She ignored his excuses. “And here is another example of men taking over me life and telling themselves that they kenned better for me than I do meself. What a fool I was tae think ye were different, Bryce,” she spat angrily, afraid that tears would come to her eyes and ruin the strength she wanted to display.
“Nae,” he said, “It is nae like that. I swear, Lorna. I love ye.” He reached out for her, and she backed away.
“Nae, I donnae believe ye any longer. I donnae believe it any of it! It is all lies. Donnae touch me. Ye will never touch me again! Get out!” She backed away even further and crossed her arms, the pain ripping through her heart, making her want to scream.
“Let’s go, lad,” Tobias said, pulling lightly on Bryce’s shoulder. Bryce looked at him briefly and then turned back to her as he stood.
“Please, Lorna. Ye have tae believe me. It was all for ye.”
“Nae it wasnae. It was all for ye. Get out now. I donnae wish tae see ye any longer.” She turned away from him, gripping her stomach, afraid that she might vomit or cry at the same time, neither of which she wanted Bryce to see.
“Come on, lad,” Tobias’s calm voice said, and eventually, she heard them both leave the room and shut it behind them. She sank to her knees and let the sob out that she’d been holding in.
* * *
“Shite,” Bryce said as Tobias led him down the stairs into the hall. Bryce kicked at the wall and yelled. “I kenned she wouldnae forgive me at first, but I saw the look in her eyes. She willnae forgive me ever!” He raged and walked toward the hearth, leaning over it, and staring into the flames. Seeing whisky on a side table, he opened it and drank straight from the bottle.
“You do not ken that. She will need a bit of time. You have just told the lass a lot of things in the last day. A lot of life changing things. She needs a bit of time to adjust and to fully understand. There is still a very great chance that she will turn to you again.”
Tobias’s words and encouragement were tempting to believe, but Bryce knew the way of the world. It was cruel and unkind and, many times, one did not get what they truly wanted. It was the way of life, and he wouldn’t sit around, hoping and expecting anything else. Besides, he didn’t want to disrespect Lorna like that, just assuming she would forgive him.
“I willnae hope for that. I am a bastard, through and through. I should have defied Athol’s wishes and told her the truth when I heard it. That was unfair of me, and I shouldnae have kept it from her. She is right. It does appear like I have construed with her brother tae take control of her life when that wasnae me intention at all. I wanted only tae keep her safe.”
“I ken that, lad. That is a good thing. You were thoughtful and kind,” Tobias said softly. “It is just a strange situation. Nae one would have kenned what tae do if they were in yer shoes.”
“Thank ye. That is good of ye,” Bryce said, taking another swig of whisky, feeling his life shatter around him. Had he truly lost Lorna forever?
“Will ye leave the castle, then?” Tobias asked warily.
“Nae. I cannae leave until this is solved. Even if Lorna doesnae want tae see me again. I have a duty now, and I cannae leave it.” He felt grim, thinking about how happy his brother was in his castle with his true love, and he was here, reaping the consequences of his actions.
“Good.” Tobias touched his shoulder. “I need you to help me with this, Bryce. It is far beyond my skills. And it helps to have another when there are so many suspicious characters about.”
Bryce sat down, still gripping the whisky bottle and said, “Do ye think that Fergus will allow me tae stay on if he finds out that Lorna nae longer wants me here? He may jump on that opportunity tae send me away again.”
“He might, but like I said, I do not think that Lorna really wants you gone. She will not tell him anything. Not yet, at least.” Tobias reassured him. “If only we had somewhere else to look to find out why someone would do these things. We have only a list of suspicious people, and that is it. No evidence, no nothing.”
“I ken.” Bryce sighed, leaning back in his chair, but he jumped when two sets of footsteps rushed into the room.
“There is a visitor, MacDowell,” the servant said, and another English soldier walked in, gripping a set of books in his hand.
“Thomas,” Tobias said with a frown, standing up to greet his subordinate. “What is it?”
“Commander,” the young, dark-haired Thomas said to his superior. He bowed his head. “I was told to come here if we found anything of interest in the midwife’s croft.”
“Yes, you were,” Tobias said, looking to Bryce who now hung on the young soldier’s every word. His heart started picking up pace, and he held his breath. “What have you found?”
“Well, there was a set of books. They were hidden away under a loose floorboard. That is likely why the person who ransacked the croft couldn’t find them.” He walked over and handed Tobias a set of dusty, brown books. “They appeared to be journals to us.”
“Thanks be to God. You have done good work, Thomas. I will make sure that you and the men are congratulated and rewarded for your efforts. You have done good searching.”
“Thank you, Commander.” Thomas bowed and took his leave, and with eagerness, Tobias took the books to a far table on the edge of the hall, and he beckoned Bryce to join him.
“Come, Bryce. We may finally get somewhere.” When Bryce sat down, Tobias pushed one of the large books toward him. “You take this one, and I will take the next.”
“Aye,” Bryce said, barely able to contain his excitement.” He flipped open to the first page. He looked at the midwife’s rushed scrawl, and he leaned over the book, hoping he would be able to decipher the writing well enough to find out the truth.
“Do ye think we will find it?” he asked Tobias, not wanting to get his hopes up, but finding it unavoidable.
“Aye, Bryce, I think we will. And it could change everything.”
