Edna gave her sister a wan smile and turned back to braiding her hair, her heart in turmoil. Elise didn’t possibly understand, but she was grateful all the same for the distraction.
Later that evening, after dinner, Edna found herself in her small chambers not far from her sister’s, readying herself for bed. The nighttime was the worst when she would lie down and remember every detail about her life with James. After all, there were no distractions for her to help her forget.
And her dreams—oh, her dreams—took her back to a time that she was happy. Edna didn’t have to share them with anyone, and in those moments, she had her beloved back with her.
Edna walked through the wildflower field, trailing her hands over the bright-colored flowers of summer. The air was pleasant, with a slight breeze blowing through her hair as she tilted her face to the sun, feeling the warmth on her face.
She felt at peace here, but it wasn’t just the field that made her feel that way.
It was what was waiting for her in the field.
He stood near the weeping willow, his shoulder leaning against the trunk and nearly obscured by the long trailing branches. Edna stepped through the branches and drank in the sight of him, from his ginger hair to the quick grin he was giving her. “Took ye long enough, lass,” he replied.
“I came as fast as I could,” she responded, not taking another step forward. She had been in this dream before and knew what she could do to push the boundaries.
Touching James was not one of them. The moment her fingers would touch his skin, he would disappear, and she would wake, aching to trail them over his arm as she had many times before.
So, Edna kept her hands to herself. “I miss ye.”
His expression turned sad. “I miss ye tae, mah love. Not a day goes by that I dinnae crave for yer touch, yer laugh, yer smile.”
Tears gathered in her eyes at his words. “James, I cannae do this any longer. I cannae live without ye.” The pain was too great, the need to be with him far too overwhelming.
James’s brows knitted in confusion, then anger. “Nay, lass!” he bit out, pushing away from the tree. “Dinnae even think aboot it! Ye have a long life before ye. Think of yer family.”
Her family was the only reason that she was still walking this earth, having these dreams. She knew it would devastate her parents and siblings if she were to do something drastic, like taking her own life to be with James.
“I love ye,” James stated. “But ye cannae be with me, Edna. ’Tis not yer time.”
The dream started to waver, and Edna reached out, wanting to touch him. They didn’t have much time before she would wake, and all she wished was to feel his skin brush hers just once more.
“James,” she pleaded, finding her feet rooted in their spot. “Please.”
His expression was sad, and he shook his head. “I cannae, Edna. Ye know I cannae. Go, live yer life. I will always be there.”
Edna jerked awake, her heart racing in her chest and tears wetting her cheeks. James’s words were still echoing in her mind, how he too wanted her to move on with her life. Was that just fragments of what her family wanted infiltrating her dreams, or was it the truth?
Wiping her cheeks, Edna pulled the covers tighter around her trembling body. She had thought about taking her own life in the days and weeks after his death, believing that she couldn’t be happy unless she was with him, but the thought hadn’t crossed her mind in months.
James had been real in her dreams. He had known her innermost thoughts. It didn’t matter what her family thought about her interactions with James’s ghost. He was there. He was with her, and he would always be with her.
Huddling back under the furs, Edna looked at the stone wall, her heart in turmoil once more. Perhaps James was right, though. Perhaps she needed to live her life in some fashion before she was forced to do so by other means.
After all, she couldn’t stay in the keep for the rest of her days.
2
Aweek later, Edna was walking down the stairs when she heard her mother greeting a guest just arriving at the keep. It wasn’t until she had rounded the last step that she saw it was her cousin Irvine, having come from the McPearson keep in which he resided with his parents.
“Irvine!” she called out, a smile on her face. “Wot brings ye here?”
He turned toward her, his handsome face breaking out in a broad smile. “Edna, look at ye! Ye have grown.”
She scoffed as she joined him, giving him a hug. “Irvine has come with some news,” her mother was stating, clearing her throat. “It seems that there is talk he is going tae be the laird McPearson.”
“Nay, not yet.” He grinned. “’Tis still up tae the council tae make their decisions. Besides, Great-Aunt Edna is still alive and well.”
Her mother frowned. “Alive but not well. ’Tis only a matter of time before she passes. She misses Leathen so.”
