Page 42 of Sinbound to the Highlander
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Lingering at the back of the group, Freya prayed that she would not draw any attention to herself—Elspeth could take it all. The dress she wore was the least flashy one of Elspeth’s donation, but it still drew attention.
She had avoided attention at the Milleson’s for the past four days, and she intended to have it stay that way at the Saundersons. Sadly, the flickers of Evan’s eyes over her and the one from his mother as well, told her she might not be so fortunate.
“Miss Milleson,” Lady Ruthven said. “Ye are lovely, and I can see why Evan was drawn to ye. I’m lookin’ forward to welcoming ye into me family.”
Elspeth tilted her head up, and her smile was self-satisfied. She dipped out a curtsy. “As I do, Lady Ruthven, and thank ye.”
Then, as Freya was about to feel relief, the attention she wanted to avoid, was turned on her. “Miss Crushom, I am as delighted to have ye here as well. When Evan gave me that urn of salve for me knees, I took it in faith, and almost two days later, I have proved it. Ye, me Dear, have a gift. Thank ye for helpin’ me.”
Blood rushed to her face, when it was not only the Lady’s eyes on her, but her family as well. Her heart was pounding in her ears, but she said, “Thank ye, Lady Ruthven. Yer words humble me.”
“Ye’re just as beautiful as yer sister, Dear,” Lady Ruthven said kindly, “So, please, stop hidin’ yer face.”
Now, Freya’s face began to burn, but she nodded. “Aye, Me Lady.”
She went to her son and laid her hand on his shoulder, “I willnae keep ye. See them to their rooms, and in an hour or so, I believe all will be ready for the feast. I’ll see ye all soon.”
Evan took a moment to kiss his mother’s cheek then, said, “Please follow me.”
As she was wont to do, Freya lingered at the back of the other three, and was taken to a long corridor where their rooms were. Evan saw Laird Aidan and Lady Grace to one chamber and Elspeth to another. At the end of the hallway, he held the door open to hers.
“Thank ye,” Freya said, relieved that she could get a moment to herself.
“She’s right, ye ken,” Evan said, and her eyes flew up to him. “Maither said it precisely, ye are just as beautiful as yer sister, so daenae hide yer face anymore.”
A bit stunned, Freya managed a genuine smile, “I’ll do me best. I’m delighted yer Maither found the salve to be such a relief. Have ye kent of what it’s worth?”
“Oh, I have,” Evan’s mysterious expression piqued her interest. “And ye’ll have to wait for this evenin’ to find out.”
With that same stone-faced look, he bowed out and closed the door between them, but Freya found herself smiling. She turned to the room and looked around. It was a decent room, nearly as lavish as the one Lady Grace had given her, but a bit narrower.
There was a bookshelf in the room, and she went to it. Taking one out, she found it filled with hymns, a book titled,Love at a Lossby Catherine Trotter Cockburn, a Bible and another book, a tinier one, made with a thin, leather cover and filled with poems. Opening it, her eye ran over one line, and it captured her attention. She took the book to the chair and popped it on her lap.
Read here the pangs of unsuccessful love,
View the dire ills the weary suffers prove,
When care in every shape had leave to reign,
And keen sharpens every sense of pain.
The more Freya read, the more a dark sensation settled in her stomach, and confusion muddled her mind. She was not sure what it meant, but she understood that only pain would come from loving someone who did not feel the same.
While mulling over the line,gloomy and dark the prospect round appears, doubts spring from doubts and fears engender. Hope after hopes goes out in endless night, and all is anguish, torture, and affright,a knock came on her door, and she put the book away.
It was a servant, telling her she was summoned to the Great Hall. When she stepped out, Laird Aidan, Lady Grace, and Elspeth were already there, straightening their dresses. As the book was thin and malleable, she was able to stick it into her pocket and then joined her family as they descended to the Great Hall.
The massive room had her breath stalling in her breast. It was similar to the one the Millesons had, but she had rarely gone into that one. This hall was filled with people along with the trestle tables, but the one at the dais was empty. It was where she was taken with her family. Evan and his mother were already there, and he stood when they mounted the pedestal. Her eyes ran over the feasting table that was laden with food.
Evan went before the table, and the chatter in the hall hushed. Clearing his throat, he announced, “Me friends, fellow nobles and honored guests, tonight, we celebrate the arrival of Laird Lobhdain, his wife, and daughters, Miss Elspeth Milleson and Miss Freya Crushom. The Laird is here as he and I are embarking on a tighter comradeship between our territories. They have pledged to stand with us during the threat of war, and they have promised to stand with us during peace. I beseech ye to see them as ye would see me,” he turned to grasp a goblet and lifted it high. “Let the feast begin!”
A cheer went up from the people inside, and Freya wondered why he had not mentioned the pending marriage between him and Elspeth. And by the soured look on her sister’s face, Elspeth was wondering the same. Deciding that he must have had a good reason to stall that announcement, Freya took up her goblet and took a sip, her tongue touching a smooth-tasting liquid with a heady tang and a lingering sweetness.
I suppose this is wine.
The feast continued with much joy and celebration, with food coming out of the kitchens in heaps and mounds, by the platterful and trayful while darkness was drawing closer. Minstrels came in, and the hall was filled with merry music. While she nibbled over a tight stomach, Elspeth was picking at her fish with a puckered brow.
