Who is sleeping in my bed tonight?Cora wondered, as she lay staring at the ceiling. She could not bear the thought of her clothes and personal items being pawed over and stolen by the grubby hands of the bandits. Then she felt ashamed; the thought of Hester being trapped there almost broke her heart. Still, she consoled herself, she had been heading for a tunnel, and Cora could only hope that she had escaped. What were her trinkets and baubles worth compared to the life of a human being? Clyde had told her he had sent out messages, but he had not mentioned receiving any reply. What on Earth was going on?Her poor father must be turning in his grave,she thought. She sighed and tried to go back to sleep again, but sleep was not her friend that night.
Clyde and Cora were both yawning as they entered the dining room that morning, but Minetta was practically dancing with excitement, waving a sheet of parchment around in the air.
“Look!” she exclaimed. “There is a letter here for us, Clyde. I hope you don’t mind, but I opened it. Guess what it says?”
“Would it matter if I did mind?” Clyde asked wearily with a tired smile. “Tell me, for goodness’ sake, before you burst a blood vessel!”
Cora laughed at his show of exasperation. It was clear that he loved his sister very much, although he tried his best not to show it.
Minetta cleared her throat.
M’Laird Munro,
I hope this letter finds you well. It is my great pleasure to invite you, your sister, and your delightful guest, Lady Henderson, to a ceilidh to celebrate the coming of summer. This will consist of a formal banquet and dancing. If you so wish, you are welcome to the use of my guest bedrooms should you feel the need. The ceilidh will take place on the 28th of May. Please respond as soon as possible, since as you can imagine, there is much preparation to be done!
Cordially,
Baron Andrew Sutherland
Clyde felt his heart sink. He knew what the baron was doing. This was not a ceilidh to celebrate the coming of summer. That would take place in June. No, this was a way of announcing his and Loraine’s betrothal, and Clyde was quite sure that the baron would make the most of his triumph by humiliating Clyde. However, Clyde had a better plan, one that no one was aware of apart from Cora and him, and he could not wait to see both their faces when they announced their own betrothal. If it were not for the pain of seeing Loraine with Andrew Sutherland,he would be almost happy.
“We have only a week to have two dresses made,” Minetta fretted, frowning. “How are we going to manage it in time?”
“I cannot help you,” Cora said, shrugging. “I was only able to stuff two dresses in my satchel before I left, and I cannot afford a new one.”
“Pfft!” Minetta flapped a hand at her friend. “No need to worry about money. I will gift it to you as an early birthday present. Our seamstress can work magic in a quarter of the time it takes a Scottish one to do the same job. She comes from an old French family of weavers, who brought their skills to Scotland a few hundred years ago. They are fascinating people, and they all speak FrenchandScots.”
Cora was just about to be given a history of the entire family from the distant past to the present day, when Clyde interrupted them.
“If you will accept this, Cora,” he said, bowing as he held out a dress to her, which was draped over both his arms, “you will not need to see the seamstress. However, I will not force you to wear it. You are welcome to a new one, but this was my mother’s.”
“Your mother’s?” Cora felt a warmth spreading through her as she gazed at the beautiful creation of lace and silk. The fabric was a deep burgundy red with a fine cream lace collar that stood up stiffly from the square neckline of the bodice. It had an underdress of cream satin, which was visible through a slit in the front of the skirt. The sleeves of the overdress were wrist-length but flared at the elbow to allow the puffed sleeves of the underdress to peek through. It was a masterpiece.
Cora held it up and sucked in a deep breath. “I have never seen a more beautiful dress, Clyde.” Her countenance was rapturous as she gazed at him. “And I would be honored to wear it. Thank you.”
“It may need a few alterations,” he said shyly. “I am a man, and I do not know much about these things, but Mammy was a little more...generously built than you are.”
Cora hugged him and kissed his cheek, then felt his arms go around her.
Clyde could not help himself from returning her embrace. He had long since realized that he was powerless in the face of the subtle charms of women, and now he reveled in the sweet sensation of having Cora’s soft, pliant body in his arms.
Minetta broke the spell by clearing her throat and tapping her brother on the shoulder. “Would you two like to be alone?” she asked pointedly, her eyes twinkling with mischief.
They both laughed and drew apart. Clyde wondered if Cora was casting a spell on him. Suddenly Loraine’s face did not seem so clear to him anymore. Perhaps it was the comfortable familiarity they enjoyed now, but he knew that he would miss her when the whole charade was over.
In her bedroom, Cora put on the dress and looked at herself in the mirror. As Clyde had suggested, it was a little loose, but it was absolutely stunning. She breathed a sigh of wonder as she turned around and around to see it from every angle.
“It could have been made for you!” Minetta exclaimed, clapping her hands.
Cora pulled out a little loose fabric from the waistline of the dress. “Not quite,” she remarked, “but we can alter it.”
“There is one more thing you have not thought of,” Minetta said smugly. “Now that you are betrothed to Clyde, he will have to have new dresses made for you!”
This had not occurred to Cora, and she felt a stab of guilt for deceiving her best friend. How could she accept his charity when she knew that the whole purpose of their so-called “betrothal” was a deception?
“Why are you looking so sad?” Minetta demanded, frowning. “You are going to be the most beautiful woman there.”
“I feel guilty about wearing your mother’s dress,” Cora lied. In fact, it was one of the loveliest creations she had ever seen, and it made her feel like a goddess, but she had to say something convincing to her friend.
