Rowan's Lady Read Online Free PDF Page A

again. And do nothing to
make me question me decision.”
    Garrick gave a quick nod of his head toward the
man holding the babe before he quit the room almost as abruptly as he had
entered. His man stomped toward Arline and without saying a word, he thrust the
babe into her arms. A moment later the men left the room and pulled the door
shut behind them.
    Arline was, to say the least, stunned at this turn
of events. She would not die this night, and neither would the babe. There had
been no need to beg for mercy, no need to argue or to fight. For whatever
reason, Garrick had decided to let her live, if only to take care of the
frightened little girl who was now resting her head against Arline’s shoulder.
    Between hiccups and tear-induced heavy sighs, the
babe finally spoke. “I do no’ wike the mean man.” Arline stifled a giggle at
the babe’s inability to say her l’s and kept her own opinion of Garrick
to herself. There was no point in upsetting the child further.
    “I want me da,” she said with her thumb still
tucked in her mouth.
    Arline choked back her own tears, kissed the top
of the child’s head and gave her a hug.
    “I’m sure ye do, child,” Arline whispered into the
auburn ringlets. She took a deep breath before stepping to the washbasin.
“We’ll wash yer face, get under the blankets and get some sleep. In the morn,
ye can tell me all about yer da,” Arline told her, trying to sound far more
confident and hopeful than she truly felt.
    The child winced when Arline sat her down on the
stool next to the basin. “Me bum hurts,” she said, unwilling to relinquish her
thumb.
    It was not a huge leap to reason out why the
little girl’s bottom was sore. Arline clenched her jaw and began counting to
ten.
    “That mean man spanked me fer cryin’,” the little
girl said as she struggled to stand. “I want me da. Me da never spanks me.” Her
eyes began to fill with tears again.
    Arline decided ten was not nearly a large enough
number to count to in order to settle her anger toward her husband. She grabbed
a clean cloth, poured fresh water over it and wrung it out while the little
girl stood clutching at her skirts. “When can I go home?”
    Deciding it was far too late and the child far too
young to consider all the factors in answering that question, Arline began to
wash the little girl’s face and hands. “What is your name, sweeting?”
    With her thumb still planted firmly between her
teeth, the little girl answered. “Wiwee.”
    Knowing the child struggled with her l’s Arline took a good guess. “Willie? Do they call you Willie?” Even as she said
it, she thought it an odd name for such a sweet little girl.
    Willie nodded her head yes, still sucking her
thumb. With her free hand, the child absentmindedly grabbed at a length of her
auburn hair and twisted it around her finger. Arline thought she was the most
adorable child she’d ever seen. Though in truth, she’d not been around many
babes or children. It was a solitary life she had led.
    “Willie,” Arline said the name again. Mayhap it
was short for Wilhelmina. The child was far too precious to have such a old
sounding name. Named after a grand mum? It was possible.
    “When can I go home?” Willie asked again before
she yawned and shuddered. “Where is me da?”
    There were many questions the child could ask.
Arline knew she’d not possess the answers for many of them. “Soon, I imagine,”
Arline whispered softly, trying to disguise her own doubt. Arline rinsed out
the cloth and folded it over the drying rack below the basin.
    With no idea as to whom the child belonged, Arline
had no way of knowing if her father could pay the ransom. Garrick, though he
may be cruel and selfish, was not a foolish man. Certainly he would not have
taken a child from someone who couldn’t pay the ransom. Hopefully the child’s
family was not far away nor without the means to pay.
    Arline took her comb from the table beside the
basin and carefully