Page 62 of Claimed Highland Brides

He stepped in and he felt like someone punched him in the gut.

There was no one in the room.

* * *

Jamesina Arabella Douglass was woken by the loud knocking on her door. She sighed tiredly, knowing full well that it was her sister, Ùna, on the other side, no doubt unable to wait to share some new idea she’d had in the night. Now that Fiona, their oldest sister, was married and a mother of twins, the younger girls looked to Jamesina to fill the role of mother. Their own mother had died a while back and they lost their father two years ago, just before Fiona fell in love and married Daividh Campbell, a simple soldier who was now the Laird after marrying Fiona. They were in love and Jamesina was truly happy for them.

Fiona still tried to find time for them but having a pair of twins to tend to as well as a new marriage left her little time for the particulars of her sisters’ daily lives, even if they did live in the same keep.

Jamesina threw off her duvet, calling for her sister to enter. To her surprise, it was not Ùna, but Fiona who walked into her chambers.

“Guid morning tae ye,” Fiona said, closing the door behind her.

“Guid morning, Fiona. What brings ye here sae early?”

Fiona sighed. “Daividh had tae go tae the mines at first light. There was an accident yesterday according tae the messenger. I woke early tae see him off. Now I cannae go back tae sleep. I mun’ confess that I’m worried. This is the third accident this month.”

Jamesina rubbed at her face, trying to wake up properly. Then she pulled her fingers through the riot of long, red curls on her head, hoping to tidy the mass of her hair. “What d’ye think, it’s subversion?” She looked at her sister with her wide, doe-like eyes.

Fiona shook her head with a sigh as she came to sit on Jamesina’s bed. “I dinnae ken. I just…” She pursed her lips and gave Jamesina a wry smile. “I’m fashit.”

“Well we should put more guards to figure out who the troublemakers are and then hang em publicly!”

Fiona loved her sister’s enthusiasm even if sometimes it could push her to reckless choices. “Jamesina, please. Tis not that simple. A dinnae ken if there are trouble makers.”

Jamesina reached out and squeezed her sister’s hand. She was obviously anxious, so Jamesina looked around for something to distract her sister. “We should go and wake the others. Nobody can distract ye better than Ùna.”

Fiona laughed. “Aye, ye’re right.” She got to her feet, waiting for Jamesina to get her robe on, and then they walked out together to go and wake their sisters.