Page 83 of Taming the Highland Misfits
Freya jerked into wakefulness, her eyes wide with shock. She looked around to see if there was anyone else in the room, but she could see neither the sinister black-clad figures nor her mother.I must have been dreaming,she thought with a mixture of sinking disappointment and relief; relief because the vile black creatures were gone, but sorrow that she had seen her mother for such a short time.
How wonderful it would have been to sit and talk to her, to ask her what happened after you died. Had she been in heaven? If so, what was it like? Then she told herself not to be stupid.It was a dream, you soppy thing,she thought. Meeting the black creatures had been horrible, but being with her mother again–there were no words to describe how wonderful it felt.
She decided to tell Caitrin and Mhairi about it, but not until she came back from speaking to her father. When she thought about when the moment came to speak to him, her stomach flipped. Was she going to be able to do it? Was she brave enough?
Presently, Mhairi came in, smiling. “Good morning, Mistress,” she said cheerfully. “How are ye?” Then she frowned. “Ye’re as white as a sheet, are ye no’ feelin’ well?”
Freya pinned a smile on her face. “I am fine, Mhairi,” she replied. “I would like to bathe quickly and leave early, though.”
“What is the rush?” Mhairi asked, smiling. “You are goin’ tae a ceilidh tonight, I thought ye would want a nice quiet day. Knowin’ that Blair family, ye will be up till the wee hours.”
Freya gulped. She had completely forgotten about the ceilidh, but she would have to find an excuse not to go, since Alex had not been invited and she refused to go without him. Still, she thought, it would be best to keep her options open until after she had spoken to her father. If he refused to let them marry, they would have to explore other options, but till then, it would be best to act as normally as possible.
“I had forgotten all about the ceilidh,” she said irritably. She was having a hard time sitting still, and Mhairi noticed it. “I think I will pretend I’m ill or something; I am not in the mood for all that fuss.”
“You seem a wee bit out o’ sorts today, Mistress,” Mhairi remarked, frowning. She rang for Freya’s bathwater and went to fetch her riding habit from the armoire, since it was her custom to go out riding straight after breakfast.
“I will not need my riding clothes today, Mhairi,” Freya told her. “I need one of my prettier dresses–the ones I use to greet guests in.”
Mhairi’s eyebrows rose and her eyes widened in surprise, but she said nothing for a while, merely picked out a few dresses and laid them on the bed so that Freya could choose one.
Freya chose a teal-blue velvet dress, very simple in style and a perfect foil for her vibrant red hair. She bathed and dressed very quickly and plumped herself in a chair in front of the mirror. “Can you see that my hair looks extra pretty today, Mhairi?” she asked.
Mhairi’s curiosity was really piqued. Her eyes met Freya’s in the mirror, and she asked, “Is there an important visitor comin’ today, Mistress? Ye dinnae usually get a’ dressed up unless there is a good reason.”
Freya smiled, a wicked, mischievous smile. “You will find out everything in a wee while, Mhairi, I promise,” she answered. “In the meantime, can you pin my hair up with the pearl combs?”
“But the pearl combs are the ones ye use for parties,” Mhairi pointed out. They were beautiful pieces, and she rarely wore them in the course of an ordinary day, but today was not ordinary.
“Well, I want to use them now,” Freya answered. She waited until Mhairi had finished with her hair then stood up in front of her full-length mirror. As Mhairi had said, she did look a little overdressed for a normal day, but only she knew that this was not just any day of the week.
As she turned around, she asked Mhari how she looked.
“As beautiful as ever, Mistress,” Mhairi answered, smiling.
“I am going to see my father,” Freya told her. “We need to finish the conversation we started yesterday.” She frowned as she took a last look at herself in the mirror, then turned to leave the room, but before she could open the door, Mhairi said:
“Mistress, there is somethin’ I must tell ye.”
Freya turned back, an impatient retort on her lips, but as soon as she saw her maid’s face, she bit it back. Mhairi looked so troubled that she was immediately concerned, because she was usually so calm and unruffled, and nothing much ever bothered her. However, now her brow was wrinkled with a worried frown, and she seemed extremely agitated.
“What is it, Mhairi?” Freya asked, putting her hands on the other woman’s shoulders. “Tell me.”
Mhairi sighed and rubbed her forehead, clearly disturbed, before meeting Freya’s eyes again. “What ye dinnae know, Mistress,” she said, “is that when ye left the Laird’s study, ye were in such a state that ye dinnae shut the door right. Every one o’ the maids could hear what was goin’ on after that. Anyway, I heard frae one o’ them that the Laird’s man stayed after ye left, an’ he an’ your father got intae a big argument.”
“What was the quarrel about?” Freya asked, terrified of what Mhairi was going to say next.
“Your father’s steward was very angry,” she began. “He said that the Laird should learn tae control his daughter an’ tell her tae dae her duty. I suppose that means ye should get married tae the right man. Your father dinnae take very kindly tae this an’ told him tae mind his own business. They told me he was fumin’, an’ said it wasnae his place tae tell him how tae deal wi’ his own daughter.
Well, ye can imagine Master Patterson was no’ best pleased. He said that ye are the daughter o’ Laird Murdaugh, the biggest landowner in the area, an’ ye have a duty tae marry somebody that would help yer family an’ clan.
Then the Laird told Patterson that if he didnae agree wi’ him, he was quite welcome tae find another position. They were no’ on very good terms when they parted.” She hesitated for a moment. “I hope ye are no’ angry, Mistress, but I felt ye had the right tae know.”
Freya shook her head, laughing softly. “Mhairi, you are one of the dearest people in the world to me,” she assured her maid gently. “Of course I am not angry at you. Thank you for what you have told me. I need every scrap of information I can get so that I can plead my case to my father.”
“This is very mysterious, Mistress,” Mhairi said doubtfully. “Are ye sure ye will be all right?”
“I have lived with my father for over twenty years, Mhairi.” Freya looked at her maid, a grim light in her eyes as though she was about to go into battle. “I know just how to handle him.”
