Page 32 of Lost with a Scot
“I think I’ll take her riding,” he called over his shoulder at his brothers before he sprinted up the hill toward the castle.
* * *
“What’s the matter?”Brodie pressed Brock when Aiden was well out of earshot. He could tell from the look on his brother’s face that something was still bothering him.
“Ye wouldna believe me,” Brock muttered. “I’m not even sureIbelieve it. Yet it has me worried.”
“Tell me, brother,” Brodie said.
“Do ye remember when the Romani visited us for a time when you were but a lad?”
Brodie grinned. “I’d never kissed so many pretty Romani lassies before—”
“Brodie,” Brock growled.
Brodie sighed. “Aye, I remember them. What of it?”
“The old woman who led their clan gave me a warning about Aiden.”
“About Aiden?” Brodie’s dark brows arched.
Brock crossed his arms as he looked at the castle up the hill. “She said that he will be lost to us when he meets a woman from a faraway land who will steal his heart.”
“What?”
“At the time, I didn’t think much of it. I mean, it sounded foolish, ye ken. But now...?”
Brodie gazed at the castle, his own heart now full of an echoing dread.
“That’s why ye asked him about her, and about love.”
“Aye. If he never loves her, he might be safe.” Brock dragged a hand through his hair, his face weary. “We never protected him enough, and now we canna stop him from falling in love.”
“He canna die if we protect him,” Brodie said.
Brock was silent a moment, as if considering it, then shook his head. “No, we must let him choose his path. The old woman made that clear too. Every man’s destiny is his own. No matter how much we wish to interfere, we must not.”
The brothers stared at the castle as they each contemplated what it might mean to them to lose Aiden.
* * *
The hedgehog was stillon Anna’s lap when she finished her tea. After Joanna and Lydia’s round of questions, weariness had settled in Anna’s limbs and her head was aching. Then Aiden appeared in the doorway, making her forget all about those things simply by smiling at her.
“I see ye found Prissy.” His face lit up with delight as he joined her, Lydia, and Joanna in the sitting room.
“Prissy?”
“The hedgehog.” He came over to her and with delicate hands removed the sleeping hedgehog from her lap. The creature woke up and made small chirping noises as it recognized him.
Anna rose to her feet and leaned into Aiden as he held the hedgehog in one of his hands. “What do you think she wants?”
“She’s hoping I have treats,” he said, then reached into the pocket of his waistcoat. He held up some seeds for Prissy. Prissy examined the offering closely before taking a few seeds in her mouth and munching away.
“She’s a prissy little thing,” Aiden said with a chuckle and then set her down on the ground. She scurried off into a corner and curled up into a ball again.
Aiden turned to the others. “Ladies, I am stealing Anna for a ride. We’ll be back later.”
“For dinner?” Joanna asked.
