Page 54 of Highland Vows of Betrayal

Callie couldn’t resist and placed a meatball on her plate. When she used her knife to cut it, an oily liquid squirted out. Scarlett laughed at the look of surprise on Callie’s face.

“Ye should see yer face!” Scarlett gestured at Callie with her fork.

“Well, I didnae expect it tae be such a firm spurt.” They laughed together before Scarlett turned their conversation to the matter at hand.

“Ye were going tae tell me about yer work.” she reminded Callie, waving her fork in the air. The healer told her of the herbs she used, the problems she cared for, and even the looks she sometimes got from the older gentlemen who took offense at the idea of a young woman as a healer.

Scarlett was glad of the company and the lively conversation. At one point, she even topped off their mead before the steward could come forward to do it. Noticing, Callie paused and looked at Scarlett in surprise.

“I apologize,” Scarlett said. “I can be quite informal at times.”

“Ye dinnae need tae apologize for that, me lady. Ye are just nae what I expected of Lady Eloise.”

“I imagine nae,” Scarlett stared at her plate, wondering how different Eloise would have been in this situation. Would she have sat quietly and demurely staring at her plate all alone?

‘Twould be a lonely life indeed.

“Let us talk of something else instead.” Callie steered the conversation in a new direction, and Scarlett became self-conscious. Whenever she made an error, chose the wrong cutlery, or tipped her cup back more than she should have, she felt like a tavern girl all over again.

If Callie can see what sort of woman I truly am, will she tell anyone?

CHAPTER TWENTY

“Lady Eloise?”

Scarlett reminded herself to respond to that name and turned in her seat. She’d been happily reading, distracting herself with tales of different lands. Noah and Ian had been gone for three days now, not that she was counting, and the castle was strangely quiet without them. Distracting herself in the library, she’d learned much about the continent and, in particular, about France.

That’s where Eloise has gone tae find Avery.

Scarlett had yet to receive an answer from Eloise to her last letter, which left her restless.

“Lady Eloise?”

“Aye, I’m here,” Scarlett called to the voice coming from the corridor. A guard appeared a few seconds later, pushing the door open.

“My apologies for the interruption.” He bowed to her as she stood. She nearly curtsied to the guard and stopped her from doing so just in time.

Lady Eloise doesnae curtsy tae guards!

“There is an elderly gentleman here who demands an audience with the laird.”

“He hasnae yet returned.” Scarlett pointed out, just as the guard knew.

“I ken. I told the gentleman that but he insisted he must see someone today, for he is in trouble. When he heard ye were in the castle, he asked for an audience with ye instead.”

The idea of meeting this man made her nervous. The mere thought of meeting with a stranger made her think of the five cloaked men in the forest. What if one of them were to barge into the castle?

“Why does the man need an audience with me?”

“He says he is in need of help,” the guard explained. “I will stay with ye throughout the meeting, if ye wish.”

“Aye, please.” At least the guard would provide extra protection. She also carried a knife in her boot, in case anything happened within the castle walls. “Please, show him in.”

If he needs help, I cannae turn him away.

The guard returned a few minutes later with an elderly man in tow. He was dressed in rags, with a hooked nose and hollowed-out pockmarked cheeks that showed his age. When he entered the library, his blue eyes grew wide, taking in the bookshelves all around the room.

“Aye, I looked at it much the same way when I first saw it.” Scarlett drew the man’s attention toward her. “Would ye sit a while?” She gestured to the chair in front of her.