“I burned it,” Minetta confessed. “I have told you everything, Clyde. I thought that seeing it would hurt you more.” That part was true; the letter had been so dismissive and hurtful that she would never have given it to him, and Minetta had her own thoughts about why the note had been addressed to her. It was because Loraine had been too cowardly to write to Clyde herself.
“I see.” Clyde’s voice was menacing. “I will go to see the baron myself, and challenge him to a duel.”
“No!” Minetta jumped up from her chair and put her arms around her brother’s neck. “Please, no, Clyde. Once you have calmed down, you will see that this is not the way! Accept her decision and move on. There is someone else out there for you.” Privately, Minetta thought that the real reason for Loraine’s abrupt desertion was the promise of the baron’s wealth and status. The story about thinking Clyde had been killed was merely a convenient excuse. The baron had never made any secret of the fact that he was attracted to her, and he had seized the opportunity to snatch her from under Clyde’s nose at the first opportunity.
Clyde sighed. “This has been one of the worst days of my life.” He was about to reach for the whiskey bottle again when a chambermaid rushed in from outside. “Milady, there is a young lady at the gate askin’ for ye.” Her tone was urgent. “She looks as if she is about tae fall off her horse.”
They both rushed out of the room and into the courtyard, where Minetta saw Cora swaying in the saddle of the big gray horse, looking as though she was about to pass out. Minetta rushed forward, and, helped by one of the guards, they helped her dismount. Cora gripped Minetta’s shoulder for support since her knees had begun to shake.
“What is wrong, my darling?” Minetta asked, her face a mask of anxiety.
Cora sighed, passing her hand over her face. “There is a strong force of renegades besieging our castle, and a few days before that, they made war on us. I was sent away for my own safety.” She had begun to sob again. “Oh, Minetta, it was terrible! My father is dead, and I have nowhere else to go.”
“You can stay with us as long as you need to,” Minetta said soothingly. “Forever, if you need to.”
“Thank you, thank you, Minetta,” Cora said sadly before she burst into tears.
Minetta wrapped her arms around her friend and hugged her until her weeping stopped. She ordered a room and a bath to be prepared, but just as they were about to head for the stairway, Clyde approached them, glowering.
He had seen her sister’s friend arriving, and had heard what she said. “I am sorry for your loss, milady,” he said politely, but without warmth. “We will help you as much as we can, but forever is rather a long time.” His voice was gruff with displeasure, and Cora involuntarily stepped backward away from his furious face. She had never seen such a big, hulking man in her life, and he terrified her.
Minetta glared at her brother, however, just as she was about to open her mouth with a sarcastic retort, Cora’s knees buckled, and she almost fell to the floor in a dead faint. Clyde caught her before she hit the floor, however, and swept her up in his strong arms.
He was irritated; what more could go wrong on a day like this? Yet as he looked down into the pale face of the woman he was carrying, he felt his heart softening a little. Her clothes were filthy and ragged, and her eyes were purple-tinged with weariness. He would not deny her help, of course, but he was not in the mood to be handing out charity to everyone his sister felt sorry for. He sighed and began to climb upstairs with his burden. She weighed almost nothing, he realized absently, and wondered when she had last eaten.
Minetta had run up the stairs before him and was standing at the open door of one of the spare rooms. He carried Cora inside then laid her on the bed, which had already been turned down by the chambermaid. Presently, two maids came in to wash Cora and change her filthy clothes while the wise woman was sent for.
Minetta, seeing the look on her brother’s face, ushered him outside and turned on him angrily. “Have you no heart?” she demanded. “Look at the state of this poor girl! She has had to flee from the only home she has ever known, and you are standing there feeling sorry for yourself because some worthless woman has spurned you?”
“She isnotworthless!” Clyde roared. “She is the love of my life, and I will win her back if it is the last thing I do!”
“Listen to yourself,” Minetta said scathingly. “She is not worthy of you, Clyde. She is only interested in the baron’s power and wealth, and he only wants her because he thinks she will look good on his arm!” She poked her brother in the chest. “You are a fool if you think otherwise. Are you sure you are in love with her, or is it not merely lust that you feel? How many times have you lain together?”
“I will not dignify that question with an answer,” Clyde replied haughtily. “It is no affair of yours, Sister. Now go and see to your friend. She needs you more than I do.”
“I think you may find that you need the comfort of your sister more than you think,” Minetta said sadly. She was beginning to feel repentant as she watched Clyde stride away. Outwardly he was so fierce and so confident, but she knew that inside he still carried a gaping wound caused by the death of their mother, whom she could hardly remember. He had felt anger mixed with profound sadness—anger that she had left him behind. As she grew up, Minetta realized that it had left him with a lasting fear of rejection, and now that Loraine had cast him off, too, the old wound would become even more painful.
She turned and went back into Cora’s room, to find that her friend was slowly regaining consciousness. Her eyes fluttered open then closed again, and for a few moments, it seemed that she would not wake up. Minetta sat patiently by her side and took Cora’s right hand in both of hers, then hummed a little melody that they had both sung when they were years younger. Presently, Cora opened her eyes and looked straight into Minetta’s.
“Minetta, where am I?” she asked weakly, looking around. Her eyes were fearful, and Minetta bent forward to give her friend a kiss on her forehead.
“Shhh,” she said, her voice infinitely soothing as she stroked Cora’s hand. “You are with me, and you are safe. Nothing will happen to you when Clyde and I are here. We will protect you.”
“My father—” Cora began to weep again.
“What happened?” Minetta asked. “I often feel better when I share my troubles with a friend, and we are more than friends, are we not? I am your sister and you are mine, even though we are not blood kin. Tell me, Cora.”
The healer who was attending her brought Cora a soothing herbal tisane laced with honey. It was sweet and delicious, and Cora savored it before she swallowed, then began to feel her spirits lift a little.
Then she began to tell Minetta the whole story.
Minetta listened patiently as Cora’s story unfolded, almost weeping herself as she heard about her father’s burial. “Such awful days!” she sighed. “Clyde has also just come back from battle with the Sassenachs, but at least we have not had to fight off bandits too. But he has had one more piece of bad news to add to everything else.”
“What?” Cora asked, feeling shocked. “If there is anything I can do to help, please tell me, Minetta.”
Minetta smiled at her sadly and shook her head. “Thank you, Cora, but there is no way you can help. Clyde’s betrothed, Loraine McKenzie, has just ended the betrothal. She has promised herself instead to Baron Sutherland, who, as you know, is wealthy, but far older than she is. We are not poor, but we are obviously not rich enough for Loraine. Please do not share my opinions with Clyde, I beg you, for it will hurt him too much. But I have never liked her. I always felt there was something...sneaky about her.”
“Poor man,” Cora said softly. “I must say that when I saw him, I was surprised. I met him when I was much younger, and I loved his green eyes. He was not so big then, but I had no idea that he would grow up to be so...magnificent! He is, without doubt, the most handsome man I have ever seen.”
