Page 72 of Marry the Highland Villain
He saw Brigid briefly for the evening meal, when she finally appeared in the Great Hall, looking a little paler and thinner than the last time he’d seen her. Nevertheless, she seemed well. She refused to meet his eyes, however, or speak to him, and heforced himself to honor her decision and reminded himself of Emily’s advice to let her come to him in her own time.
She hadn’t left, that was the main thing. She was still here in MacKane Castle, even if she wasn’t speaking to him at the moment. She hadn’t made any requests or attempts to leave, and Conall clung to that knowledge, even if it was a cold comfort that left him aching inside.
Two days after Brigid’s appearance in the Great Hall, he received a letter from the Blackwood sisters.
Laird MacKane,
We have received the letters from you and your brother. We have also received a letter from our sister, Brigid, and spoken at length about the contents of both.
Your apologies are appreciated and accepted. Though Brigid may have little experience, we are aware of the sort of man our grandfather was. We can well believe he planned for us to be at odds with each other and with you. Laird Auchter has always hated our existence, which he saw as proof of his daughter’s disobedience.
As for Brigid, in her letter to us, she did not ask to come home, which surprised us.
It occurs to us, however, that you don’t know each other very well. Our sister has had some time to learn about you,about Laird MacKane and Conall Barr—yes, we know they’re different in many ways—but you’ve had little chance to know the woman who is Brigid Blackwood.
She is the youngest of our father’s precious treasures, and we all tried to shelter her from the harsher parts of our lives. Brigid is the warmth and sunshine in our family—she always has been. Even when our parents passed away, it was true.
She loves being around people. She always goes to town, though they’ve never been kind to her there. She wants so much to be loved, but so few give her a chance to show them what a treasure she is.
She loves good food and working in the kitchen, but she also loves flowers and wandering in the woods and the meadows. And she loves books and poetry more than anything else.
She’d never say much on the matter, but she loves to read and write and draw. She has journals full of her drawings and poems—even songs and stories she’s written. On winter nights, she would share them with us around the fire, ever since she was a wee bairn, before our parents passed away.
It will take some time for her to be willin’ to share them with you. But if you wish to find a way to talk to her without forcing her hand, show her that you know and appreciate the things she loves.
Give her time. Our mother’s final rules left a powerful mark on all of us. And Brigid is not used to the harsh ways the world cantreat us, no matter how much her visits to the village used to hurt her.
We wish you the best and hope to hear from one or both of you soon.
Lily, Valerie, and Megan Blackwood
P.S. You’re welcome to come and visit us any time that suits you. Once you and Brigid have resolved your grievances, it is past time we had a proper discussion about whether the daughters of Magnus Blackwood will be joining Clan MacKane.
Conall read the letter several times. It was more than he’d expected to receive from the sisters, and it told him so much that he’d not known about Brigid.
His eyes drifted to one paragraph and lingered. She loved books, writing, poetry, and drawing.
Conall had nay idea where to get art supplies. He had some vague recollection that Emily used charcoal sticks for occasional notes on her remedies, but nothing beyond that. And even if he had known, he was well aware that Brigid had already gathered her own supplies that day in the market.
Books and poetry. His family had never been much inclined to collect things either, but his mother and grandmother had each gathered a few volumes. If he recalled correctly, his father hadgiven his mother a book or two of poetry to while away the long winter nights.
Conall folded the letter and placed it carefully in his desk drawer. Then, he rose and made his way to the door of his study, his mind turning over possible locations of the books in question.
MacKane Castle had no formal space set aside for books, but there should be several chests of his parents’ belongings stored in one of the less-used rooms of the castle.
If he could find the book he sought, perhaps he would be able to do what Brigid’s sisters suggested and communicate with his wife in a way that wouldn’t break his promise.
Recording the events of the past fortnight took the better part of two days. Brigid filled most of her journal. Afterward, she felt better, though she was still not willing to face Conall.
She was no longer afraid of him, but so much time had passed that she had no idea how to even approach her husband. She missed his presence beside her fiercely, but she had no idea how to bridge the gap that had sprung up between them.
She spent the day after she finished writing working on the dresses she and Emily had begun sewing. That took two more days.
The day after that, however, finding she had run out of things to occupy herself with, Brigid finally left her rooms and went for a walk around the castle. Although she had been here for a while now, the place was so vast that she still didn’t know it very well, and while she was uncertain about how to approach Conall, she did know she intended to stay, so she may as well get used to finding her way around.
She was strolling through the gardens—a different section this time than the one she’d explored the night Conall had killed the guards—when Emily approached her, smiling kindly.
“Brigid,” she said in her gentle voice. “I heard ye werenae feelin’ well. Do ye need aught?”
