“Some people believe that a witch can bring ye bad luck by placing a doll of sticks under yer bed. It looks a little bit like this.” Isla looked down at the doll with fondness in her eyes. “But this was made with love,” she said kindly.
“Thank you, Isla,” Melissa said with a newfound respect for the woman. “I would appreciate it if you put the things away.” She gave her a gentle smile. “Would you please ask one of the maids to pack a basket of cherries and send it to Meidra’s house? I want to replace the ones that she used to make my jam.”
“Of course, Me Lady,” Isla said earnestly. “I will do it meself an’ make sure that she gets it ‘afore this evening.”
“And perhaps we could place a few more items of food in there for them. I don’t think they have very much at home.”
“I had the exact same thought, Me Lady.” Isla warmed up to her even more. “Is there anything else I can do for ye?”
Melissa returned her smile. “I was actually thinking of visiting my sister for a bit while the Laird is away. Do you think you could have some of my things packed for me?”
“At once, Me Lady. The carriage will be ready with all of yer things by this evening.”
Climbing the stairs two at a time, Melissa made her way up the front doors of Darragh’s castle and pushed her way in. It felt good to be back at the place she had called home for the past two years of her life, but strange in a way because she was far from being the woman she had been before.
Her life had taken so many twists and turns in the past few days, it felt very surreal to be back.
“I’m home!” she yelled to the empty entrance hall in the hopes that someone would come running and greet her.
She was met with a warm silence that was only broken by the distant sound of servants doing their chores.
“Och! Me Lady!” a maid in a worn grey dress exclaimed as she nearly dropped the pile of linen she was carrying. “We werenae expecting ye today.”
“That’s all right,” Melissa said warmly. “I didn’t tell anyone that I was coming.” She looked around the empty hall. “Is my sister at home?”
“I’m afraid Me Laird an’ Me Lady have gone out on some business,” the maid replied apologetically.
“Oh,” Melissa said, crestfallen, as her hopes of spending some much-needed time with her sister were dashed.
“But the bairns are in the morning room,” the maid added quickly when she realized how disappointed Melissa was. “Ye can go right in if ye care to spend some time with them.”
“I think I will.” Melissa then thanked her, feeling a bit better. It would have been a shame if she had come all the way from Daniel’s castle to just go back without having seen anyone at all. “I know the way, thank you,” she added when she saw that the maid was about to show her the way.
“Of course, I almost forgot. Go right ahead, Me Lady,” the maid said kindly and walked away.
Melissa made her way down the entrance hall and turned into a passage that led to the morning room where the children often played. She could already hear their happy gurgling sounds coming from behind the closed doors.
“Where are my favorite—” she began as she pushed open the doors but quickly stopped when she saw who was sitting in the center of the room, on the carpet.
“Melissa,” George said cheerfully from where he was sitting with the youngest of Avery’s children. “I’m so happy to see you. Have you decided to take me up on my offer?” He looked at her with hopeful eyes.
“No,” Melissa said hesitantly and looked around the room, feeling a wave of unease at finding her father alone with the children while Avery and Darragh were out. “Do Avery and Darragh know that you are alone in here?” she asked bluntly without pulling any of her punches.
“Yes.” Her father seemed crestfallen as he lowered his gaze back to his grandchild. “You don’t have to worry, I’m not entirely alone.” He nodded toward the double doors at the other end of the room. “Darragh has some of his men watching me at all times.” He sighed heavily. “Apparently, it’s not that easy to redeem myself even if I try,” he complained almost bitterly.
“Oh, good.” Melissa breathed a sigh of relief, ignoring her father’s complaints and walking over to a chair. “You can’t expect everyone to just forget what happened in the past,” she said, lowering herself into the chair, nearly rolling her eyes at the hurt look her father was giving her.
“I know.” George continued with the hurt narrative as if he was the one who had been wronged. “I just wish that you girls would remember the good times we had as a family before everything went bad. I wasn’t always a bad father, was I?” he pointed out and turned back toward his grandchild, who came crawling onto his lap. “I’m not all that bad, am I, little one?” he asked his grandchild as he lifted him into the air. “Am I?”
Melissa watched as the child gurgled away happily in her grandfather’s arms. The pit of her stomach was filled with a strange mixture of longing for the man who had raised her and the nauseating sensation of knowing what he had done.
“Why is it that you aren’t with your husband?” George asked as he lowered the child to the floor and allowed him to crawl away once again to a pile of wooden blocks. “You’re supposed to be enjoying marital bliss,” he attempted to start a polite conversation.
“He’s been called away on business.” She decided to humor him but keep the conversations as short as she could. Seeing him as the dutiful family man once again gave her an uneasy feeling that she didn’t feel like dealing with at present.
“Does he often go away on business?” he asked, giving her his full attention.
“I don’t know, we’ve only just gotten married.”
