Page 134 of Claimed Highland Brides

She shrugged. “Aye, weel. Death comes for all o’ us.”

Barclay nodded. “Tha’ is true. I dinnae suppose ye ken where he kept his documents?”

Aileen frowned. “Wha’ d’ye want wi’ them?”

“I am hoping he has some record o’ me. Some means for me to prove who I am in front o’ th’ courts. My uncle has hijacked my birthright and dares to call me an imposter.”

Aileen’s jaw dropped. “How dare he? And if I can recognize ye, I’m sure yer own uncle can.”

Barclay’s mouth twisted bitterly. “Aye, but if’n he acknowledges my rights, he will have to give over my property.”

“Is there no other man who can help ye?”

“None that I can think o’. I havenae been in Scotland for eleven years. Even then, we kept to ourselves. As ye ken, my faither didnae get on weel wi’ my grandsire.”

Aileen sighed. “Ye should at least rest for the night. Tomorrow we shall think o’ something.”

Barclay lifted an eyebrow. “Should ye no’ ask yer laird first?”

Aileen laughed. “It isnae as if Daividh would object.”

Barclay lifted an eyebrow in surprise. “And who exactly is Daividh?”

“He is Fiona’s husband and the new laird. I dinnae ken where everybody’s got to at the moment, but I can show ye and yer manservant to yer chambers. Ye can rest a while.”

Barclay smiled. “Ye always were very good at taking care o’ people. It’ll be better in the morning, no?”

Aileen took a deep breath, face warming. “Ye remember tha’.”

“Aye,” Barclay said softly. “I never forgot yer many kindnesses to a poor lonely boy.”

Aileen’s head dipped, and she turned quickly to hide her face. “Come wi’ me. I’ll show ye where to go.”

She began walking fast, as it again occurred to her to wonder where everybody had gone. She spotted one of the downstairs maids, hurrying along with a bucket in hand. Lifting a hand, she motioned the maid to stop awhile. “Where is the laird?”

“Och, they went oot to the Drumacree. ’Tis market day.”

Aileen frowned. “Wi’out me?”

“They searched for ye, but ye were nowhere to be found, and the day was a’wastin’ ma’am.”

Aileen pouted in annoyance. “I was oot in the gardens!”

The maid shrugged helplessly. Aileen sighed, shaking her head, and resumed her journey up the stairs, with Barclay and his manservant following quietly behind. She could feel his presence like a warmth along her back, even as she tried to shake off her awareness of him.

I cannot believe I forgot today was market day!

To be fair, nobody had mentioned it at breakfast, and she’d been distracted recently with a feeling of melancholy she could not shake. A lack of purpose to her days. Seeing both Fiona and Jamesina so happily settled with their spouses and how their faces glowed with happiness at the approaching birth of their children had made her wistful and maybe even envious. The twins had each other and were not in a hurry to break their duo apart. Aileen suspected they’d never be ready to do that. Whoever won their hearts would have to be ready to accommodate that relationship.

A wave of loneliness ran through her even as she knew it was ridiculous. Just because her sisters were moving on with their lives did not mean they were leaving her behind.

They left you behind today, a treacherous voice whispered in her head. She shook it off, focusing on her guest and his needs.

The guest chambers were kept in pristine shape as they tended to get many unexpected visitors from passing bards to noblemen hoping to break their journey, from country farmers on the way to market to friends and acquaintances visiting from afar. Her step was surefooted as she led him down the north wing and stopped at the door.

She turned and smiled at Barclay and Angus. “Here ye are. I shall have the maids send ye a bath and some refreshment. Someone will come to fetch ye just as soon as the rest of the family returns from Drumacree.”

He stretched out his hand, curling his fingers around her elbow. “I thank ‘e, Mistress Douglass.” He smiled, his eyes twinkling. Aileen’s eyes lit up in return as she thought back to the old days when they would play outside for hours, coming back to the keep covered in mud and other unidentified bits of nature to be scolded by one or both of their mothers. It was ridiculous that he should call her “mistress,” hence his impish grin.

“Ye’re welcome, Barclay. I’ll see ye at dinner.”

“Aye. See ye then.” She stepped back and let them retire to their room, feeling her face warm at the look in his eyes. She was not used to men looking at her, let alone seeing her. Their eyes tended to travel over her tall, thin frame to land on the more voluptuous curves of the twins.

She stumbled a bit, flustered as she hurried back down the hall, feeling his eyes like a target on her back.