Cimmerian Sunrise

Chapter 6 - ***REVISED***

        He leaned close to her, issuing a conspiratorial whisper. "I'm mighty thankful ye' didn't burn down the house, lass. Maybe ye' would be better served if ye' went home to yer' own kin...where you could be taken care of, hmm?"

        Breanne pulled back from him, looking him in the eyes. Lachlan smiled at her, once again showing the empty gaps where teeth should have been. "This is Nathair, good as family, he is." Lachlan told her nodding toward a slightly younger man next to him. Nathair was a tall man, towering over Lachlan, but not Reese. His skin was weathered, a combining result of outside labor and age, Breanne supposed. The sun wasn't as kind to him as it had been to some of the other men belonging to the settlement. Nathair's dark, beady eyes remained fixed on her, and he only nodded once as a greeting. Lachlan gently squeezed her hands before pushing past her to walk inside the house.

The next person to approach her was a young boy, who looked to be about sixteen or seventeen summers, yet still towered over her. He awkwardly shifted his long fingers through his dark brown hair before extending a lanky arm towards Breanne.

        "I'm called Colin," he simply stated, staring down at her.

        Breanne immediately grasped his hand. "I am Breanne," she responded. "It's nice—"

        "I know who ye' are. We all do," he muttered, shouldering past her to enter the house.

        "Colin!" A woman reproachfully looked past Breanne's shoulder and into the holding after her son. Breanne stifled a gasp behind her hand as soon as Torrington's mother locked eyes with her.

In her, Breanne saw Adam. They had the same golden eyes, eyes so pure they seemed to see into the heart of a person. Even the rich brown color of her hair with lighter strands of copper blended in, and the way she smiled—the gesture starting with the right side of her mouth crooking upwards seconds before the left, was reminiscent of Breanne's late husband. A hard lump formed in Breanne's throat but she forced it back with a painful swallow that felt like trying to choke down dry sand.

        Sparing a glance towards one of the horses in the corral, Breanne endeavored to will the tears away, and when she returned her gaze to Torrington's mother she was taken aback at the understanding swirling in her eyes.

Breanne nervously curtsied. "It is a pleasure to—," Breanne paused, hearing the break in her own voice. Clearing her throat, she gave a slight shake of her head and smiled brilliantly at the woman that stood before her. "It is a pleasure to finally meet you," she tried again. "I am sorry that we never met before he—" Breanne trailed off, sighing, her gaze falling to her feet.

        Soft hands grasped hers, and Breanne could not hide the surprise in her features as she looked up at Torrington's mother. "I am sorry for that as well, lass. You can call me Glenda," she responded kindly. Her eyes held sorrow, though Breanne saw that her smile was genuine.

        Breanne then locked eyes with the small, young, dark-haired woman standing behind Glenda.

"Oh, I apologize," Glenda stated turning to look behind her. "This is Arianna. She's been a part of our family for a few years, helpin' us around the house and the like," she explained. Arianna nodded and smiled at Breanne, who promptly returned the gesture.

        "You are all...very welcome," she stated, awkwardly. Of course they were welcome. Reese had called this the family claim, did he not? Breanne sighed. Anything she said would come out wrong.

She felt as if she were the villain in some twisted novel, coming in to snatch away land from their family. Much as it was Adam's land, and much as he had left it to her...they had honestly been married too short a time for her to feel properly entitled to it. Although she blustered to Reese that she was family, that wasn't really how she felt. She only said it to...why did she say such a thing? She had been acting unlike herself for a while now, whatever was the matter with her?

After Glenda and Arianna entered the manor, she sighed in defeat. Maybe they were not all hostile, but she terribly doubted that they held her in any kind of esteem. She forced another smile, holding the door open as Reese approached. He stopped to stand before her, staring down at her unnervingly. Her smile wobbled slightly under his direct stare, and she forced a wider, brighter one.

        Reese finally broke eye contact, rolling his eyes heavenward. An immediate frown settled on Breanne's face, but she quickly covered it over with a neutral expression. It did not matter how she acted towards him. Whatever she did, however polite she was—it was to no avail.

        "If yer' smile becomes any more brittle, yer' face will shatter."

        "I find it interesting that no matter how nice I am to you, you continue to find fault with me at every turn. Now, you are happy to scorn something as gracious as a smile," Breanne observed, shaking her head in disappointment.

        "It's not the smile I'm displeased with, lass. It's the lack of sincerity."

        Breanne gasped. "Whatever do you mean? I am sincere!"

        Reese did a slow survey of her features. "Maybe it is a trait of the English to hold in their emotions. Ye' canna even display something as natural as a sincere smile. I wonder what Adam ever saw in an empty vessel such as yerself."

        Breanne stood, shaken by his words, her heart feeling hollowed out and aching. Could he not see that any emptiness was that of loss and grief? How dare he attack Torrington's interest in her, or their relationship? She stared at Reese, stubbornly silent. Many different responses came into her head, none of which were appropriate to voice, so she remained quiet.

        "Wha' are ye' thinkin', lass? Go on, say it." Reese inquired, bending down so that they were almost nose to nose, searching her expression. Rain that had started afresh, swept sideways from the wind and pelted both of them, yet Reese did not so much as blink.

What is he looking for? Does he want to make me cry or rail at him? Well, it won't happen.

        Breanne visibly swallowed as she endeavored to keep her emotions to herself, and simply stared back at him.

        Reese straightened. "Just as I thought," he said, breaking the tense silence. "Ye' allow yerself to feel nothing, just as ye' felt nothing when my brother died. Is there any depth to ye', or is everything paltry and fickle? It's a wonder if Adam found a scrap in ye' that was real," he concluded aloud, distaste lacing his brogue.

        After he walked inside, Breanne took a deep, uneven breath. How much was one person expected to endure in a day? Everything had been horrible since the moment she arrived in Australia. Thus far, there wasn't one thing that she could be happy about. It only confirmed that the evening was to be one of unmitigated shambles. "One huge disaster," Breanne whispered as she shook her head and reluctantly joined the family inside.

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A/N: ***REVISED*** PLEASE NOTE: New readers, this novel is going through major revision. If you do NOT see the word "revised" along with the chapter title, it means that portion of the text has not yet been updated to reflect the altered plot points. Read such chapters at your own risk. Chapters marked "REVISED" have been updated and are perfectly safe to read. :)

Long time, beautiful, precious readers: Please reread the revised chapters as they come out. I know that I am testing your patience (hopefully not beyond the breaking point); but these "new old" chapters pave the way for the ending of the story, and the continued series. So, if you skip the re-read, you may wind up frustrated and confused. Thank you SO MUCH for your continual love and faithful readership!

(This note will accompany each of the revised chapters, until the book is complete.)