Page 6 of Highland Vows of Betrayal

Scarlett backed away until she collided with a table. “Ye ken me? Ye ken my name? And ye are?” she queried, uncertain what to think.

The lady smiled and bowed her head meekly. While they looked alike, their mannerisms were quite different.

Eloise MacLaren pushed back her cloak with her hands, revealing her full face. Scarlett could now see how her red hair was woven so intricately that only a maid could have done it; it would be impossible for a woman to do such a thing on her own. The gown beneath her fur-lined cloak was lovely as well, a gleaming red brocade. Even the cloak was a richly made thing of thick wolf fur.

“Dinnae be scared, please,” the lady said, stepping toward her.

“Scared? Why should I be scared?” Scarlett asked, then laughed at herself. “Apparently I have lost my mind, that is all. I am imagining ye, I must be.”

“Yer nae imagining.”

“Yet ye and I… ye look like me!” Scarlett marveled, her whisper audible before she shot a concerned look at the ceiling, worried that Athol would appear to investigate the noise.

“I ken ‘tis hard, but if ye will hear me out, there is much tae tell ye.” She stepped forward to Scarlett once more, but the latter scurried back, all the way to the tavern bar.

Scarlett turned to face her reflection in the mirror above the bar. She saw herself there, her red hair loosely tied up in the back with a few wild strands hanging down. Her cheeks were pale, and she was tired, with shadows under her eyes.

“I am imagining ye, that is all. I must be overtired from work. ‘Tis nae possible for another tae look so like me.”

“So like ye?” Eloisa MacLaren offered a warm smile, shrugging lightly. “I understand it must be a great shock, but we dinnae just look alike. We are alike, in every way.”

“Shock? A great shock, ye say?” Scarlett whipped her head around, looking at the other girl. “Aye, my heart is likely to stop itself at any second from the shock of this surprise!”

“Oh, dinnae say that.” The lass panicked and stepped toward Scarlett, who reached for the dagger in her belt, making her scurry back when she saw the knife. “Tae have searched for ye for so long, I couldnae bear it if I were tae lose ye now.” She clasped her hands to her chest, catching her breath.

This time, Scarlett was the one to step forward. She tilted her head, analyzing the lass carefully, only to discover she was right. They didn’t just look a little alike but were the exact image of each another in every way. They bore the same eyes and the same hair, though one was groomed better than the other. Even their figures were similar, though perhaps the MacLaren woman was better fed.

“Well, I dinnae ken who ye are, lass,” Scarlett said, “yet ye’ll find I dinnae hold back my tongue. I must ken who ye are, how ye ken who I am, and why ye are at my door in the middle of the night.”

“Which question do ye want answered first?”

“All of them!” Scarlett exclaimed. “Start speaking, I beg of ye, or ye’ll find I am quite good at tipping people out the door.” Despite the confidence of her words, it was an empty threat.

“Very well, I will explain all tae ye.” The lass reached beneath the neckline of her cloak, searching for something. “Ye and I are sisters, Scarlett.”

“Sisters?” Scarlett was incredulous, unable to believe it at first.

“Aye, twins.” The woman pulled out what she had been searching for her at her neck, revealing a necklace. It was a golden locket, just like the one Scarlett wore around her own throat. She was not one to hold back and reached for the other locket. The lass was shocked, but she let her turn it over in the candlelight. “It is true, Scarlett. We are sisters.”

Engraved on the locket, in the same fashion as Scarlett’s own necklace, there was a name: Eloise.

CHAPTER FOUR

“Do ye believe me now?”

Scarlett didn’t answer at first. She took two glasses from behind the bar and poured a hefty amount of whisky in each, before setting one by Eloise, who sat on a bench. She pushed her cloak back a little, yet she shivered every now and then.

“This will warm ye through,” Scarlett murmured, pushing the glass toward Eloise.

“Whisky?” Eloise smiled. “’Tis my favorite.”

“Mine too.” Scarlett sat on the bench on the other side of the table that separated them. Her eyes drifted to the necklace around Eloise’s throat, still shocked at their similarity. “Aye, ye should see this then.” She snatched the locket from around her own throat and laid it on the table.

“Oh, goodness.” Eloise uttered a mild curse, which brought a small smile to Scarlett’s lips.

“Goodness? Aye, I can think of many worse things to say. How about ‘God’s blood!’ or ‘damn.’ I’d say any such words are warranted at this moment,” Scarlett said forthrightly.

“I was always taught nae tae. May I?” She reached for the necklace on the table between them.