Margaret, thankfully, stayed silent.
“Laurie here is Creighton’s younger sister,” Nora explained. “She’s beenverywelcoming to me since I arrived.”
Laurie pressed her fists against her mouth, suddenly bashful.
“Ye are Lady Margaret, then?” she asked.
Margaret lifted her chin, grinning. “Oh, I’m nay lady. I’m amerchant.”
Laurie considered this. “Can ye nae be a ladyanda merchant?”
Margaret did not consider the matter at all. “Nay, I’m afraid nae. One or the other. And I amnaea lady.”
Laurie giggled, clearly thrilled. Nora bit back a smile. Her sister and Laurie were clearly going to get on well.
“I thought that Margaret could come and stay with us when we get back to MacColl Keep,” Nora suggested. “If Creighton agrees.”
“Creighton will agree,” Laurie answered, nodding firmly. “I overheard Aunt Helena tellin’ Uncle Hunter that Crey would doanythin’to make ye happy, Nora.”
There was a beat of silence after this comment. Laurie grinned up at them both, unaware of what she’d just said. Margaret bitback a smile, visibly thrilled, and Nora felt heat creep up her neck and settle across her cheeks.
“Th-That’s nae true,” she stammered. “Creighton is very obligin’, but he’s just a kind man. Nae all men are as kind as yer brother, Laurie.”
Laurie shook her head mulishly. “Nay, Aunt Helena said that it was all different, thatyewere different. She told Uncle Hunter that she had high hopes of it all. What did that mean, Nora? What does she have high hopes of?”
“Never ye mind,” Nora retorted, face still furiously pink. “Now, I am goin’ to have a wee word with Margaret, and then we’ll all go inside together, aye?”
“Aye,” Laurie nodded obediently. She wandered over to the entranceway and began inspecting some blooming lavender, rubbing the thick, stubby leaves between her fingers. Even from where she stood, Nora could smell the rich, sweet scent of lavender. Turning her back, she faced her sister. Margaret appeared to be holding back laughter.
“It isnae what ye think it is,” Nora said firmly.
Margaret lifted her eyebrows. “Oh, nay? And so what if it is? Come on, Nora. If ye have feelings for this man…”
“I daenae.”
“Well, he seems to have them for ye.”
“He doesnae, I promise ye. It’s nae like that.”
“His sister seems to think that it is.”
Nora wanted to growl aloud. “Margaret, please. This situation is delicate. It’s all about politics. He doesnae want me here any more than I want to be here, and I want to be sure that ye daenae say or do anythin’ to make him think thatIthink this is anythin’ beyond politics.”
Margaret studied her sister for a long moment, lips pursed. “And do ye?”
“What?”
“Do ye think this is beyond politics?”
No.That was the plain and simple answer, the obvious answer. That was what Nora should have said. So why was the word so hard to utter? She stared back at her sister, lips pursed, silent.
Margaret nodded, as if Nora had spoken after all. At last, Nora cleared her throat.
“Ye search the Highlands the way ye do, Margaret, because ye have nae found yer callin’ yet. That’s all right. A callin’ is a hard thing to find. But I have found mine. I have to heal people. Ihave to help. That’s what I need, and nothin’ more. That is why marriage never had much of a pull for me. Love is found in many places, nae just inside a weddin’ band.”
“Ye need to heal,” Margaret repeated slowly. “And ye daenae need this laird? Or at least, ye daenae want him?”
Nora sniffed. “Certainly this laird does nae want me.”
