Page 60 of A Scot's Pride
And he realized he had yet to tell her that, so he leaned down and whispered against her ear, “I love ye, lass.”
Freya burst into tears all over again. “I love you, too.”
21
The Ladies’ Marriage Prospects Bulletin
If you’re feeling faint, don’t be afraid to let unconsciousness take you, especially if you are confronted with something shocking. A fit of the vapors never hurt anyone. It is often best not to witness such things that might harm our sensibilities. Besides, that’s why smelling salts were invented—to wake us when it’s all over.
With Campbell being held in the stables overnight and the driver seeing to the carriage repair, Aunt Bertie had taken Leila to a room to keep an eye on her and give her a lesson in decorum.
Meanwhile, Freya and Bryson had also been assigned rooms of their own.
Freya stood before the basin where she’d splashed her face with water, staring into oblivion.
What in the world had happened today?
None of it felt real. The mad dashing to chase after her sister. The crash. Finding out the crash had been caused by her sister and her criminal fiancé. Bryson, there to the rescue.
She shook her head, hoping that would help bring some semblance of sense to her, but it didn’t help. Nothing was sorted. It was all the same.
She peeled off her torn dress, shredded from the glass and when Bryson had ripped the fabric to get a better view of where he needed to stitch. The injury smarted now that some of the shock had started to wear off her. She stared down at the wound, peeking beneath the linen bandage. The tight stitches held her skin together. This was clearly not the first time he’d stitched someone up.
There had been some mention in their conversations of him being at war. Of Campbell having served with him. How many men had Bryson stitched up on the battlefield?
Freya took a shuddering breath and backed up to the mattress, sitting in her chemise. Maybe she wouldn’t even put on another gown. She was suddenly incredibly tired, yet when she laid her head on the pillow, her eyes refused to close. So, she stood up again. Paced her room. Then she gently pulled on another simple dress to ensure she didn’t hurt her arm.
Pacing, wondering with her mind going in a million directions, was only going to drive her mad. She opened the door to her room and turned left in the direction of Lady Daven’s chamber. Perhaps she needed to have it out with her sister one more time before she was satisfied, and with Leila stuck in their older companion’s rented room, her sister couldn’t escape whatever came out of Freya’s mouth.
With a decisive nod, she shut and locked her rented room and started to march in that direction, but she’d not made it two steps before the door to Bryson’s room opened across from her.
“Where are ye going, lass?” His voice was soft and had tingles racing along her skin.
“To tell Leila what I think of this whole debacle.” Freya matched his low tone, not wanting to disturb any guests.
“Do ye no’ think ye did that already?”
Hmm. She had, of course, on the road. “But I’m not finished yet.”
He grinned. “Ye’ve got a lot of fire in ye. Why dinna ye let me buy ye a drink? Ale or wine, perhaps.”
“I don’t like ale. And wine makes me sleepy. Besides, I don’t want to go down to the tavern. Can’t you hear how rowdy it is already? I want to tell my sister exactly what I think of her immature and dangerous behavior. If it had not been us on the road, she’d be in a jail cell with rats crawling all over her.”
“Sounds as if that’s where ye think she should be.”
“Well, maybe a part of me does.” Freya shrugged and crossed her arms over her chest.
“All right. How about this—come into my room, and I’ll get ye a wee nip from my flask. We’ll talk about what ye plan to say to your sister. Ye can even pretend I’m her. See if it makes ye feel better.”
“I shouldn’t go into your room. It wouldn’t be prudent.”
“Are we still getting married?”
Oh, heavens, yes. Her eyes widened, and she nodded. Another thing she couldn’t believe had turned out to be true.
“Then I dinna see the harm.” Bryson took a step back, widening his door for her to step over the threshold.
Doing so went against everything she’d been taught. But they were supposed to get married. That part was true.
