Page 67 of A Two-Faced Laird

Aidan gently untied her, then Edina laid her head on his chest, and they fell asleep, their bodies tangled up in each other’s.

Laird Andrew MacDougall,who had been a great friend of Aidan’s father, was celebrating his sixtieth birthday with aceilidh to which everyone who was anyone in the area of Achnabreck was invited.

Lady Findlay decided to attend, judging that it was time she cast off her black clothes and emerge into society again. Accordingly, she wore a pale grey velvet creation that was not too ostentatious, and although she did her fair share of socialising, she did not spend too much time on the dance floor.

Edina’s mother watched her contentedly.

“It is time Eleanor was moving on,” she said as she watched her friend chatting and laughing with another group of ladies.

Aidan was busy talking to two other Lairds, then Bettina was called away to dance by Roy, leaving Edina on her own.

Edina had no problem with this at all. She loved watching people mingle and interact with each other, their smiles, frowns, the way they subtly moved away and inched closer to each other. It was truly fascinating.

Then suddenly the last person she had ever expected to see again came to join her. Fenella Anderson looked almost bashful as she smiled at Edina, who felt obliged to smile back, even though it was the last thing she wanted to do.

“How are you, Lady Findlay?” she asked politely.

Her cheeks were flushed and she looked embarrassed.

“Well, as usual,” Edina replied, but did not reciprocate by inquiring about Fenella’s health.

There was an awkward silence for a moment.

“I came to apologise to you.”

Edina raised startled eyes to the other woman. These words were not ones she had ever expected to hear from her.

“I was wrong,” she went on, “and I treated you badly. Aidan guessed that I had intercepted your letters somehow, and I did. I burned them. I also tried to make every trace of you disappear, but now I can see how wrong I was. You and Aidan are obviously very much in love, but so am I. After you both left, your fatherand mine arranged a match with Aidan’s cousin, Donald. We did not court for a long time, because we could hardly wait to be married.

I would not say it was love at first sight, but love came very soon after we met. So you see, by eloping, you did us all a very big favour—all four of us, and I have never been so happy. So as well as saying sorry, I want to thank you, and I hope you forgive me.”

Edina looked up at the tall woman beside her. Fenella was gazing at the floor, avoiding Edina’s eyes.

“Of course, I forgive you,” she said gently. “Everything has worked out for the best, and we are all where we should be. There is no need for grudges or bitterness.”

She took Fenella’s hand and shook it. “We will never speak of it again.”

“Thank you, Milady,” Fenella said gratefully, then bowed, smiled and left.

Edina looked after her, feeling happy. She had always hated being at odds with anyone, and the reconciliation with Fenella had made her realise that she had been nursing a grudge against her former rival. Now she could let it go, and she was content. Life was good.

Aidan always wokeup earlier than Edina, and she was very glad of that fact the next morning when she opened her eyes and a bout of nausea rose from her stomach into her mouth, almost causing her to vomit. However, she kept it in check by a tremendous effort of will until the feeling gradually went away. She sat up in bed, her heart thumping as a possibility sprang to mind.

Could this be morning sickness?Edina asked herself, and her heart leapt with hope, then she pushed the thought away firmly.No, more likely it was something I ate.

Her mother had told her all about the first signs of pregnancy, but if this was merely a digestive upset, she would be making a lot of fuss about nothing as well as getting Aidan’s hopes up for no good reason.

She decided to tell no one for the moment. If she confided in her new maid she would likely tell one of the other maids, who would tell someone else, and an hour later it would be all over the castle, then the village.

There were a few other causes for feeling sick, and for the moment Edina decided to put the mere thought of a possible pregnancy out of her mind. She had missed her courses that month, but then they had always been irregular, and she had not given the matter a second thought.

However, she would not raise her hopes until she had a few other signs. Edina went to find a book on the subject of pregnancy and childbirth, which she paged through then carefully hid at the back of her wardrobe.

Aidan never suspected a thing as the days went by and Edina continued to wake up feeling nauseous. Yet since she was never actually sick, it was easy to hide. As the days went on, however, her suspicions were further aroused by the sensitivity of her nipples, the absence of her courses, and her swelling waistline.

However, it was only when she felt a strange pressure from inside her, a series of random, intermittent taps, that Edina felt confident enough to go to the local midwife.

Jessie Nairn smiled at Edina as she confirmed her suspicions.

“Aye, Milady,” she said warmly. “Ye are wi’ child, an’ I am happy for ye.”

Edina’s eyes filled with joyful tears.

“Thank god!” she breathed.

As she had expected, Aidan was ecstatic, and hugged her so hard that Edina felt her ribs would break. When he realised what he was doing, he leapt backwards, obviously imagining that he would hurt the baby.

He knelt on the floor in front of her and kissed her stomach, which was slightly rounded, but nowhere near the size it would become later.

When Aidan stood up, he folded his arms gently around Edina.