Page 14 of It’s in his Highland Kiss

With that, Marion suddenly had two pairs of hands on her, prying her dress off her body, while the woman who had spoken was pouring the water into the tub, testing its temperature with her hand. When Marion stepped a foot inside, though, she didn’t understand how the woman could have possibly been satisfied with it.

“It’s freezing!” she complained, her entire body erupting into goosebumps.

“Aye, it’s good for ye!” the woman assured her, as the other two grabbed a washcloth each and began to scrub her with such vigour that she was certain her skin would slough off. Soon enough, she was used to the cold water, but there was no getting used to the fact that she was standing there naked, being washed by two maids.

Her cheeks burned with the embarrassment of it all. She could only hope that the next time she would have a bath, she would be allowed to have it by herself, but she didn’t get her hopes up; life in the castle seemed stranger than she could have ever imagined.

It didn’t take long for the maids to scrub her clean, and once they were satisfied, they stuffed her into the dress, tightening her corset past what she thought was even possible. Then, they brushed her hair and pinched her cheeks, though she hardly needed any more colour on them, and just as quickly as they had arrived, they were gone.

Marion looked at herself in the mirror that sat on her vanity, just as ornate as the rest of the room. She gazed at her reflection and found someone else there, a girl that she had never seen before in her life, looking back at her.

Her hand came up to touch her cheek, her lips, her chin. There was no denying it; the girl in the reflection was none other than herself.

How can it be? This is not how I look.

As she remained engrossed in her reflection, the door of her room swung open once more, and once more, she jumped off her seat, her hand clutching her chest.

“Forgive me for scarin’ ye, lass.”

It was Adaria’s voice, and she rushed to Marion, looking at her from head to toe, her mouth hanging slightly open as though she, too, could not believe her own eyes.

“Ye look so bonnie, Marion,” Adaria told her. “Och, I’ve never seen ye look so bonnie before.”

“I . . . I don’t know what to say. Thank you,” Marion said. “But this is all too much, Adaria. I don’t need a dress like this. It must have cost you so much . . . too much.”

“It’s one of me old dresses. It doesna even fit me anymore,” Adaria said. “I dinna want it to sit in a chest, collectin’ dust. I want ye to have it, and I want ye to wear it and show it to the world. Of course, we’ll get ye yer own dresses soon, but for noo, it’ll have to do.”

Marion turned to gaze at her reflection once more, her hands smoothing over the soft fabric. Her thoughts travelled to Eiric as she looked at herself in the dress.

Will he like it? Will he think that I look pretty, too?

“I’m afraid there isna time for ye to rest. Dinner will be ready soon,” Adaria said, interrupting her thoughts. “Besides, ye’re already in the dress! Let’s go and show the world, Marion.”

Marion smiled; she couldn’t help it. She didn’t remember the last time she had been happy, truly happy, but she assumed that it had been there by Adaria’s side, when she had been a child.

What a terrible thing. I haven’t been happy in so many years.

Adaria wrapped her arm around Marion’s own and led her out of the room and down to the great hall, which was swarming with people. Marion had been in too many crowds for her liking, and though she understood why Adaria would like to throw a feast for her son now that he had returned home—with the little notice that she had—she also doubted that she could handle another crowd.

And then, just as she was about to ask Adaria if she could possibly excuse herself, she saw Eiric at the other side of the room, laughing as he waved a cup of wine wildly around. She saw him, and then he saw her, and the moment their gazes met, he stopped laughing. He stopped moving altogether, standing there, frozen like a statue.

Marion’s breath caught in her throat. Her hands began to tremble, and her knees almost buckled under her weight, but Adaria was there to hold her steady.

And then, Marion watched as Eiric’s lips curled into a smile; a smile that was meant for her.

Chapter Seven

“Do ye na think before ye do things?”

Eiric stood in front of his father, who regarded Eiric with the kind of look that he never wanted to be directed at him. Eiric had never liked it when his father became angry; he was a good man, but he seemed to forget that when he allowed rage to take over.

“I dinna ken what I’ve done that’s so wrong, faither,” Eiric said. “The lass needed a place to go, and I gave her a place to go. What is so wrong about that?”

“This is the last thing that should be on yer mind,” his Father hissed. “The last thing! There’s about to be a war, Eiric, and ye bring a Sassenach here, in me castle—”

“She’s nae a Sassenach,” Eiric said. “Ye ken that. She’s half-Scottish, and she deserves to be here and learn about her heritage.”

“Och aye, of course, but ye had nay obligation towards her and neither do I. Her family could have brought her to Scotland if they so wished. But they didna. They never wanted her to ken about this place, and so they stopped visiting. She’s as good as a Sassenach in me eyes.”