Page 24 of Enchanted

Fiona lifted the sword and came at her with a strike. Rosalyn easily blocked it and smiled. “This weapon feels more natural than all the others.”

The women smiled at her. “Then we have found what will work for you should you need such a weapon. It is yours,” Aria said, handing her a sheath. “Store it with the sharpened side up so when you draw it, you are ready to position it correctly.”

Rosalyn frowned. “Where do I store it?” she asked, looking at the straps extending from the sheath.

They all laughed. “Looks like we are going to have to get you a belt after all,” Aria said.

“When do I wear it?” Rosalyn asked, warming to the idea of carrying a weapon. “None of you have weapons on yourselves.”

The women all lifted the hems of their skirts and pulled a small blade from their boots. “We will find a sgian-dubh for you as well,” Aria said, lifting her skirt higher, revealing a leather sheath strapped to her leg. “If you are comfortable wearing the dagger, I can have a leg sheath made for you, or else you will leave it in your chamber until you know there is a threat or anytime you leave this castle.”

“Thank you.” Rosalyn smiled at the women gathered near her. “As your e—a stranger, you did not have to teach me, but I am so glad you did.”

Gwendolyn’s brows came together. “You are not a stranger, and you are certainly not our enemy. You are our new friend, and we care about what happens to you.”

Rosalyn’s throat tightened. She could feel tears burning behind her eyes and quickly closed her lids to hide them. Gwendolyn’s words touched her, but it was the sincerity in the woman’s eyes that sent a spiral of warmth through her.

“Open your eyes, Rosalyn,” Gwendolyn said.

She opened her eyes to find all four women smiling at her with that same look Gwendolyn’s eyes held. It spoke of acceptance and friendship.

“When we look at you, we do not see an Englishwoman, we see someone who is strong and determined to rise above the hardships that have been thrown at her,” Gwendolyn said, reaching for Rosalyn’s hand. “You are a survivor, just as we all are. We share a bond, and with that bond you are now one of us.”

This time Rosalyn could not stop the tears that came to her eyes. “You have no idea how much those words mean to me.”

“We all understand how difficult it is to revisit the past, but if there comes a time when you want to talk about your brother, or why you were sent to Scotland, or anything else, we are here to listen,” Fiona said, her tone filled with the acceptance Rosalyn had seen in her eyes.

“Again, I thank you for your understanding.” The pressure in Rosalyn’s chest eased as she looked from the women, past the walls of Dunvegan, and to the great expanse of the loch beyond. Yesterday her life had been all but at an end. Today it had started once more in the presence of these brave women and in the protection of the MacLeods.

A breeze that was cool but not chill brushed against her cheeks and tugged at her hair, bringing with it the heady scent of salt mixed with the emerging spring green and rich earth. Instead of fear she suddenly found herself filled with hope—hope that her life truly was starting over with these extraordinary women as her friends, and for a future that had yet to reveal itself but had nothing to do with either her brother or Lieutenant James Long.