Jain groaned into her blankets when she heard the rooster crow outside and sat up with a yawn. The morning chill crept in around her shoulders as the blanket slid down around her waist while she woke up. 

Jain stretched her arms and pulled herself up on the bed. She could hear her parents grumble in the other room. With a tired moan, she stretched and then licked her lips to relieve the dryness. The festivities the night before had taken their toll on everyone and it was difficult to get going in the aftermath.

“Aileen, it’s time to get up.”

Her cousin groaned, sitting up on the pallet bed and then running her fingers through a mess of dark brown hair. “Oooff!”

Jain shivered from the cold when her feet touched the ground and she pulled on her favorite tunic to keep warm. Aileen threw off the rest of the blankets and joined her getting dressed. “Jain yer hair looks slept in,” she informed her with a grin.

Jain scoffed. “Ye’re one to talk!”

They laughed with each other while undoing their braids and pulling on a pair of hose. “I saw ye talking to Rodrick at the fires,” Jain teased her with a grin. “Ye seemed to be enjoying one another’s company.”

Aileen blushed and pulled one of the cloaks around her shoulders. “Ye spent the entire festival dancing with Alan. Dinnae pretend like ye dinnae have feelings fer him.”

Jain’s smile faded and she headed out into the kitchen. “Come on, let’s get the fire going and break our fast. There’s still much to do to complete our harvest.”

The girls walked out into the living space together and Jain kissed Moira on the cheek before starting on the morning meal. “Good morrow, Mam.”

“Good morrow, loves. I trust ye slept well?”

Aileen nodded in response while kneeling by the fire to get it started. Some embers were still crackling from the night before, but they wouldn’t last very long without some added fuel. She hastily put a branch onto the burning hearth and blew onto the red-hot embers until it caught flame to warm the rest of the house.

Jain busied herself in the kitchen, retrieving spices and ingredients to prepare some food. Eamon came out of his bedroom wearing a cloak and hat and headed for the door. “Aileen, could ye tend to Fiona fer me? I’m going to check the coop fer some eggs and then head over to the spring house.”

Aileen breathed out a tired sigh and nodded. “Aye.”

Moira winced as they walked out the door together and then collapsed in one of the chairs with her hand flying to her hip.

“Mam?”

“It’s alright, dear. Just another spell,” she told her.

Jain frowned when she knelt beside her. “Let me make ye some willow bark tincture. It could ease the pain.”

Moira nodded, though the pain was evident on her face, and Jain got to work immediately. A few minutes later, the door creaked open and Aileen came back with a pail of milk. Eamon was right behind her with the eggs and he set them carefully on the table. “Alright, loves. I’m off to get some water and will return presently.”

“Thank ye, Da.”

He collected some buckets and was about to leave when there was a sudden knock at the door.

Jain turned at the sound of it and frowned. “Who could that be?”

Eamon mumbled something unintelligible and walked over to the door to answer it. His long brown tunic fell almost to his knees over a pair of knitted hose and a leather belt around his waist. The door swung open and Keenan stood waiting on the other side with a grim expression on his face.

“Keenan? What's going on?” Eamon asked him.

The chieftain sighed. “Good morrow, Eamon. I'm sorry to disturb ye before ye've had the chance to break yer fast, but I'm afraid it cannae wait.”

The tone of his voice was serious and sent a thrill of fear down Jain's spine. Something was wrong, she knew it. Keenan would never disturb a family this early in the morning if there was another option. It was at that moment, when Jain saw past her uncle’s figure, she realized there were four other men on horseback.

Something was very wrong indeed.

“Tell me what it is,” Eamon beseeched him. “Ye ken I’m at yer service always. How can I be of assistance?” 

Keenan cleared his throat and explained, “One of the lasses dinnae come home last night after the festival. Her parents are beside themselves. Ever since they told me, I've been assembling a search party to go and look fer her. I hate to ask, but we could really use yer help.”

Aileen gasped at the terrible news and covered her mouth with both hands. Jain listened to them in rapt attention and placed her arm around Aileen’s shoulder as a form of comfort. It was a terrible thing when a member of their clan went missing. The entire community would mourn. She just hoped the men would find her soon and be able to bring her back safely.

“Aye, of course,” Eamon responded to his brother’s request. “I’ll be with ye right away.”

“Who was it?” Jain blurted out.

Moira cast her a warning glance, but Keenan nodded in understanding. “It’s Heather Gordon.”

Jain gasped. “Nae!”

Immediately, her thoughts went back to seeing Heather the night before, standing by the fire side with Conrad. Heather was smiling, laughing, and appeared to be having a wonderful time.

“I’m afraid it is,” he told her.

“She was talking to Conrad. They were—”

Keenan held up his hand to silence her and said, “We’ve already spoken with Conrad and there’s nae evidence of foul play. His friends claim they were with him all night. I ken ye’re upset, but we’re doing everything we can.”

Jain pursed her lips and nodded. Eamon came walking by her with his cloak and hat and stepped over to the door to join them.

“Da…”

“Dinnae worry, Jain. We’ll bring her back,” Eamon promised.

Without another word, Eamon and Laird Gordon left. Jain sat quietly in her chair, still reeling from shock. Moira came up behind her and placed a hand on her shoulder. “It won’t do Heather any good to mope around the house. The lads will be here soon to finish with the thatching on the roof.”

Jain nodded while choking down the lump that was rising in her throat. “Aye, Mam.”

Alan and Rodrick arrived shortly after that, with the same morose attitude as the men who came before. It seemed they too had heard the news about Heather’s disappearance. Without their pleasant conversation to lighten the mood, Jain got started on her chores right away. Jain threw herself into her chores and gathered up the dirty linens, taking them outside to wash so she wouldn’t have to think about what happened to her friend. 

Around noon, she went out to check on the clothes drying on the lawn and found the wash line had become disconnected and fallen from its post. All the clothes she’d spent the morning cleaning were now laying in the dirt and Jain would have to do the entire wash again.

“Oh, would ye look at that,” she grumbled.

In an exasperated sigh, Jain knelt on the grass and began picking them up again to return them to the bucket. She was mumbling to herself when the sound of footsteps came marching up the hill. Jain glanced up from what she was doing, hoping it was her father or Keenan returning victorious with news of all that happened. Instead, Jain was disappointed to find, not her father, but Conrad and his friends walking down the path towards her.

She gritted her teeth at the sight of him and continued picking up the clothes, hoping she hadn’t caught his eye. Conrad never went anywhere without Murray and Scott flanking him on either side – the whole lot of them were incorrigible. As luck would have it though, Conrad spotted her in the grass and strode over to where she was without so much as a pause. Jain stiffened at the sight of him standing next to her and cast her eyes toward the laundry. He was the last person she wanted to see right now. Conrad was arrogant and brash and something about him always put her teeth on edge. She didn’t feel safe when he was around.

“Now, lads, that’s what I call a pretty picture,” he told them with a grin. “I’ve never seen anything quite as beautiful as a woman on her knees.”

Scott and Murray laughed at his little joke, but Jain’s cheeks flushed as she stood up hastily to brush the leaves off her apron.

“What do ye want, Conrad?”

“Oh, dinnae be like that,” he scolded. “I was just telling my friends how lovely ye are, tis all. Ye should take it as a compliment.”

“Fine, I accept yer compliment. Now be on yer way and leave.”

Murray laughed, “Be careful, Conrad. This one has teeth.”

Conrad grinned, leaning in to lick his lips while raking his eyes across her body, his black hair hanging down across his shoulders and said, “Ye ken, Jain, ye really should be nicer to me. I was just here the other day asking yer da if he’d consider giving me yer hand in marriage. Surely, that proves my affection and entitles me to a certain level of civility.”

Jain snickered at the ridiculous suggestion Eamon would even consider such an offer. She could only imagine how that conversation went and tried to stifle a laugh at his expense. “Ye asked my da to marry me?”

Conrad nodded, his arrogant smile never failing.

“Interesting, since this is the first time I’ve even heard of it. He must not have approved.”

The warrior’s smile faded. “I’m sure yer da would change his mind if ye let him ken that I was amiable. Keenan wouldn’t deny such a humble request if it came from his own niece.”

She flinched away from him when he came nearer. His breath reeked of ale when he spoke to her and had the bitter hint of body odor. Jain’s nose crinkled at the smell, appalled that Conrad would be drunk this early in the day. Having the casual drink was one thing, but his speech and behavior was clearly beyond what could be considered socially acceptable. He was potted.

“Are ye drunk?” she asked.

This time it was Scott who laughed, while crossing his arms in front of his chest. “I dinnae ken we ever stopped after the festival!”

“And why would I?” Conrad chuckled. “After all it’s a celebration. Who are ye to judge a man fer when he’s been drinking?”

Jain turned to him and smiled, knowing that she had the upper hand for the first time since he arrived. “Ye’re absolutely right. I’m in nae position to judge ye for having a drink, it’s none of my business. I could probably change their minds if I wanted to, but that’s never going to happen, Conrad. What makes ye think I would ever accept yer hand in marriage?”

“I could take care of ye, and provide a lovely home. Ye shouldn’t dismiss my affection so carelessly. Women like fer their men to take care of them, telling them what to say and do. Tis proper and good that way. Ye should be nae different.”

Conrad stepped towards her once again and Jain stiffened. Every muscle in her body tensed when he came nearer. There were whispers about him from the other girls in the village. He made all of them uncomfortable with his leering gazes and sense of entitlement. Just because he was skilled warrior and hunter, Conrad seemed to think that he could get away with anything.

Without warning or permission, he reached up and brushed his hands across her cheek, scraping Jain’s delicate skin with his callouses. “Such spirit,” Conrad mused. “And yet, so quiet and lovely at the same time. Ye’ll make the perfect wife one day once ye’ve been sufficiently broken. All ye need is a good, strong man who kens his way around a woman’s body to give it to ye. I’d be more than happy to show ye how it’s done.”

“Get away from me!”

The large man scowled, his eyes narrowed with unspent anger. She strode past him to continue with the wash, but he grabbed her by the arm and whirled her around to look at him.

“I’d thank ye to treat me with more respect, lass. One of these days ye might not be so lucky. Yer da cannae afford to support ye living here forever. It’s high time ye accepted that and start looking fer a husband. Ye should be honored that I even took a liking to ye to begin with. I doubt anyone else will make such a generous offer.”

Jain knew perfectly well that nothing he said was true, it was just Conrad’s way of shaming her to make her feel less than human. “I’ve seen how ye treat yer women. Weren’t ye making eyes at Heather last night just before she went missing at the festival? I could have sworn I saw ye talking to her. That’s quite a coincidence, dinnae ye think?”

Conrad stiffened. “Aye it’s a shame what happened. I hope they find her soon.”

When he finished speaking, her eyes narrowed; she didn’t believe a word of it. Jain squared her shoulders, deciding to press the issue further. “I’m sure ye and the lads here are just coming back from helping with the search party. Run along now so I can finish with the chores.”

Thinking their conversation finished, Jain attempted to walk around him into the house. Conrad stepped in front of her, blocking the path as he looked down with a vicious sneer. “Why do ye let such venom spew from yer lovely mouth? I could think of a hundred better uses fer those lips which have nothing to do with speaking.”

“Let me pass.”

Conrad’s eyes grew dark as he responded, towering over her from his great height. “Nae. I think the lads and I should teach ye a wee lesson about respect. A woman should ken her place in this world. Truthfully, I liked ye better on yer knees.”

The men beside him whispered among themselves as Conrad’s lip curled up into a smile.

“What do ye think about that, Jain? I could take ye right here and now. Then ye could see exactly what ye’re giving up. I’ll make it so good that when we’re finished ye’ll be begging me to spread yer legs.”

Without thinking, she reached down and grabbed the bucket at her feet.

“Dinnae touch me.”