“Isla, I am so sorry,” Margaret said, wringing her hands. “You must believe me when I say that no matter what my feelings toward Brodie might be, I would never act upon them! He is to be your husband, and I accept that completely!”
“Yes, I do believe you,” Isla said mournfully, staring out the window. “However, I am not sure whether I believe such a promise from you is enough. Am I to ignore the fact that I have a maid who is enamored with my groom? Are we all to simply go about our business day after day, year after year, pretending that nothing is amiss? How long do you feel we could carry that off before going mad?!”
“Isla…”
“No!” Isla snapped. “I will freely confess that a union of convenience with Brodie MacKenzie was not the happy marriage I had envisioned for myself. However, it is too late to do anything about that now, and I shall simply have to accept it. I should not have to accept a lifetime of this misery as well!”
Margaret felt a flutter of fear in her breast. “What are you saying?”
Isla turned to look at her. “I…do not know. I am not certain whether you will be able to continue as my maid, but neither do I wish to make such a decision in haste. I believe it would be best for us to not be around each other for the next day or so until I have given it more thought and had a chance to make up my mind.”
The maid opened her mouth to plead her case, to defend herself. But instead, she simply nodded and withdrew from the room. Best to give Isla the time and distance she felt that she needed, and when she had calmed herself, perhaps she would be more inclined to hear such things.
Or perhaps, given the benefit of added time and introspection, her heart would harden toward Margaret even more.
Either way, there was nothing for Margaret to do but give Isla her space and pray fervently for a happy outcome.
All of those years of hard work to become a proper maid, Margaret thought dejectedly as she went back downstairs.And not only that, but to lose Isla’s friendship when I have enjoyed her company so much, and she has been so kind to me? It would surely break my heart.
Except that her heart was already broken by the thought that she would never be able to wed Brodie. This was merely salt in the wound.
