Cool air spilled into the kitchen which made Brianna glad, once again, for the coat she wore. Evie seemed unconcerned by it as she stepped into the late morning into the back garden. Here, plants grew wild and fragrant. On the other end of the garden, a woman kneeled on the ground while Chloe stood next to her with a basket in her hand laughing at somethingthe woman said.
As they neared, Brianna’s heart clawed its way to her throat. Why was she so nervous? It was ridiculous.
They were almost to the two of them when Chloe glanced their way. Her smile faded from her face and was replaced with shock as she saw Evie leading Brianna toward her. The basket slipped from her hand and landed on the ground with a muffled thud. The woman kneeling on the ground glanced up and followed her gaze to Evie and Brianna. She rose to her feet, wiping dirt from her hands on her apron and granted her a welcoming smile, as though she already knew who she was.
She and Evie halted in front of Chloe and the other woman, who must be Roslyn.
“I dinnae believe my eyes,” the woman said.
She stepped forward and embraced her with a tight hug, surprising Brianna. She had no choice but to hug her back. It was the warmest hug she’d had in quite some time and, strangely, reminded her of her mother. When the woman stepped back, holding her at arm’s length, she smiled with tears pooling in her eyes.
“Ye’ve arrived at last.”
Brianna cut a questioning glance at her younger sister, whose face gave away nothing.
“What does that mean?” she asked.
“Roslyn, will you excuse us please?” Evie asked.
“Forgive me, my lady. ’Tis a fine thing to see the lass here, though. I’ll leave ye to explain.” She picked up the basket Chloe had discarded and headed back to the castle kitchen. When she entered, she closed the door behind her.
“My lady?”
Brianna lifted a brow as she assessed the young woman standing before her wearing her medieval garb. Who was addressed asmy ladyand the wife to the laird of Dundale Castle.
Chloe also looked older and wiser. Deep emerald eyes assessed herwith aloof skepticism. The anger and fury emanated off her in thick waves. While Evie seemed happy to see her, Chloe’s pinched expression said otherwise. Her auburn hair was not braided like her twin’s. Instead, it was wild and free around her face, her face that had aged with lines of fatigue smudging under her eyes. She was dressed like her sister, too, in a heavy woolen dress.
They stood in silence. Brianna shifted from one foot to the other as her nerves jittered through her.
“She’s here,” Evie announced, a smile in her voice, as though this was a news flash.
“I see that,” Chloe replied tersely. “I can say with absolute surety I’m surprised.”
“Chloe—”
“Why do you say that?” Brianna interrupted.
“Because you’ve disappointed us before. Why not this time, too?” Chloe brushed by them heading down the footpath to the castle.
That explained the anger she harbored. Chloe was always the one to hold grudges while Evie was the peacekeeper.
“Chloe, don’t be like that,” Evie said, her tone pleading.
“Honestly, I don’t know why she came,” Chloe snapped and turned to face them again, folding her arms over her chest. “I mean, she’s never once supported us in anything. Why start now?”
“That’s not true and you know it, Chloe,” Brianna said, her ire rising.
“Sure, it is. You were only interested in doing the bare minimum after Mom and Dad died. The fact you ended up in Edinburgh is a shock to me,” Chloe said. There was so much venom in her words, Brianna winced. “Howdidyou end up in Edinburgh, anyway?”
Even Evie flinched. “Chlo, don’t. Now isn’t the time.”
“Whenisthe time, then, Eve?”
Brianna clenched her hand into a tight fist, frustration edging through her as she glared right back at Chloe. “I gota call from the Edinburgh police telling meyouwere missing.”
Her eyes widened with astonishment before she quickly recovered. Her surprise was quickly replaced with wariness. “Did you? And you charged to Edinburgh to see if your little sister was all right. Is that it? Whatever motivated you do to that?”
“Chlo—”
