Page 121 of Seduced By the Reckless Highlanders
With great difficulty she turned her gaze away and resumed the trek towards her destination. All of a sudden she saw a figure sitting on a rock, a little way away from the water, looking into it despondently.
“Lorna!” Minna cried.
CHAPTER 17
As Minna had suspected, Lorna was devastated. At first she had been anxious, then frightened, but after a few days of trying to keep her hopes up and fending off her fears, she had almost given up. She was terrified, too, that she would lose her home, since she no longer had employment as Minna’s maid. However, Jamie was not interested enough in his sister’s doings to even notice her existence, so Lorna merely kept to Minna’s quarters and stayed out of his way.
She was unable to even ask about Minna’s welfare for fear of giving herself away, so she sat for days fretting and worrying, making up dark, gloomy scenarios in her mind during the day and enduring nightmares in her sleep. When she had finally endured almost three days of this, she decided that she needed some fresh air and exercise, so she crept down the servants’ stairs past the stables and made her way down to the long slope of grass that led down to the loch.
It was around midday, the wind had died down, and the clouds were giving way to a bright white haze that was neither cloud nor sunlight. Lorna had made her way down to the loch and was sitting by the side leaning her head on her knees. She had prayed until her knees were on fire and her head ached,but with no result. She told herself to accept the inevitable; Minna, her best friend whom she had served for years, was gone, probably at the hand of her vicious brother.
Lorna could not continue skulking in the castle for months, and she had nowhere else to go. Without Minna, she had nothing to live for. She laid her head down on her knees and sighed, seeing no hope for the future.
That was when Minna caught sight of her. “Lorna!” she cried joyfully. “Lorna!” She picked up her pace and rushed to her friend’s side, then almost hauled her to her feet. “I am so glad to see you!”
For a long moment Lorna froze, completely astonished, then she cupped Minna’s face in her hands, staring at her in disbelief, then kissed her. “Minna!” she cried, her eyes filling with tears, “Oh, darlin’, I thought ye were dead!” She wrapped her arms around Minna’s waist and burst into tears. “I thought I would never see ye again!”
By this time Minna was weeping too, and the two women clung together for a long time before drawing apart and looking at each other. Lorna shook her head. “It’s well seen naebody has been lookin’ after ye!” she said, smiling. “Your hair looks like a bird’s nest!”
Minna giggled, then kissed her friend’s cheek. “I am sorry, Lorna. I will try to do better. I have never been so happy to see anyone in my whole life. I am sorry you were so worried.”
“What happened?” Lorna asked, mystified. “I was worried sick.”
“I am sorry, Lorna, but it was truly not my fault,” Minna replied. “Jamie pushed me into the loch.”
“What?” Lorna’s voice was high with disbelief. “You mean he wanted tae kill ye?”
“He ambushed me when I left you that day,” she replied. “We had a great big fight and he pushed me into the water. I almost drowned.”
“He what?” Lorna was furious. “Deliberate, like?”
Minna shrugged. “I don’t know, Lorna,” she answered, “but he has not sent anyone to find me. I almost drowned, but someone pulled me out.”
“Who?” Lorna asked, frowning.
Minna paused for a moment. Should she tell her friend Gowan’s identity? If she did, she knew that Lorna would keep his secret, but it could put her in danger.
Lorna saw her hesitation. “Ye can trust me hen,” she said earnestly.
“I know,” she replied, “but I don’t want you to come to any harm over it. My brother knows dangerous people, and what you don’t know you can't tell.”
“Where are ye stayin’?” Lorna asked anxiously. “Did ye have a roof over your heid all this time?”
“Again, I can't tell you that, Lorna,” Minna replied, shaking her head. “I will not risk any harm coming to you.” Then she had a thought. “What are you going to do? Has Jamie not asked you to leave?”
“I think he has forgotten about me,” Lorna answered. “I am stayin’ as quiet as I can till he throws me out, because he will remember me in the end.”
“We will have to make a plan.” Minna thought for a moment. “And I must go and see Jamie.”
Lorna was horrified. “No! Minna! He tried tae kill ye!” she cried. She took Minna by the shoulders and shook her. “Dinnae go near him!”
Minna scowled. “I have to, Lorna,” she said grimly. “I might die in the attempt, but someone has to stand up to him. This can't go on.”
“Then let somebody else stand up tae him!” Lorna begged. “Ye cannae throw your life away like this, Minna!”
“I will not be throwing it away, Lorna,” Minna replied. “The one good thing my father did for me was teach me how to defend myself, and I can handle a sword as well as most men.”
“But your brother is a big strong man, Minna!” Lorna reminded her. “He willnae have too much trouble disarmin’ ye. Think, lass! He is a nasty cruel man, an’ if ye fight wi’ him ye will be throwin’ your life away!”
