“H-How do ye ken I’ll continue tae behave myself once ye’re gone?” Isla asked. “What makes ye think I’ll nae do all that I can tae ruin this betrothal the moment yer back is turned?”
Elspeth put her hands on her hips. “Because I dinnae truly believe ye’ve behaved yerself only on account of my presence here. I think if ye’d made up yer mind tae make this go awry, ye’d have done it already and saved yerself the past two days. I think that although ye may not relish the prospect of marryin’this man, ye understand that it is what is best… not for me or yer father, but for yer people.”
She arched an eyebrow, as if waiting for her daughter to contradict her.
But Isla did not. For she knew Elspeth was right, even if she hated it.
Within the hour, farewells had been said, the carriage had borne Elspeth away, and Isla was left with no companion save her horse, Thistledown.
There was some part of her that hoped Alex would appear shortly after Elspeth’s departure, in order to show a modicum of concern for the fact that Isla might feel suddenly lonely and find herself in need of his companionship. It was not so much that she enjoyed his company and longed for it specifically, rather, it would have been a reassuring display confirming that even if there was to be no genuine affection between them, he might at least be respectful and considerate of her feelings.
After waiting in her chambers for several hours and expecting him to knock, however, she came to understand that he was not planning to do any such thing.
Isla sighed heavily, seeing this as a foreboding sign of things to come.
She took to wandering Castle Oliphant aimlessly, hoping she might find someone to talk to. Unfortunately, the place was so huge and sprawling, with so many different cavernous rooms and winding corridors, that she rarely ever seemed to occupy the same space as another person. The guardsmen were largely brusque and uncommunicative—they were respectful, but seemed uneasy around her, perhaps because they knew she would be the lady of the clan someday soon and they were trying to gauge whether her temperament would make their lives easier or more difficult.
Likewise, the servants tended to scuttle at the edges of her peripheral vision, doing their best to remain invisible to her during the daytime. Isla wondered whether they, too, might be fretting about the sort of mistress she might turn out to be.
Or perhaps they worry that if they engage me in conversation, they might end up inadvertently saying something to me that their master would not approve of, she thought grimly.After all, theydoseem to live in terror of him, for the most part.
The more this continued to sink it, the more upsetting it was for her. She had agreed to go through with a loveless marriage, but what of one that appeared as though it would result in her being constantly dominated by a tyrannical martinet? Was that something she was prepared to commit herself to, knowing the relentless years of misery it would no doubt lead to?
She wasn’t sure she’d be able to force herself into it when the moment of truth arrived and she was standing next to him at the altar.
And then what?
If she reneged on a contract of marriage at the last possible moment, she would not only be shaming her parents, she would be harming her entire clan and its reputation—which she knew full well.
Some tiny and spiteful part of her almost wanted to do it for those reasons, since as far as she was concerned, it would still be her father’s fault for browbeating her into this arrangement in the first place.
Still, she knew she’d be hurting the other members of the MacDonell Clan, and she had no real desire to do that.
She was simply stuck, and that was the truth of it.
“Are ye missin’ yer mum, then, now that she’s departed?”
The voice seemed to come out of nowhere, and startled Isla so that she nearly jumped out of her skin.
She turned, and saw that it belonged to a plump servant girl barely in her twenties, with curly black hair, broad and friendly face, and twinkling blue eyes.
“Och, good heavens, my lady, I surely didnae mean tae scare ye! I only thought… well, seein’ ye drift about the place for several hours now, it seemed tae me ye might welcome a bit of company. If I was wrong, though…” She began to withdraw.
“Nay, nay, stay a while, I beg ye!” Isla spoke up eagerly. “Ye are right, I would indeed be grateful for the presence of… well, nearly anyone other than myself, at this point!” she tittered nervously. “‘Tis a pleasure tae meet ye. I’m Isla.”
“I am Moira, and I’m pleased tae meet ye as well! And believe me, everyone here knows who ye are, my lady!” the servant replied cheerfully. “Many of us cannae wait for ye tae marry Laird Alex, if only in the hope that yer living here might cheer the place up a bit. And perhaps even cheer him up a bit,” she added conspiratorially, “though none of us is expectin’ miracles in that regard.”
Thank heaven for that, Isla thought ruefully,since when it comes tae his moods, I doubt I’ve any miracles tae offer!
“Do ye come from a lovely home, then?” Moira inquired wistfully. “Do ye miss it awfully?”
“Merely a few days ago, I’d have insisted that my home was the most beautiful place in the world,” Isla confessed, “but after seeing the absolute majesty of this castle, with all of its labyrinthine corridors and wonderfully-appointed rooms… ‘tis like I’ve stepped into a fairy tale!” She hesitated, then added, “Well, in terms of my surroundings, at any rate. The rest of it falls somewhat short of a storybook ending.”
Moira tilted her head, giving Isla a sympathetic look. “Well, ye’ve only just arrived here… perhaps ye might manage tae make such an endin’ for yerself yet! Though for now, I can understand why ye’d wish tae be back home again.”
“I cannae claim that, I’m afraid,” Isla admitted. “Not precisely, at any rate. The place was pretty enough tae look at and walk around in, tae be sure… however, my parents and I didnae see eye tae eye on a great many things. In some ways, I’d almost say their sending me here is a sort of punishment for how much trouble I gave them as a wee lass. Or a not-so-wee one, for that matter.”
“At least ye’ll have yer trusted and familiar servant tae give ye companionship while ye’re here,” Moira observed hopefully.
