“What does it mean?”
“The Kenaz rune, symbolizes fire, the torch as a symbol o’ knowledge and intellect, searching for enlightenment, and intuition.”
“Fire?”
“Aye,” Arthur nodded.
“As in,‘swallows fire?’”
“Quite possibly.”
“And the next one?”
“The second rune is Dagaz. It is the symbol of dawn, of intuition also, and o’ the light that shines within us all.” He traced the lines of the symbol, shaped like a bow on one of Cleo’s dresses.
“Another one to do with light.”
“Aye.”
“There seems to be a theme.”
“Aye, there does,” he agreed, smiling.
“And the next one?”
“The third rune is Berkana. The rune o’ feminine energy, o’ fertility, and Mother Earth.”
Cleo blushed at this, unable to ignore the knowing glint in Arthur’s eyes as he lovingly traced this symbol with more care than the other two. “It looks like a ‘B’. That one makes more sense as Berkana starts with a ‘B’.”
“Aye, it is true.”
“Do you think that it could represent Guinevere and their doomed love?”
“Perhaps, it is unclear, but I suppose it is possible. Guinevere ne’er gave Arthur children, so honestly it is doubtful.”
Cleo nodded, in awe of his intellect, so much like her father’s. “And the last one?”
“The last and final rune is Inguz. It is the rune o’ harmony and o’ true love.” He traced the lines, like that of a two-fold cord, stronger together than apart.
The two of them exchanged a look over this last symbol but said nothing. There were obvious questions in Arthur’s eyes, but they were questions that she could not answer, at least not yet. Cleo turned away frowning, studying the images upon the page.
“None of this makes any sense. What could my father possibly have meant by this? There is a reference to fire, another to light, in that is a similarity. There is also more than one reference to intuition in your translation between the two symbols that share the light reference. The last two pertain to womanhood, motherhood, and love, which have their obvious connections within the realms of carnal knowledge and life, but there is no clear definition or translation to be had here. It is naught but a series of useless symbols.”
Arthur smiled at the way she blushed when speaking of the last two symbols. “They may be more connected than ye think.”
“What do you mean?” Cleo asked cocking her head to the side in thought as she inspected the runes once again running his explanations one by one through her mind. “What have I missed?”
Before Arthur could answer, there was a knock at the door. Cleo looked up in panic that someone might enter and see what she had done to her father’s wall. “Miss Wallace?” Mrs. McGrath’s voice called from the other side of the door.
Cleo blushed furiously that she had been caught alone with a man behind closed doors and that Mrs. McGrath had felt the need to call through the door instead of opening it like she always had before. “One moment,” Cleo called looking about her in distress at what she had done. She scurried over to the door and slipped out into the hallway. “There is something that I need to show you, but I need you to not be angry with me for it.”
Mrs. McGrath gave her a guarded look. “What had ye done, lass?”
Cleo took the cook’s hand and led her into the study. “I swear to you that I have done the right thing.”
“Christ’s blood and all the saints preserve us!” The look on Mrs. McGrath’s face when she saw that the wall coverings had been stripped was beyond description. Cleo felt the need to shrink away or become the next victim of the cook’s infamous rolling pin, but she fought the urge. “Would ye be so kind as tae tell me how destroying yer faither’s house is doing the right thing?”
“Yes, I promise that I will, but for now, I need you to keep Aunt Caroline out of this room at all costs.”
