Page 14 of Falling for His Cousin’s Betrothed

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As is often the case in the Highlands on cold morning days, the following dawn was met with a crimson sunrise nestled between frigid, circulating winds. Robert, knowing full well that he was missed back on the castle grounds, leaned over from his warm bed space and gazed at Laila. She was the most beautiful woman he’d laid eyes on, and it pained him to have to leave her side. Yet he knew it was necessary for him to make a move toward the courtyard so that his presence could be met with either approval or dissent. How can anyone blame me for being gone so long? he wondered, pulling his muddy leather boots over thick, woolen socks. After all, the journey he’d been on had been an unpredictable one, met with unprecedented obstacles. Surely, even the most steadfast of riders, of which he considered himself one, would not have fared well under such precarious conditions.

Alas, he figured it was only a matter of time before his reputation would be either upheld or condemned. He stood up and stretched, watching as the sun made its ascent above the valley in the foreground. “Goodbye, sweet lass.” He knelt down and gave Laila’s petal-soft forehead a gentle kiss, then he reached for his heavy overcoat, flung it over one shoulder, and exited quietly from the lodge.

“Where is he?” Laila rubbed her eyes and leaned on one elbow in bed. “Robert?” She pulled her hair away from her face and eased herself out from under the sheets. “Where has he gone?” she asked aloud, straightening her shoulders. At once, she felt a sinking in her heart and a familiar sort of sadness seep into her soul. What if he is gone forever? She shook her head, wanting nothing to do with such negative thoughts.

After tucking a tress of hair behind one ear and walking across the dimly lit room, she sighed. Maybe he will return after the wind dies down, she thought, watching as two large Sitka spruce trees bowed in the distance. Laila was no stranger to disappointment, yet the special space in her heart that she’d so easily carved out for Robert panged with the recognition of his absence.

After staring outside for a moment then walking to the kitchenette, Laila heard a loud bang on the door.

“Allo!” a man’s voice bellowed.

Laila froze. Who was it? Surely not Robert. She crept to the left side of the wooden table that was empty, save for a tin coffee mug and a pack of matches. Laila’s heart raced as she stared blankly through the tiny frosted window just to the left of the table.

“Who could it be?” she asked, her mind reeling as she walked to the window. She wondered, momentarily, if Robert had sent someone on his behalf but quickly discounted the idea. Robert would have told me, she thought, so as not to fill me with anxious thoughts. A strong wind swept a twig into the air, and it hurtled toward the window. Instinctively, Laila backed up, then gulped.

“Come on out, lass!” the man’s voice hollered at the door again.

Laila didn’t want to answer it, but she knew he’d eventually barge in on his own accord if left unacknowledged. Gingerly, she peeled back a corner of the lace curtain. A tall man with curly brown wearing a red woolen coat stood at the threshold of the lodge. Laila gulped. What does he want? she wondered, clutching her wrists in trepidation.

“You have to come out sooner or later!” he continued.

Laila lowered her head, drew in a deep breath, and closed her eyes.

“Of all the alchemical wonders of my life, let the closest to my heart ring true at this moment,” she whispered. “Bring the magic of my ancestors to this place and set forth fortune and peace.” She held her hand over her heart, then opened her eyes.

“I’ll have to come in there myself, then!”

The man was relentless, and Laila, still scared yet also settled in her conviction that she would somehow remain unharmed, walked slowly to the door and placed her hand on the knob. She turned it to the right, nudged the door open with her toe, then jumped back and placed her hands on her hips.

“Can I help you?” she asked, trying to sound assertive but quaking in her boots.

“I think you can, lass.” The man barged inside and raised an eyebrow. “Small abode here,” he said, looking at the table, then at Laila. “I see you’re alone,” he added, moving slowly toward her.

“Well, for now,” she said. “But what does it matter to you?” she asked, reminding herself that she needed to look strong. She tossed a tress of hair over her shoulder and pushed out her shoulders.

“I’m here to take you back to Nelson Castle .” He smiled, and Laila noticed he was missing two teeth.

“Says who?” asked Laila, defensive. “I’m not planning on going anywhere just yet.”

“You don’t say.” The man inched a few feet closer, the door still open behind him. Laila shivered and looked past him at the spruce trees that were still waving back and forth in the wind. “And what makes you think that you have the liberty to stay on these grounds here?”

“Because I choose to do so.” Laila folded her hands across her chest. “Who are you, anyway?”

“I’m Alastair McDonald, and I’ve been asked to send you back to Dory Way. You have caused quite the stir with your sudden disappearance.”

Laila swallowed hard. “Who exactly sent you?” she asked. “Lyall?”

“As a matter of fact, it was Lyall,” laughed the man. “And she is quite displeased with the fact that she had to do so. You’ve created much chaos, my dear.”

“I have no reason to see Lyall again.” Laila looked outside as the sun, now high above the valley, cast shadows on trees and shrubs in the distance. “She has caused me so much misery.”

“But you’ll be best served to let her know you are okay, lass.” Alastair outstretched his hand, and Laila moved past him. “Come now. Make peace with the woman and carry on with the rest of your days.”

Laila pouted and walked toward the door. “I’m actually waiting here for someone.” A group of men on horseback galloped by the riverbank to the right, and Laila thought of Quest, of Robert, and of their adventurous ordeal. “And he’ll be back soon.” She nodded, still convinced he would return any minute.

“Well, you might be waiting for someone, but you’ll have to do it from the Nelson Castle” With that, he took her by the arm, and she squealed.