sometimes, he just stood there and held her, inhaling her scent, feeling her heartbeat through her clothing. Her heart thumped so hard sometimes that he could feel it mingling with his own.