As soon as those words were out of her mouth, she regretted them. It was obvious to them all that she was not noble-born. She didn’t have the right clothes, the right mannerisms, the right way of speaking. Even the way she held herself was different. Everyone else around her stood so tall. And yet, admitting it out loud felt like a risky move, one she should have avoided.
She knew nothing about these people, save for the fact that at least some of them didn’t want her there, near James.
“So…” said Morgana, before she let the silence stretch between them once more. Freya could tell she wanted to say something to her. She was nervously shifting her weight from one foot to the other, glancing between her and the window that overlooked the courtyard. “Me braither nae wishing tae marry the girl chosen by our parents must have something tae dae with ye,” she then said with a smile.
Freya had been dreading that moment. As long as James was with her, she could withstand the questioning, but now that she was alone, she didn’t know what the right thing to say was. Would Morgana be on their side? Would she support her parents in this? For all Freya knew, she could be good friends with Evelyn.
There was no point in lying, though. There was no point in claiming she was mistaken when James himself had revealed his plan to everyone.
“I understand if ye think it is a mistake but—” Freya said with some hesitation in her voice.
“It isnae me concern,” Morgana said before Freya could finish her sentence. “I mean… I suppose it is, but only tae the extent that I’m concerned about James’ happiness.”
It was more than Freya could have hoped for and she couldn’t help but relax a little, her shoulders dropping as she exhaled. She still couldn’t read Morgana—she seemed sweet but it was as though there was a veil around her, concealing her emotions—but even so, the fact that she cared about James’ happiness more than she did about any arrangements or appearances could only work in their favor.
“How did ye meet?” Morgana asked then, perching on the windowsill. “All this time, he was with ye?”
“Aye,” said Freya. “His boat was caught in a storm and sank. They found him on the shores of me village, unconscious, and I took him in tae care fer him.”
A flash of fear passed over Morgana’s eyes, the first clear sign of emotion that Freya had seen from her. “We had heard there had been a problem with the ship, but we were not sure if he had even made it ontae that ship and there was nay mention about how many people had survived…”
“Och aye,” said Freya. “As far as I ken, he was the only survivor.”
In the silence that followed, Morgana stared out of the window, drawing her bottom lip between her teeth. She had paled and a haunted look had taken over her expression, instantly aging her.
“But he’s alright,” Freya assured her, not knowing what else to say. She could hardly imagine how worried Morgana must have been and how jarring it was for her to hear this. “I can assure ye he will make a full recovery.”
Morgana’s head whipped back around to look at Freya. “He hasnae recovered fully yet?”
“Well…” With a sigh, Freya sat on the edge of the bed. The mattress was soft and plush underneath her, the covers as well. “He lost his memory fer quite a while, but he remembers everything now. There are still some wounds that must heal and the journey has surely exhausted him, but it willnae take long fer him tae recover fully.”
After her shocked face when Freya had mentioned his memory loss, her last words seemed to reassure Morgana, though she still toyed nervously with her necklace, fidgeting with the gold chain that held her pendant. With the frown she was sporting, she looked just like James.
“It seems that ye have been through a lot,” she said. “Both of ye.”
“I cannae say that ye’re wrong,” said Freya. Ever since James had come hurtling into her life, she had had more excitement than ever before and not always in a good way.
“And ye love him?” Morgana asked.
At her question, a small smile stretched over Freya’s lips. Her cheeks heated as her gaze dropped to her hands, her fingers fidgeting nervously with the edge of her sleeve.
“Aye,” she said. “Aye, I dae.”
CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE
There were a few times in James’ life when he had encountered the same oppressive, almost suffocating atmosphere in his father’s study—once when he and Edward had locked Morgana in a closet as children, once when he had been caught sneaking out of the castle to visit the town taverns, and once when he had had too much to drink at a feast and made a fool of himself in front of the clan.
This was the fourth time, and he couldn’t help but feel like a chastised child all over again, withering under his parents’ scrutiny.
But he was no child and he would not let them dictate his future. He would not simply stand there, head bowed, as they scolded him.
“Ye have embarrassed our entire family,” his mother said, hissing through her teeth. “How dare ye walk in here and act like this in front of our guests? Dae ye have any idea who they are?”
“Aye,” said James, crossing his arms over his chest. “The Campbells. Ye didnae even ask how I was, what happened tae me, where I have been all this time. Ye didnae give me the time tae explain anythin’! Ye dinnae seem tae care at all, all ye want tae discuss is this alliance!”
His mother shot him a scathing look, one that he supposed he deserved. “Dinnae act clever with me. This alliance is everything. If by some miracle we can have Laird Campbell tae overlook yer foolish behavior, then ye’ll wed the lass as soon as possible. Within the week, even.”
“I told ye that I willnae wed her!” James said, not for the first time that day. It was as though no one was even listening to him. “I was the only survivor of a shipwreck. I was lost at sea fer days and Freya and her townspeople found me more dead than alive on a beach. I was unconscious, dehydrated, wounded and frozen She is a healer and she nursed me back tae life. I slept fer two weeks. When I awoke, I had lost me memory and kenned nae who I was. She helped me travel back to the mainland. I just regained me memory two days ago. She didnae ken who I was until we got here, and she is still here, despite how ye treated her. I love her, and now that I have seen death in the face, all I wish is tae wed Freya…”
