At length, Catherin gently pushed Rachel to a sitting position on the floor. She slipped a foot out of her shoe and lifted her skirt until the hideous scar around her ankle was exposed.
Several of the women gasped, but Rachel leaned forward to hug her mother's leg. "I have never noticed."
"I know, your mind would not let you notice, but sweetheart, the chain is gone and the scars are old."
"What happened?"
Catherin hesitated. She feared this day would come and always thought the truth was best, but now she wasn't so sure. On the other hand, Rachel's questions might not stop if they weren't honest with her. "Tell her, Anna."
Rachel helped her mother put her shoe back on and then got up. Anna let Kevin help her up, wiped her eyes with part of her plaid and then wrapped one arm around her husband's waist. "Rachel, the mean lad you remember was our father."
"Justin is not my father?"
"He is, in every way a lad can be a good father, but no, he is not your real father. The King of England killed our real father, but not before he suffered. We do not need to know how much he suffered; only that he did." She stopped then and looked at her mother. "Should I tell her all of it?"
"Aye, her memories may muddle her mind as they do ours and she needs to know what they mean."
Anna left her husband's side, urged Rachel to sit in a chair next to their mother and then walked around the table and took a seat across from them.
The music of the flute and the laughter of the people outside drifted in, but the great hall remained silent. No one seemed willing to move, Connor noticed, not even Kevin, and Justin was keeping his eyes held down.
Anna reached across the table and took Rachel's hands in both of hers. "Our Father called himself Stoneham, but that was not his real name. His real name was MacGreagor and he once lived here. Kevin's father…" Anna told of all the misery, the beatings, the way her mother was chained to her bed and why she was sent to marry Kevin. Tears filled the eyes of some of the women, and all the men bowed their heads.
Twice, Anna stopped to wipe away her own tears, drink the wine one of the women handed her, and clear her thoughts. Then she continued and the details got worse before they got better. Connor had never heard of such cruelty, thought he saw a tear roll down Justin's face and looked at Kevin. Kevin's arms were folded and his jaws were clenched as though the memories renewed the rage in him. It was the same rage he was beginning to feel.