Splintered Heart (The Bentons and Northcutts 2) ✅

Chapter Two

April 8th, 1667

Traveling in April was hardly ideal, but the weather along the English-Scottish border was even chillier than the weather in the south. When Rafe departed his carriage, the windchill seeped straight to his bones. Almost in an instant, he felt he had aged twenty years. The feeling did not subside when his kin emerged from Briar Keep, the home of his cousins Bernard and Elisa, as well as Bernard's wife Siobhán and their son August. The keep was a traditional stone keep and had been built in the twelfth century, and it did not looking inviting or welcoming in the slightest. Rafe suspected however that this had more to do with the fact that the weather was terrible and not a reflection of the place itself.

When Siobhán, Elisa, and August emerged from the Gatehouse to greet him, Rafe's heart sank into the pit of his stomach. They were dressed in mourning clothes...and Lady Siobhán was wearing a widow's veil.

Rafe gasped shortly, shock momentarily overcoming him before he recovered and rushed forward to Siobhán's side. "Bernard?" he asked softly, though he knew the answer.

Siobhán nodded solemnly, her eyes reddened with unshed tears. Elisa stepped forward, her complexion pale and her hands clasped tightly in front of her. Francis had spoken disparagingly about her, referring to her only as Bernard's "spinster sister", but her posture was as stiff as her upper lip. "Cousin Rafe," she said politely. "Thank you for responding to our call for aid. But I am afraid I must tell you that my brother passed away two days ago. Given the seriousness of the plague here, as we do not know what it is or what caused it, it was necessary to expedite his burial."

"I am deeply sorry for your loss," Rafe said to both Elisa and Siobhán. "And I apologize for not arriving sooner."

"You are here now," Elisa said. "That is what's most important."

August stared at Rafe in silence with large, solemn eyes. Though Bernard had traveled south for both of Lady Diana's weddings, he had not brought August with him for either occasion. It was the first time Rafe was meeting the boy, and he looked so strongly like his father. Rafe did not smile but he hope that he conveyed an expression of compassion as he nodded to August. "Hello, August."

"Hello, Cousin Rafe," August responded. His tone was blunt but also somber.

"Please come inside out of the cold, Lord Rafe," Siobhán said, finally speaking but in a quiet tone. "We have tea ready in the parlor."

"Thank you Lady Siobhán, but my father is a lord and not I," Rafe gently corrected her as he was escorted into Briar Keep. "We are family, so you may call me Rafe."

"Then you may call me Siobhán," the widow said over her shoulder.

"Refer to me however you wish," Elisa said quietly. "My status as kin to the lord of the Keep is the only thing to my name."

The interior of Briar's Keep was as gloomy as the exterior. The servants who hurried about were also dressed in mourning garbs. Rafe spotted more than one of them looking under the weather. He leaned in to whisper to Elisa. "Are the servants also stricken with the plague?"

"It would be best to speak in private," Elisa responded to him.

August was taken away by nursemaids and they went into a large sitting room. The fireplace was comforting and the tea was strong, but Rafe had no stomach for the cakes offered. The servants were dismissed so that there was no one about. "What did you need to discuss?" Rafe said, keeping his tone gentle. "Do you need help in settling my cousin's affair?"

"We wanted to discuss this plague," Elisa said. "And how...abnormal it is."

"'Abnormal'?"

"This plague seems to have come from out of nowhere," Siobhán said, her tone still quiet. She cast her gaze towards the floor and wrung her hands slightly. "It has barely been present for a month, and...so many became ill at once."