Page 30 of Lost with a Scot
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Anna held tightlyto Aiden’s arm, like he was the mast she had clung to before he’d found her. No matter how beautiful the landscape here was, she was all too aware that she was a stranger in a strange land.
The massive castle in front of her was a daunting gray stone edifice at the top of an emerald-green hill, overlooking a picturesque lake. She’d marveled at the beauty of the landscape from the window of the coach, but to stand here with Aiden’s home all around her, she was both nervous and excited. The air was clean, and a heavy fragrance of flowers from the nearby gardens perfumed the breeze. Purple heather bloomed on the distant fields. Everything here was rich in color and stunning to behold.
“Dinna worry,” Aiden said. “My brother may growl a wee bit, but he has a soft heart.”
She looked up at the imposing lord of the castle and his English wife. The resemblance between Aiden and Brock was clear, just as it was with Brodie. The brothers were all so alike, and yet different too. Brodie had a bit of mischief in his face, whereas Brock was far more solemn, and Aiden’s face held a depth of compassion.
“Anna, this is my brother Brock and his wife, Joanna.”
Brock nodded politely. “Welcome, Anna.” There was a hint of shadow in his eyes, but he still welcomed her with a warm smile.
“Come inside, Anna.” Joanna gently pried Aiden away from her and led Anna away, with Lydia eagerly trailing behind them. “The three of us should have tea,” Joanna suggested.
Anna glanced back to see Brock speaking quietly to Aiden, his expression rather serious.
“I hope my presence is not a burden to you,” she said to Joanna.
“Burden? No, of course not.” Joanna’s honest reply relieved some of the tension that had been building in Anna. Perhaps the brothers had other matters to discuss that had nothing to do with her.
Joanna led her to a sunny drawing room and waved for her to sit in one of the welcoming chairs.
“Careful!” Lydia cried out. Anna froze, her bottom hovering slightly above the nearest chair. “You must always check behind the cushions,” she explained. Anna moved the pillows at the back of the chair. A hedgehog was curled up, fast asleep, half concealed by the pillow. Anna might have squished it if she sat down.
“See?” Lydia was still laughing. “Aiden’swee beastiesare everywhere,” she said, feigning a Scottish accent.
“She’s right. I always forget and am forever startling all manner of creatures,” Joanna said. “Just this morning, I was helping an upstairs maid collect fresh linens for one of the bedrooms, and we found a nest of rabbits in the sheets. Baby bunnies were running all about the room. It took us ages to trap them all along with their mother and take them down to the gardens.”
Anna couldn’t help but giggle at the image Joanna painted.
“Don’t forget the time you found that Scottish wildcat hunting mice in the kitchens,” Lydia said, then turned to explain to Anna. “Aiden found it with a paw full of thistles and treated it. Then it decided it liked living here in the castle, but it hissed at everyone. He was such a grumpy creature and so ill-tempered. The cook, was forever chasing it about with a soup ladle, trying to get it to leave.”
Joanna nodded, still giggling. “It was a good mouser—even Mrs. Tate had to admit that.”
Anna turned her attention to the little spiky creature on the chair. Without hesitation, she scooped the hedgehog into her hands, then sat down and placed it on her lap rather than on the floor. She didn’t want it to be trampled if it wished to continue sleeping.
“No wonder Aiden likes you,” Joanna said with an approving smile. “You seem to be just as comfortable with animals as he is.”
Anna stroked a fingertip over the nose of the hedgehog. It snuffled and rubbed its little snout with one paw but continued to sleep.
“I do like them,” she agreed.
“Anna, I heard you were shipwrecked. Is that true?” Joanna leaned over and pulled a bell cord near the wall to ring for a tea service.
“Yes. Aiden rescued me. My memory is still a bit...”
“Aiden mentioned you don’t remember much.”
“She’s remembering things in bits and pieces now,” Lydia interjected. “The doctor believes it will all come back to her at some point.”
“Well, that’s good,” Joanna said. “It must be very frightening not to remember who you are.”
“It is,” Anna admitted. “But Aiden has made me feel safe, and I owe him much for that.”
Joanna and Lydia shared a glance at that. Anna couldn’t help but feel a little outnumbered here. These two women were in tune with each other and shared a history through their husbands. She was but a stranger. It shouldn’t surprise her that they would be curious as to her feelings for their brother-in-law.
“You seem to like him, don’t you?” said Joanna.
