CHAPTEREIGHT
Having bid Kyla good night, Lorna decided to return to the library. Even though Bryce had disturbed her peace there the night before with all his scolding, the library was still her safe place. With Mrs. Creech’s death, everything was turned around again, and she wanted to be alone for a little while.
“Athol,” she said when she stepped inside. “Nae like ye tae spend time in the library.”
“Nae, true enough, lass,” he answered with a roguish grin. Her brother was far older, but they were as close as could be. Except that he didn’t always understand her, the older she got and the more decisions she made.
Stopping in front of him, she said, “Ye’ve heard, then? About Mrs. Creech?”
“Aye, and that ye were there. Come, lass. I am so sorry ye had tae see that.” He pulled her into the safety of his arms, and Lorna sighed against his chest, closing her eyes. He smelled so familiar, and out of nowhere, she started crying.
“Are ye all right?” he asked, pulling back to look at her face.
“Aye, sorry, I ken that ye think it a foolish thing.” She brushed her tears away as quickly as she could.
“Come and sit down.” He led her to a chair and then poured them both whiskey and brought it back to her. She took it gratefully and drank nearly all of it down in one gulp.
Clutching it in her hands, she took a breath. “There is just so much that has happened in the last day.”
“Aye, ye speak the truth,” Athol said, his brown eyes turning to the fire. Lorna watched her brother for a moment. If he was not her brother, she might have been afraid of him. He was broad and stocky, full of muscle that he’d gained through battle, and having some scars too, just like Bryce. So much potential for violence, trapped in one person.
“I heard about what happened with Watt,” he muttered.
Lorna sighed and leaned back in her chair, turning away. She wasn’t sure she could handle any more scolding on that subject. Not tonight, anyway. “Aye, and I ken it was a foolish thing. I just had so much hope. Hope for a new life, hope for someone tae care as much as I cared.” She finished the whiskey and put the glass back on the table beside her. A headache pounded in her temples, and she rubbed a fingertip there.
Athol leaned forward on his knees, and he stared at her. “Aye, it was foolish, but ye have learned now. I ken ye always wanted this thing. Tae marry Watt, but now that is past. Ye have more tae look forward tae.”
“Do I?” she laughed. “A forced marriage tae an unwanted man?”
For that was surely her fate now. She had loved Watt, and there was something between her and Bryce, but what was left? She didn’t think that Bryce cared for her in that way, and now, with the murder, everything looked bleak and distant. Her future was in the hands of men, and it infuriated her to no end. Her attempt to take her future into her own hands had ended in failure, scorn, and shame.
“Nae. We can find someone who ye will care for, properly. But I think it is for the best that Watt is behind ye. Now ye can focus on yerself and yer own future.”
Lorna pushed another tear away with the back of her hand, and before she needed to say it, Athol was already filling her whiskey glass.
“It seems foolish, does it nae? Talking about this when a woman has just been killed and thrown into the river. A woman we both respected and cared for.”
“It is nae foolish. Ye donnae think that Mrs. Creech thought about these things in her time?” He sank back into the chair across from her, and Lorna could see a distant look in his eye. “I want tae tell ye something, Lorna. I hope that it will help give ye courage and wisdom tae face yer future. I am so much older than ye, and that means I can give ye me wisdom.”
Lorna rolled her eyes at his grin. “What is it then, oh, wise one?”
“I want ye tae ken that I was once like ye, full of such energy and hope. I was young and reckless too, and while much of me life was exciting, it was nae always good. I often found meself in trouble, and in our father’s world, and the position I was in, am in, I couldnae afford tae be reckless.” His grin had disappeared now, and he was looking at her with a little more sternness.
Lorna tightened her grip on her whiskey glass, full to the brim of people telling her what to do, but she knew that Athol would feel it was his duty to advise her.
“So ye must keep careful, lass. Think of yer path and yer choices. A servant said ye were out alone with Bryce when ye found the body.”
Lorna rolled her eyes again. “He asked tae escort me. He thought it improper that I should walk alone. I was grateful for his company.”
In more ways than one, her mind supplied.
“Especially since we came across poor Mrs. Creech,” she added hastily, a blush stealing across her cheeks.
Athol nodded. “Aye, I ken. Just be careful, lass. Men are always seeking ways tae lure women.” He stood and finished off the rest of his whiskey. “I will leave ye tae yer thoughts.”
He walked across and kissed her on the top of the head. “Think on it.”
“Aye,” she said, not watching him leave. When she heard the door of the library shut behind him, she closed her eyes and pondered his words. ‘Men are always seeking ways tae lure women.’ Was that what Bryce had been doing? And if so, luring her to what? For if he had been luring her to a kiss, then she had been very eager for that, indeed. Even now, thoughts of kissing Bryce filled her mind, and she finished off the rest of her whiskey, hoping to erase them.
