A Restless Spirit Finds Companionship in the Night…

W ould the well be further along than it had been?

Rhona opened her eyes with the question on her mind. Even in the dark of night, slumber refused to claim her. Instead, her mind churned. She heard the soft sounds of the other nuns who were in the room with her now.

She couldn't go to the window to open the shutters.

It seemed such a harsh restriction. Every window was shut tight against the night now and Rhona was almost sure that she felt the house being stifled.

There was no rain tonight.

In fact, the moon would be full, with no clouds to cover it.

How could she lie in a dark room while there was bright moonlight to frolic in? One of the nuns began to snore, proving that she was alone in thinking the room was stifling.

If the man was out digging the well, she would not be alone.

Just thinking of him made her heart start thumping harder. A sense of adventure came along with that acceleration of her heart. Her blood went racing through her body, making climbing out from beneath her bedding no trouble at all.

She took her shoes with her to the door and set off down the steps. The kitchen door was the easiest to open and the hinges didn't even squeak.

It was worth the effort.

Outside, as she'd known it would be, the moon was full. Bright light filled the air in a unique way so that the night delighted the senses. There was enough light to see and yet, not enough to overpower her other senses.

She heard the crickets and the sound of an owl. There was the crunch of dried leaves beneath her feet and the crunching of dry stalks. Each season had its own sounds and scents. Now she smelled the musty scent of old leaves and dried-out seed pods. The pinecones were brown, and the oak trees had dropped their acorns.

In another week it would be Samhain, the beginning of the darker half of the year. The hills would be dotted with bonfires to celebrate the end of the harvest.

Will it mark the beginning of your life as a nun?

Rhona walked faster, trying to outrun her own thoughts. The real difficulty was the fact that the nuns had improved the feeling inside of her house and that made it impossible to reject the idea of joining them.

It was a quandary.

One she didn't want to try to solve.

So she climbed up to the meadow, smiling when she found the cover over the spot where the well was being dug. Now there was the scent of water. Kneeling down, Rhona struggled to move the thick logs covering the open hole.

"Are ye going to make me worry about ye falling in, lass?"

Rhona gasped. She started to jump forward, heading right into the hole. A strong arm caught her around the waist and lifted her up and away from it.

He spun her loose but stood between her and the well.

"You startled me." Rhona defended herself.

He grunted. "Ye know it is a well."

She did, and it was beginning to fill with water. She could smell it. Rhona rubbed her waist while she tried to get her mind to start working. It seemed as though the concept of speaking had just become impossible for her.

"Did I hurt ye, lass?" he asked.

Rhona shook her head. But he looked at her, rubbing her waist. She forced herself to stop.

"It…tingles…where we touched," she muttered.

His lips twitched, and then his lips parted in a wide smile. "Is that so, lass?"

His tone was warm and hinted at something she didn't quite understand. Some forbidden thing that she was insanely curious to discover more about.

And she liked it. For there was a sensation brewing inside her that made her want to encourage him to continue to smile at her.

"It is," she confirmed.

She heard him draw in a breath almost as though she'd impressed him. That sensation inside of her heated up some more, approaching the boiling point.

"Ye are toying with me, lass," he admonished her.

Rhona shook her head. "I am speaking truthfully, sir…Um…What is your name?"

He crossed his arms over his chest indecisively. "It might be best if I do nae tell ye who I am, lass."

"Oh, did you see the nuns arrive today?" Rhona asked. Her elation vanished as quickly as a bunny darting into the thicket at the sign of a predator, leaving her feeling at the mercy of her circumstances. "Do you also feel I should accept my half-brother's decree to take the veil?"

Speaking the words out loud made her miserable. "They have claimed the house and every last item inside right down to the grain in the storage," Rhona continued. "The priest says I must atone for my parents' sins."

He snorted. "Ye can live yer own life." It helped banish the helplessness that had been tightening around her. Rhona looked up at him, but she was frustrated.

"You shouldn't offer me solace," she rebuked. "Not when you refuse to tell me your name." She was being emotional.

Rhona drew in a deep breath. "It's my fault, coming up here without an invitation from you." She tipped her head back, looking up at the moon. "My mother and I had happy times here. I wanted to bid them farewell."

His warning wasn't misplaced. It had been a long time, but she still recalled the whispers in the kitchens of the Wilmiton house. Tales of girls who had been attacked because they strayed from the protection of their families.

It was time to run back to her burrow before she was plucked from the meadow by a hungry owl.

Rhona turned then to start back down the meadow.

But he caught her wrist.

This time, she gasped. The connection between their flesh did more than tingle. A ripple of intensity went up her arm and through her body. It was as though she'd only been half-awake for her entire life because now, she was so aware of him that the contact was like the difference between night and day.

Except the darkness around them seemed to suit the strange sensations growing inside of her far better than sunlight would have. There was a whisper in the wind, teasing her with a promise of more delight should she allow him to pull her back toward him.

"My name is Peadair. I should let ye go back to a safe life, but the truth is…I do nae want to."

The wind gusted.

All around them, the trees swayed, their limbs rustling like some sort of applause.

Was her mother speaking to her? Or was it the evil spirits of the night trying to encourage her to stray into their clutches?

"What do you want to do, Peadair?" Rhona shouldn't have asked the question and yet, she was certain it would torment her for the rest of her days if she didn't find the courage to speak.

"I want to tempt ye to kiss me beneath the moonlight, lass," he muttered. "But that is a selfish thing since ye are to take the veil."

The wind blew again. This time it came from behind her. The fabric of her skirts billowed toward him.

Did he tug her towards him?

Or did the wind push her?

Rhona didn't care. He enfolded her in his embrace and lifted her chin so he might press that promised kiss against her lips. There was no thought, only reaction. She couldn't ever have imagined how intense the kiss would be.

Her belly twisted and her head felt light. There in the place where she'd lived her happiest times, Rhona discovered there were in fact greater heights for her to experience. A far deeper form of companionship.

But the wind gusted again. This time a branch in the forest cracked and fell. The sound startled them both. Peadair broke away from her, pushing her behind him while he faced the threat head-on.

When nothing materialized from the edge of the forest, he relaxed.

"I suppose the wind has the right idea…interrupting us," Peadair muttered when he turned back to face her.

Rhona didn't know what came next, only that she'd lost all will to resist. So yes, it was wise that the wind had interceded.

He reached out and smoothed some hair back from her face. "Go back to yer bed, lass."

"But—"

Peadair pressed his thumb over her lips. "Ye tempt me almost beyond me discipline Rhona. And the way ye kissed me back tells me ye feel the same."

She did.

Even so, Rhona stepped away from him. It felt as though she ripped her skin off in doing it too. The wind blew again, this time full on her front, as if to tell her to go now.

So she went but the moment would live inside her heart for the rest of her life. What bothered her about that was knowing that taking the veil would mean pledging herself to no more adventures. No moonlight dances. No kisses. She wasn't sure she could do it.

But reality wasn't going to allow her to refuse.