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If Collin had noticed the bitterness in Orla’s voice, then he did not show any sign of it at all and merely nodded.

“Ah yes, that would be my third cousin, Ethel, although I don’t really like to think of her as my cousin.”

“Why nae?” she asked.

Collin sighed. “You must understand that I do not like speaking ill of anyone, but she does tend to bring my family some ill repute. My father has spoken of ignoring her, but family is so important to him that he can’t quite bring himself to do so. Frankly, I think he needs to be a little bit more ruthless. The family name is something to be protected. We can’t have everyone besmirching it because of the actions of one woman.”

“What hae she done?” Orla asked, wondering what could be so bad about a single woman. She soon got her answer though.

“She has worked her way through half the nobility of London, if you believe the rumors. Now, I’m noy saying that they are all true of course, but there is never smoke without fire. She has been in ‘romances’,” he made an exaggerated expression when he said this, “with plenty of people, none of them lasting into marriage. I try to avoid her as best I can. It’s a wonder she can even show her face in polite society. I wonder how she bears it, when she knows what people whisper about her behind her back.”

“I suppose she dinnae care.”

“Doesn’t care? Everyone cares what the ton thinks. It’s the only thing that matters. It doesn’t surprise me that she’s speaking with your friend there. I doubt there’s anyone left in England who would have her, at least anyone in their right mind. Either that or she’s just looking for a scandal at being seen with someone from the Highlands.”

“Why should that be a scandal?” she asked, feeling a flare of patriotic pride within.

Collin was about to say something before he caught himself suddenly and wore a practiced smile. “No reason, I misspoke,” he said quickly. “Perhaps I should go over there and warn him, although I’m not sure I owe him a favor after he interrupted us so rudely last time.”

Orla wondered if Hamish knew what he was getting himself into. Perhaps, she should march over there and interrupt him, declaring that she was his chaperone. Then she would see how much he liked that! Then again, he was a man old enough to make his own decisions, and if he wanted to spend his time with someone like Ethel, then so be it. Orla spent a couple of moments more with her gaze lingering on them, and then she tore it away, preferring to look at the high ceilings and the impressive architecture of the building.

“Sae this is all gaeing tae be owned by ye one day?”

“That’s correct, yes. Obviously, some of the holdings will be split between the family, as is always the way, but I shall have enough left to create quite a grand impression on London. I hope to continue with my father’s work and make this place one of the most important locations in our city. There is going to be a lot of trade flowing through the capital, even more than what there is now, and I want to be at the heart of it. I want this home to be synonymous with London, and I never want there to be an empty hall,” he said with fierce determination glowing in his eyes.

“Ye sound as though ye hae ye future all worked out,” she said.

“Yes, well, I have learned to plan from a young age. Father has wanted me to move to one of our other properties and manage it outside London, but I told him that I wanted to be here, because this is where all the important things happen. There is no getting away from it, this is the heart of the civilized world, and everything important is going to happen here. I don’t think I shall ever leave. I already have my eye on some properties that I want to buy when their leases are up. There are always opportunities waiting for us, we just have to know when to grab them.”

Orla smiled shyly. “There is naething like this in the Highlands. All this talk of property… up there we are surrounded by nature, and there is nae thought of building everything upon it.”

“Well, that’s probably why England is a more powerful country, no offence, but sometimes you have to be heartless when thinking about nature. It has to come secondary to what really matters in the world. There are so many resources we can use, and to ignore them is quite, well, negligent, really.”

“I dinnae think it’s a case of nae using the resources, it’s just that people dinnae want tae mar the beauty of the land.”

While they were speaking, Orla’s attention kept drifting towards Hamish and Ethel. She watched as the English woman tossed her head back and laughed uproariously, as though Hamish had just said the funniest thing that had ever been spoken. Given what she knew of Hamish, Orla did not believe this to be the case and wondered if this was part of the show that Ethel performed for the men that she encountered. Ethel’s long, slender neck was exposed, and her light hair shone as it caught the light. Her entire body bent, and her arm reached out casually, taking hold of one of the lapels on Hamish’s suit and then lingering there, her fingers spreading out across his chest. It was an intimate touch, but because it had been married to laughter, it seemed innocuous somehow, and nobody noticed at all, nobody except Orla. It was so easy for Ethel to touch him. Was this what Hamish had been doing all week? Perhaps his estimation of England had changed, and all it had taken was the presence of an English flower to sway his allegiance from the thistle to the rose.

“…secondary to function. I know that many writers and poets would have us believe that beauty is the most important thing in the world, but unfortunately, reality does not quite work like that. We must use everything that is around us to ensure that we are the most powerful nation. I would rather have wealth and strength than beauty,” Collin said. Orla hadn’t caught the first part of what he had been saying, so she made a conscious effort to put all of her attention on him, even if it was a dire struggle indeed.

“I dinnae think it’s a question of haeing one or the other. Sometimes beauty can be a source of strength. I hae always been taught tae respect the world around us. It hae been here far longer than we hae, and it will last a lot longer tae. In the Highlands we believe, well, some of us believe, that nature hae a spirit all of its own, and we must be careful nae tae offend it, otherwise, it will react and send great storms our way.”

Collin’s face twisted with disdain, and he laughed, shaking his head. “Oh that is why I find you so intriguing, Orla, all these little stories that you Highlanders come up with.” The tone was patronizing, and Orla was rankled by it. “I mean no offence by this, but it’s clear why Scotland has not become a powerful country like its better sister, and it’s precisely because of this attitude. We can only progress if we start to see the world as though it is meant to be used by us, otherwise we shall all fall into stagnancy. What is the use of letting these fields lie fallow when they could be ploughed? Industry is the future, and it will change this world for the better.”

“I disagree,” Orla stated bitterly, disappointed that Collin should hold these views. “And I think ye would change ye mind if ye saw the beauty of the Highlands. Perhaps ye should broaden ye horizons a wee bit.”

Collin laughed again. “London has everything I need, and if I ever require something a little different, then I can journey down to the south coast. I don’t think I shall ever visit that wilderness you call a home,” he shuddered a little as he said it. Orla had long wanted to leave the Highlands behind and forge a new path for herself, but she had never truly disliked them. Yes, they had become boring and offered little in the way of novelty for her, but that did not mean she was blind to the beauty of the valleys and the gentle mists that rolled through the forests. To hear Collin speak so dismissively of her home was dispiriting to say the least.

Collin continued, “and I’m sure you will be glad to know that you won’t have to return there either, if things go as planned. My father seems confident that he has secured a good agreement with Edward for your hand in marriage. I think we will have quite a fruitful partnership. I’m sure that a lot of people will be curious about the fact that I have a Scottish girl as my wife, or perhaps I should call you ‘lass’? That is the native term, isn’t it? I shall be the one who tamed you and taught you how to be a proper lady, leaving that uncivilized world behind, and I’m sure that the longer you spend here, the more you’ll understand the way of things.” He wore a smug smile, as though the only reason that he wanted her was because she was Scottish, but then also wanted to rip away all of her heritage, leaving behind a hole that could be filled with the image of an ideal English lady, all prim and proper and demure.

Orla had heard such things before, but she had assumed that when she found her love, it would be like Halle and Nova, who were allowed to display their Highlands spirit proudly, because their husbands loved that as much as they loved them. Collin, though, seemed to be the opposite. Orla glanced around at all the wives standing there by their husbands, mute and glassy-eyed, a faint smile etched onto their face, as though they had been carved by a stonecutter. All of them looked dead inside, their only purpose to provide a flourish for their husbands. Was this the life she had dreamed of? Was this the life she had left the Highlands for?

The reality of life in England did not necessarily pair well with the ideas of it she had had in her mind. Collin’s attractiveness had faded as well, the more she had gotten to know him. She was puzzled because everything had seemed so perfect, but where was the freedom in the life he offered? She did not wish to lose her appreciation of beauty, and she did not wish to leave the Highlands behind entirely. It left her feeling lost, so she excused herself from Collin’s company and returned to her family, hoping to spend a few moments composing herself.