Lady Eilean

Chapter 38

Alex walked with me to the church. We laughed and joked as we cut our way through long overgrown summer grasses. I was thankful he had offered to go with me, but as my de facto partner at Stormway, I would have roped him into it, regardless.

The priest was jovial enough, meeting us at the church door with a wave and a bright smile. He invited us into his cozy offices for the discussion.

"I apologize, sir, that I have never been one for the pew," I said, looking around the room and marveling at all the gold and lacquered paraphernalia.

The priest waved away my concern. "Spirituality is not prescriptive. You find your calling and value in work, in creating, in supporting the people in your care. Your industry is your scripture. There is not much I could teach you inside these walls that you do not already practice."

Touched, I reigned in my would-be flippancy about religion and nodded. I remembered, of course, too late for it to count, that he was the same man who saw fit to marry Walther and Bess when no one else would have dared.

"Luckily, today I am here on a mission for my people," I said, settling into the smooth, wooden chair. Years of partitioners worrying the wood had worn the arms down to a glossy smoothness.

The priest inclined his head, allowing me to continue.

"There are several women who wish to have their husbands declared dead. Or, if that is impossible, have their marriages annulled. They wish to start new lives with new men. They wish for children."

Frowning, the priest leaned forward and rested his chin on his clasped hands. "That is a very serious request. I understand the losses across Ellesmure are quite significant."

"The husbands of these women have been gone for years with no contact," Alex said, stepping in smoothly. "We have sent scores of letters with no reply. I even tested the time required to send a letter to, and receive a reply from, the Mainland. Three weeks. Some of these women have not heard from their husbands since the day they left — five years ago."

A lifetime ago. The last time I, myself, had heard from family. Calum had been religious in his updates, Angus' messengers never failed to bring reports. Riders, scouts, and trackers had traveled from Stormway to the Mainland and back countless times over the years. Never with news, never with a note to pass on.

"I am all for the virtues of a loyal heart, sir, but I can no longer deny these women the right to a life they want. Children, companionship, comfort, and security. It is important to me as their would-be Laird to ensure that they have access to the comforts of a full life."

"And what if the men return?" The priest asked, peering at me with a challenging glint in his eyes. "I hear rumors there is no official record of their actual death. The Island forces have most of your father's regiment marked as 'missing, assumed dead' on reports."

I raised my eyebrows at that. There had been no suggestion that was a possibility. "Do you know of something I do not?" I asked, cocking my head and staring the man down. "Are you informed of some clue that I missed? The war has been over for almost two years. Every other man has returned from the battlefield. Laird Grant of Istimere has been relentless in the pursuit of information of the missing Ellesmure forces to no avail."

The priest held up his hands, halting me, stopping my attack. "All I know, dear lady, is that thousands of men disappeared without a trace. We cannot give up hope they might yet survive. Miracles have been known to happen."

I snorted, turned off by this foolishness. Alex rested his hand on my knee, settling me.

"I suppose we will have to sort that out later if that magical day ever comes," I said cooly.