Marian’s heart thumped. Her first instinct was to jump up and run down the stairwell to collect it, but she held back, releasing a breath.
“Does it say from whom?” she asked loudly, her pulse quickening as she waited for a response.
“I havenae seen it, me Lady,” Jamie said slowly. “But the bearer says it must be received by yer hand alone, and he has come from Edinburgh.”
Marian nearly gasped.
Edinburgh.
She sat frozen in bed until she heard Jamie’s footsteps retreat, then she slowly got out of bed.
What should I do?
She paced around the room for a moment, her fingers twisting into her dress anxiously.
The door creaked open, and she immediately stopped in her tracks, running across the room to meet Lilly.
“Did you see the steward?” she asked, her eyes darting across Lilly’s face to read any emotion that might surface. “Does it seem like he brought good news?”
Lilly exhaled shakily. “I do not know, my Lady,” she said softly. “But we need to get you downstairs.”
Marian nodded quickly, as though it had only just dawned on her that she was keeping the steward waiting.
Lilly got her into a simple dress, and they went down to the Great Hall together.
The castle felt oddly quiet. Their steps echoed off the walls as they descended the stairwell.
Marian kept her chin high, ignoring the few faces that had gathered to watch her receive the letter. Her fingers trembled, the ink blotting slightly as she signed the proof of receipt.
“Excuse me,” she said to the steward, and he only gave her a tight smile.
Perhaps it is good. Otherwise, he would not be smiling.
She took the letter, tracing the seal with her finger as the bald man took his leave.
Lilly whispered beside her, “My Lady, would you like to open it somewhere more… private?”
Marian raised her head, looking around the hall until her eyes fell on Lachlan standing by the long table.
“There is no point,” she replied, and her fingers broke the seal sharply in the eerily quiet hall.
Rain beat softly against the narrow windows as every pair of eyes fixed on the parchment in her hands—Mrs. Campbell, Mrs. MacBride, Finn, Jamie, and Lilly.
She exhaled slowly and unfolded the letter, going still as she read it through once.
It cannot…
She read the words again, more slowly, hoping she had misunderstood. But the meaning was brutally clear.
It cannot be.
Her claim to Glen Carrick was invalid while the Laird remained alive. The estate belonged, legally and entirely, to Lachlan MacLeod unless he formally acknowledged her inheritance, in which case she might retain a portion of the land.
The paper trembled in her hands as she folded it carefully. She walked toward the long table, every step feeling heavier than the last. She set the letter on the table in front of Lachlan, the sound of parchment touching wood echoing louder than it should have.
Lachlan picked it up with slight hesitation, his face set in a frown as he unfolded it in front of everyone present. His expression did not shift, and there was nothing in his eyes as he raised them to Marian’s.
For a moment, neither of them spoke.
