Page 23 of Reviving Her Highland Spirit

A shiver ran down Maggie’s spine. Truthfully, she’d never thought of that. The truth was, lairds’ children were always married off. Love matches were for regular people, whose lives wouldn’t impact their clan in any way. A daughter or a niece was a powerful bargaining piece, and would solidify an alliance better than any treaty or verbal agreement.

But it had never seemed so real before now. It occurred to Maggie, possibly for the first time, that one day soon she might have to marry a man her parents had picked out for her. Maybe he’d come to live here in the keep, in which case she could stay with her family. However, it was more likely that she would have to go and live in some other clan.

Her early morning rides with Callum and Stardust would be long forgotten, a happy memory in the past that, in the grand scheme of things, would mean nothing at all.

For some reason, that made Maggie feel more depressed and miserable than she had thought possible.

Maggie glanced at her cousin, and found that Amilia had been watching her intently, no doubt seeing every emotion flit across Maggie’s face.

“I know that,” Maggie said. She didn’t sound defensive anymore. She sounded sad and defeated.

Amilia sighed. “It’s going tae happen to all of us, Maggie. Ye don’t need tae look so miserable. It’s not as if Ma and Pa would make us marry someone awful.”

“I know, I know.”

“My point is, it’s our duty. This is how we protect our family, how we keep our clan strong. You and I might well be the ladies of a clan of our own one day, and then it’ll be up tae us to keep the Highland clans united, to keep our people safe, and tae remember our duty to our family.”

“I know all this, Amilia. Why are ye lecturing me?”

“Because ye daily rides alone with a stableboy could jeopardize that.”

There was a long, tense silence.

“Excuse me?” Maggie managed.

Amilia had the grace to blush. “Ye must see that going for long rides alone with Callum, sneaking out o’ the house before anyone else is awake, could look a little… a little suspicious.”

Maggie sucked in a breath. “Are ye accusing me of something, Amilia?”

Amilia sighed. “No, I am not. And even if I were, it wouldn’t be anything tae worry about. I don’t care what ye get up tae, Maggie. But I care about how it looks.”

“I don’t give a damn about how it looks.”

“Well, ye should. No man is going tae want tae marry ye if they think ye have damaged virtue. It shouldn’t matter, but ye and I both know that it does. It does, Maggie. And when it comes time tae make alliances and to get ye a husband and lands o’ your own, nobody will have ye. What will ye do then?”

Maggie turned back to face the mirror. She was furious, anger surging up inside her, and she had the urge to punch the glass again and again, until it shattered and dented.

“And who did ye hear this from?” Maggie said carefully. “I don’t believe that Aunt Lyla or Bonnie would say this. Ma would tell me tae my face. So where is this coming from, Amilia?”

Amilia flushed, glancing away. “I heard one o’ the grooms telling one o’ the maids about ye early morning rides.”

“Hm. Was this gossipy groom called Robert, by any chance?”

“Aye, he was. How did ye know?”

“No reason. So ye decided ye would talk tae me yourself, didn’t ye?”

Amilia bit her lip. “No, not quite. I thought they were making it up, so I followed ye out yesterday morning. I know that nothing is going on between you and that stable boy, but that’s not what matters; ‘tis the look o’ the thing.”

“And the look of the thing involves me going for a roll in the hay with Callum, the stable hand every morning at dawn, eh?” Maggie snapped tautly.

Amilia blushed at her cousin’s crude words. “I’m just saying, people will talk, and a lady’s reputation is easily ruined. I don’t want ye to find that ye have thrown away your whole life for a charming stable boy.”

Maggie straightened her cloak, even though it didn’t need straightening, and turned to face her cousin. She’d composed herself by now, even if she was still seething and plotting a great revenge for Robert, the gossipy groom. She even forced a smile. Judging by Amilia’s wary expression and the way she stepped backwards, it wasn’t a very convincing smile.

“I know that ye care about me and my future, Amilia,” Maggie said. “I appreciate ye coming tae talk tae me. Ye must have thought hard about what ye wanted tae say. It must have taken courage.”

Amilia flashed a brief, relieved smile. “Aye, I did think long and hard about it. I… I didn’t want tae offend ye, and I know that ye have done nothing wrong.”