Why, oh why had this happened to her? Bridget wanted to cry, but she had no tears left to shed. Now they would have to move forward with their lives. Had Irvine been telling them the truth about his great-uncle?
Would her father heed his warnings? Bridget didn’t know if he would or not, but there had been something she had seen in Irvine’s eyes when he was telling her about what could be coming.
It had been fear. Fear for her and the tenants.
Fear for what he knew was coming and would likely not be here to stop it.
Rising from the bed, Bridget set her jaw and stepped outside, only to find Merdia walking toward her. “Wot happened?” her friend asked gently. “Where are they?”
“They are gone,” Bridget forced out, emotion welling in her throat. “They are gone and aren’t coming back.”
When Merdia’s arms went around her, Bridget found tears she didn’t know she had left, crying for what might have been between her and Irvine, but she would likely never find out.
“Make the hurt stop,” she whispered, feeling as if her chest was going to split open from the pain. “Make it go away.”
“I cannae,” Merdia whispered, hugging her close. “But I can help ye forget over time.”
Bridget doubted that time would be anytime soon for her. “I hate him.”
“Nay, lass,” her friend said, pulling away. “Ye dinnae hate him no more than he can ever hate ye.” She searched Bridget’s eyes. “Dinnae ye think that he liked ye at least a little?”
“It doesnae matter,” Bridget sniffed, clenching Merdia’s hands in her own. “He’s gone...and good riddance.”
She needed time to heal, and over that time, she would slowly forget how Irvine made her feel, how his kisses had her thinking of a future she would have never thought otherwise.
15
Irvine guided his horse to the wood beyond the farm, his shoulders slumped. He knew it would be difficult to tell Bridget and Leathen both, and while their reactions weren’t that surprising, he had hoped that they would heed his warnings about his great-uncle. His gut churned at what could be coming. By now, his uncle Kenneth should have laid his claim to the lairdship and provided the elders with the facts that they needed to make him laird.
What had happened to his own family? He hoped that they were safe at least and that he wouldn’t go back to the keep to find them dead.
He would go back to the castle and make his claim, even if his great-uncle already had.
But first...
Irvine halted his horse, causing Malcolm to do the same. “I dinnae think we should leave just yet.”
Malcolm sighed. “Why is that? Ye just got out of there with yer arse intact, and now ye dinnae want tae put some distance between us and that farm? Why not, pray tell?”
“I feel like something is coming,” Irvine replied, looking off in the distance. He could feel it in his bones that the farm was in danger.
And by the farm, he meant the tenants and Bridget as well.
Malcolm swore. “I believe that ye dinnae want tae leave the lass, but she’s never going tae forgive ye for wot ye done. Why not just leave them be?”
Irvine looked at his friend. He could understand why Malcolm wanted them to depart swiftly. After all, Irvine had dragged them both into a pot of lies that hadn’t done anything but hurt people that he cared about. No, Malcolm wanted to return to their lives, to whatever awaited them back in the clan.
But he couldn’t leave the farm in good conscience without knowing that they were safe. Surely by now, his great-uncle was wondering how Irvine was faring since his time was up. He wasn’t going to give him up that easily.
“Give me one night,” he finally told his friend. “One night tae ensure that no one is coming, and then we can clear our consciences.”
“’Tis not like I have much of a choice,” Malcolm grumbled. “I cannae leave ye here by yerself.”
Irvine grinned. “You wouldn’t let me.”
“Fine,” Malcolm finally relented. “But ’tis only one night, and if nothing happens, then we go home.”
Irving gave him a short nod, and the two Scots moved off the road to the wood again, finding a spot where they would see the comings and goings to the farm. After taking care of the horses, Malcolm started a fire and the two men sat around it, the night falling around them.
