The letter dropped from Robina’s hands onto the floor and she began to tremble. Seeing her distress, Cora and Fia came to her side, and Fia picked up the letter, while Cora put a comforting arm around Robina’s shoulders.
Fia read the message, her eyes widening in disbelief. As she continued down the page her expression turned to a scowl of anger. At last, she read it out loud to Cora, her voice rising to a shout.
My Dear Robina,
I hope this letter finds you well. It is with great regret and sorrow that I have to tell you that our betrothal is now ended. While you were away I met someone else, a tender and beautiful young woman who captured my heart completely. As soon as I saw her I knew that I loved her, and we were married within a very short time. I am aware of the shock, disappointment, and hurt that this will cause you, and I am more sorry than I can say.
Please forgive me for the wrong I have done you, but I must follow my heart. I hope that ours can still be a friendly relationship.
Fondly,
Laird Lockie Campbell
Robina just stood there, shaking her head, looking at the letter, unable to conceive what she had just read.
“The beast!” Fia spat out. She had always been quicker to anger than her more placid sister, and now she was boiling with rage. “The coward—he was too scared to come here to tell you himself!”
Robina shook her head. “Fia, I do not love him,” she pointed out. “I really do not care if I marry him or not—but the humiliation for my family, especially my mother and father, will be extreme. They will be very hurt, and although I was fond of Lockie, they adored him, especially my mother. He was not the bridegroom I would have chosen for myself, but he is a good man...or I thought he was. No, I am not heartbroken, but I am very, very angry.”
“Who is this woman who stole his heart at first sight anyway?” Cora asked, snatching the paper from her sister’s hands.
Robina found it hard to believe that Lockie had fallen in love. He seemed to care more about money and power than love. But maybe it was her fault. Maybe Robina was not tender enough. Another woman had awoken senses in him that she never could.I hope he will treat her well, she thought. “He does not mention her name,” Robina replied to Cora. Then suddenly she realized her lucky escape, and she smiled. “Good luck to him. Good luck to both of them, because now I am free to choose a husband I love.”
“Robina,” Fia said gently, “we are noblewomen. When do we ever get a say in anything to do with our own lives? Your parents picked Lockie Campbell and they will pick the next one too. You mark my words.”
As she looked at her friend, a chill went through Robina. Fia was right. Her bridegroom would be carefully chosen by her mother; but first she would check his entire lineage as far back as she could to make sure there were no rotten apples. She had done the same with Lockie, though, and look what had happened. Robina could end up with another prospect just like him.
“Why can we not choose our husbands like ordinary women instead of being broodmares? Are we only fit for childrearing?” she fumed, flouncing down on her bed and putting her head in her hands. “I am so tired of all this that sometimes I feel like running away.”
The twins knelt in front of her. “Remember that the man has no choice either,” Cora said soothingly. “He is just as much of a victim as you are. Try to look on the bright side.”
“At least you have a beautiful wedding dress already made!” Fia consoled her. “I hope I look as lovely as you do on my wedding day.” Her tone was frankly admiring, and Robina felt enormously grateful to her two friends, whom she knew would stand by her through thick and thin, as they had since they were all three years old.
Robina laughed and looked down at the beautiful satin fabric. “It is beautiful,” she conceded. “And to be honest, I was looking forward to the ceremony more than the marriage. Mother and Father will be far more upset than I am! Come you two—give me a hug!”
Laughingly, the twins obliged, and after one more sip of whisky, they left Robina alone to contemplate what she was going to tell her parents.
She sighed, knowing that whatever she said would be the wrong thing; there was no way to make the situation right, and they would have to find a way to suffer through it, as she would when she became the subject of gossip and pity.
Part of her would miss Lockie, she knew. They had had some wonderful, carefree times together, and she had always felt that he would have made a wonderful friend. Now he had plummeted so far down in her estimation that she wondered if she would ever be able to trust any man again.
However, that was not her immediate problem. Now she had to tell her mother and father, and her heart sank at the thought of her mother’s reaction. Robina would not have put it past her to saddle her horse and ride out to see Lockie straight away.
God help him!she thought, laughing inwardly.He will be lucky to escape with his life.
She called her maid, Rose, to help her out of her wedding dress and into her day dress. She sighed as the beautiful creation was carefully packed away. She hoped that she would never have to use it; how wonderful it would be to be free. She had never longed for children like most other girls, so she could see no point in marriage.
“Whit a lovely dress, Mistress,” Rose observed, smiling. “Laird Campbell is goin’ tae be so proud o’ ye.”
“Thank you, Rose,” Robina replied, smiling into her eager brown eyes. “I hope so.” She did not want her maid to know before her mother and father.
Robina had decided to wait until after dinner to tell her parents about the letter. They had had a simple meal that night of roast chicken and vegetables and berries with cream and honey. Her father, Bearnard, looked mellow and contented after three glasses of wine, and her mother, Donna, though rarely calm, looked happy.
Into the middle of this post-prandial languor Robina dropped her bombshell.
She took a deep breath and produced the piece of parchment. “I have had some news from Lockie,” she said stiffly. “He no longer wants to marry me. In fact, he has already wed someone else.”
There was utter silence for a fraction of a second, before Donna let out a scream of rage. She tore the letter out of Robina’s hand and read it quickly, her eyes burning with fury. Then she uttered a few very unladylike oaths before handing the letter to Bearnard.
