CHAPTER ONE
“Good heavens!” Marian Whitcombe gasped as her carriage bounced off a small rock. The wheels rattled, lurching forward roughly before they finally came to a halt.
She released a shaky breath, her fingers instinctively wrapping around the silver pendant adorning her neck. It had been her father’s dying gift to her, belonging first to her great-grandmother, the late Lady MacLeod—the very reason she was now in Scotland.
She leaned forward to tap on the inner wall of the carriage. “Have we arrived?”
“Yes, ma’am,” the coachman replied.
This is it.
Marian drew a deep breath before sliding open the small window, suddenly feeling hesitant.
“Oh, dear,” she muttered, her lips parting slightly as she peered at the looming castle ahead.
She wasn’t sure what she’d expected when she set out for here. She knew that the Highlands were worlds apart from England in many different ways. And yet, even in her wildest imagination, she hadn’t been able to conceive the magnificent structure before her eyes.
Glen Carrick.
She stepped out of the carriage, lifting her skirts to keep the muddy ground from staining her hem.
“According to my uncle,” she whispered, more to herself than to her maid, “Glen Carrick had once been a proud Highland estate before the wars broke it.”
Lilly climbed down beside her, absentmindedly brushing dust off her apron. “It certainly looks the part, my Lady,” she replied, forcing a smile. Her eyes remained glued to the castle. As much as she tried to conceal her terror, her voice betrayed her. “It is rather large. And it looks truly… empty.”
Marian nodded slowly.
She stood still for a moment, staring at the eerily enormous castle. Save for the wind tugging violently at her dress, standing in front of Glen Carrick felt surreal.
She had imagined this moment a thousand times over. It was all she could think of on the long journey north, and now that she was here, she didn’t know what to do next.
She wrapped her arms around herself as the wind swept across the courtyard. “This place… Could it truly become my home?”
For as long as she could remember, she had never truly belonged anywhere.
Her father had been the only source of warmth in the otherwise cold household where she had grown up, and when he had died, the house in London had changed overnight. She was often treated as nothing more than a useful tool, vulnerable to the vices of her calculating mother and her ambitious uncle.
Glen Carrick was her chance to finally live a different life. A life far away from both of them.
“It is already yours, my Lady,” Lilly said.
Marian smiled softly. “Yes, it is.”
The castle barely looked like a home. Its walls were a mass of dark gray stone, stretching so wide and tall that it swallowed all the light and cast a large shadow over most of the land. Its towers cut sharply into the cloudy sky, making it look more like a fortress, albeit a vulnerable one.
Marian glanced across the courtyard, taking in the state of disarray it was in.
“We have a lot of work to do,” Lilly murmured.
Marian nodded in agreement. “We can start with that,” she said, pointing to a part of the outer wall that had a gaping hole in it. “We do not want thieves coming in through there. Or invaders.”
“My Lady, we… I…”
“Do not worry, Lilly. I wouldn’t be burdening you with all the tasks,” Marian assured, walking across the courtyard. “Surely we can find workers in the Highlands, a couple of dozen at least, including maids you shall oversee.”
Lilly heaved a sigh of relief, quickening her pace to catch up with her obviously excited mistress.
“You’ll be the housekeeper. Though I’m afraid you’ll still have to put up with me. I am quite used to having you by my side.”
