Sorcha nodded. “I just… daenae feel like it.”
The truth was heavier than her tiredness. What she felt now was an urgent, restless need to understand William’s pain. To know what he had lost. To learn the truth he carried alone like a wound that never healed.
The sisters shared another look. Then Avery sighed.
“We ken,” she admitted.
Sorcha froze. “Ken what?”
“That ye went to the fair with the Laird,” Rhea said quietly.
Sorcha’s shoulders dropped. There was no point in pretending. “I see…”
Avery rubbed her arm. “We also ken ye’re moody because something went wrong there.”
Rhea smiled sadly. “Fighting with the Laird was supposed to be yer goal,” she teased lightly. “Yet it seems to trouble ye far more than ye expected.”
Sorcha said nothing. She couldn’t deny it. She couldn’t deny any of it. Everything the sisters had said was true.
Soon, they were gone, but Rhea’s words kept echoing in her mind. She was right. All of a sudden, fights with William bothered her more than they were supposed to.
And then realization dawned on her.
I am in love with William.
It stole her breath, causing her to gasp slightly.
That… is terrible.
25
“Ijust need one thing tonight—some quiet.”
The words left her lips on a breath as the heavy wooden door to the bathing chamber closed behind her.
Here, she was sealed away from the rest of the castle. Well, at least for now.
The warm air welcomed her the moment she stepped inside. Steam rose lazily from the water, curling along the stone walls. The perfume in the air was relaxing.
Hmm, crushed lavender and rosemary.
Rhea had been right; they smelled of horse and regret. She desperately needed a relaxing bath. The sisters had left the bathing chamber by the time she had changed her mind. She had no choice but to bathe alone.
She stood there for a moment, taking it all in. Then, she began to undress slowly. There was no rush. No one to see. No reason to hurry.
She let her gown slip down her curves until it fell to the floor, then stepped into the water. It was warm and comforting, coaxing a soft breath she hadn’t realized she had been holding all day.
The water rippled gently around her legs, her waist, her ribs, until she sank fully beneath it.
She wanted the water to piece her back together, wanted it to soothe an ache it didn’t cause.
Please,mend me.
She moved slowly through the water, though it was not deep enough to swim. Still, the motion was enough to let her stretch and feel weightless. Enough to let her forget that there was a man she could not stop thinking about. A man she could never have.
Moonlight filtered through the high window above, painting the surface of the water pale silver. It touched her skin as well, turning the steam into something almost magical.
Sorcha closed her eyes. This was what she needed: silence, warmth, space to breathe. But then the quiet was shattered.
