CHAPTERSIX
Bryce watched her leave and then sank down in the chair. He rubbed his face in his hands and groaned.
“That didnae go well at all,” he muttered as he stared into the flames. He thought he’d just been trying to help her be better, but it didn’t come across that way at all. It was almost like he was treating her like a father would, and that wasn’t what he wanted.
As he sat and thought, he knew that he most certainly didn’t want her to think of him as a fatherora brother. He rubbed a hand on his stubbled chin; and he winced at the memory of the hurt look in her eyes and the tears. For the first time in a very long time, he was jealous of his brother.
Lorna was so madly in love with him that she had risked her parents’ wrath to go to the wedding and try to get him back. She still held onto that love and had for years even though so many had told her it was foolishness. Even now she clung to it, even though it was all over and there was no hope for her with Watt. That was perhaps why she had reminded him of how much success and freedom he’d had as a man, living overseas as he pleased, without a clan to control. She had remained home, and she couldn’t have the one thing she wanted more than anything else.
Bryce wondered if he had come in to tell her to move on because he wanted her to be free of that thing. He wanted her to be free from the love she had for Watt, so that she could have a different life, a better one.
Since seeing Lorna again, things from the past were all stirred up inside of him, and it threatened to undo him. He had greater, more important things to focus on in his life now that he had returned home. He didn’t have time to think about old feelings, old jealousies, or be reminded of how his brother had always bested him in nearly every way.
“It is good if I leave soon, for I have made a mess of this, and I fear that Lorna will weasel her way intae my heart if I am nae careful.” He whispered his secret to the empty room, and feeling a little forlorn, he stalked up the stairs, eager to leave tomorrow morning, so that he could put all foolish tender feelings away and never think about them again.
He had spent a long time working to put feelings aside. Feelings were useless to him, especially when loss was always so close at hand, especially during the war. He had seen so many friends die, that it seemed pointless to ever attach himself fully to another person. Not only that, but having an affection for a woman who’d looked at his brother like he was the sun, the moon, and the stars, was not something he was interested in.
Even though the storm raged on, rain filling the fields, lightning cutting the sky, and thunder rumbling the walls, Bryce fell asleep as soon as he slid into bed. He dreamed of Lorna’s tear-stained face, and the way a stray, blonde curl had fallen across her cheek. In the dream, he reached out to move it aside, but then he woke up.
When he woke, the sun was shining, and the storm seemed like a distant memory. When he sleepily trudged to the window, he could see the gleaming green fields, nearly flooded in some parts.
“It will be a wet journey home,” he grumbled. “But the sun will be at my back. That is enough.”
He splashed water on his face and dressed before heading downstairs to ask for food to be prepared for him. Then he found his way to the stables, where he met Gaisgeachd, munching away out of a bucket of oats.
“Och, lad, ye have been treated fine, have ye nae?” Bryce grinned as he opened the wooden stall door with a creak and reached out to brush his stallion on the dark nose. Gaisgeachd seemed pleased with the attention and made a grumbling sound as he chewed.
“A big storm last night, lad, so we will have a hard ride taeday.” He was glad he’d brought his own horse, attaching him to Lorna’s carriage to escort her home. Now he could ride back to MacDowell Keep and not have to send someone back to return their horse. He took a breath, and the sweet smell of hay and horse filled his nostrils, giving him a sense of peace.
It was a new day, and he would have a fresh journey to think about what came next. Taking the saddle from the side wall of the stall, he threw it across Gaisgeachd, eager to get moving. He put a small sack of food into his saddlebag, fresh from the kitchen.
Before he’d taken himself to the stables, he’d said his goodbyes to Fergus, Arrin, and Athol in the main hall, thanking them heartily, but he hadn’t seen Lorna.
“She is still abed, I believe,” Arrin said with embarrassment, and Bryce wondered if she stayed away because of their conversation the night before.
“Aye, well wish her the best from me,” he’d said, feeling a little dismayed.
Once Gaisgeachd was fully saddled, Bryce left the stables with him, nodding to the stable hand on the way out, and bringing the horse into the sunshine. It was a perfect day, warm without a hint of a chilling breeze. It would be a pleasant ride back for the most part.
“Come, lad,” Bryce said as he mounted and gripped the reins. Clicking with his tongue, he started on his way, listening to the sound of Gaisgeachd’s hooves squelching at times in the wet ground.
With a sigh, he glanced back at McAdam Castle for a few seconds, but then he spotted Lorna walking away from the gates. He pulled tighter on Gaisgeachd’s reins to slow him down. “Wait a moment,” he said, and jumped down.
His heart was fluttering wildly, and he told himself it was just to say goodbye to the lass. It would feel strange not to after all he’d been privy to with her family and keeping her from speaking to his brother about her love.
“Lorna!” he called with a wave, striding up to her, pulling Gaisgeachd along behind him. She turned to him with surprise and gave him a weak smile.
“Bryce. I had heard ye left.”
“Disappointed, are ye?” he said with a lifted brow.
She shook her head, and her flowing blonde hair shimmered in the bright sunshine. She had not yet tied it up, and it gave her a sort of wild look. Another breath caught in his chest at the sight of her. Would it never stop doing that?
“Nae. I’m glad that I get the chance tae speak tae ye. I’m also glad the weather is now clear for ye tae travel.”
He nodded, feeling a little disappointed at her reserved answers. Where was the fiery lass from the night before who yelled at him to mind his own business? She paused briefly before saying, “I also must thank ye for what ye did. It was wise that I didnae speak tae Watt now that he is so in love and so happy. I wish that for him, and it warms my heart that it is so.” She smiled. “Thank ye for keeping me from making even more of a fool of meself. I ken that I am still young, still childish…”
He cut her off, stepping closer, making her gasp a little in surprise. Earnestly, he looked into her eyes. “I am glad tae be of help tae ye, Lorna, but I wouldnae wish tae join the ranks of yer family in telling ye how much of a child ye are. I was wrong tae say such things for it is nae my business where yer affection lies. I agree that it is good tae leave Watt behind now, but I shouldnae have scolded ye as I did last night.”
