Page 24 of All In Good Time
“Oh, my poor sweet Sara, come with me. Yer dress is filthy as are yer shoes.”
“I’m so sorry Helene. I’m making a mess in your nice clean house.”
“I’m nae worried about the mess. ’Tis ye I’m concerned about.” She led Sara upstairs to her room. “Let’s get ye out of those dirty clothes.”
Sara slumped down onto the bench at the foot of the bed. “I can’t believe this is happening.”
“Shhh… Dinnae cry, Sara.” Helene helped remove her dress. “I’ll be right back. I’m going to get some warm water. Don’t move.”
She didn’t need to worry about that. Sara could barely feel her legs and feet. The cold and wet had seeped through her shoes and stockings, so she sat there, feeling like an ugly old lump. Helene returned with a damp cloth to gently wipe the tears from Sara’s face. When she was done, she placed Sara’s icy feet in the bowl of water. The warmth of the water felt so good she moaned aloud. While she soaked her feet, Helene brushed the knots from her hair, loosely braiding it when she was done.
“Give me your feet.” Helene rubbed them dry and then she helped Sara change out of her linen shift and into a comfy soft nightgown. She turned the bed down and helped Sara get in. Plumping the pillows behind Sara’s head and then sitting down beside her she said, “Tell me what happened.”
“While you were busy with Dougall, I went exploring. It started to rain and I got lost. I ended up at Aisla’s house. Do you know who she is?”
Helene nodded, “I do.”
To Sara’s eye, Helene appeared taken aback by this. She wondered why, but continued on with her story. “We talked and had tea. She was so sweet. I really like her. She even gave me a pouch of her homemade tea because I liked it so much.” The horrified look still hadn’t left Helene’s face. “Why are you looking at me like that?”
“Like what?” Helene asked.
“You know what I mean. I’m not blind. You look shocked that I spent time with Aisla. Has she got some sort of contagious disease or something?” Sara was feeling confused, especially since Helene was acting so strange. Oh God, did she contract something terrible here?
“No. Dinnae be silly. She’s a lovely lass. I’m surprised that ye wandered so far in the rain, ’tis all. And I’m trying to understand what has upset ye so much.” Helene laid a comforting hand on Sara’s shoulder. “Did she say anything to upset ye?” Helene asked.
“No. I told you, she’s very nice.” She took a deep breath before blurting out, “I saw Logan. He doesn’t want me here. He told me to go back to San Francisco, that I don’t belong here. He wasn’t even happy to see me.” The tears began to flow again. Not having a hankie nearby, she wiped them away with the back of her hand
“I’m so sorry, Sara.” Helene handed Sara a cloth to wipe her eyes and nose. “I’m sure he didnae mean it.” It was obvious Helene was doing her best to reassure her.
“Oh, no. He meant it. I could tell by the way he was looking at me. The funny thing is that you told me he’s done nothing but talk about me since he’s been back. Were you just saying that for my benefit?” She stopped sniffling long enough to gaze straight into Helene’s eyes.
“Nae. I’d never lie to ye.” Helene seemed as upset as Sara.
“Well, then, something happened to make him change his mind.” If only she could figure out what it was.
“Mayhap it was the shock of seeing ye,” Helene offered.
“I thought that too at first, but he seemed so angry. I don’t get it. I can’t believe I convinced Edna to let me come here. I should have listened to her when she said it wasn’t a good idea for me to come. What was I thinking? I’m such an idiot.”
“Sara, I’ll nae hear ye talk about yerself that way,” Helene said.
“Well it’s true. If I had any brains in my head I would have stayed home and forgotten all about him. But no, I had to travel all the way to Scotland like some lovesick puppy only to be rejected within the first few seconds of seeing him.”
“Sara, I ken yer hurt and angry, but try nae to think on it anymore tonight.” She sat next to Sara, hugging her and rocking her. “Oh, my poor Sara, I’m so sorry. I wish I could make it all better fer ye.”
Sara felt like a forlorn little girl. “It’s okay, Helene.” It wasn’t really, but she didn’t want Helene to feel bad.
“I’ll bring some food up to yer room later. Dougall and I will let ye rest. How does that sound?” Helene stood and gazed at Sara with sadness in her eyes.
“Thanks, Helene. You’re the best. Even though things aren’t working out with Logan I’m still glad I came.” She reached out and grabbed Helene’s hand. “It’s been so worth it to spend time with you.”
“I’m happy yer here and I’m hoping ye’ll stay fer a while.” Her sweet, warm smile touched Sara’s heart.
“We’ll see. I don’t want to run into Logan again and I don’t know how easy it will be to avoid him.”
“It maynae be as hard as ye think. Dougall is usually gone all day, working with his men. And where Dougall is, Logan isnae far behind.”
“Helene, I’m sorry. You’re being so sweet to me. Of course, I’m going to stay. You’re important to me. I want to spend as much time with you as I can.” She meant it. She might not be here for too much longer, but while she was here, she was going to spend as much time with Helene as possible.
Helene seemed to brighten at Sara’s words. She straightened the room a bit, gathering the bowl, washcloth and Sara’s dirty clothes. “I’ll be right back.”
After Helene left the room, Sara pulled the covers up under her chin while the tears slowly flowed. She wasn’t the type of girl to sit around feeling sorry for herself after being dumped, but this was different. This one really hurt. How could Logan be so different than she remembered? He’d been so sweet and funny and gorgeous. She fell for him the minute she saw him stalking down the street towards the coffee shop. The gorgeous hadn’t changed, however he’d been anything but sweet or funny when she’d run into him today. The more she thought about it, the more questions she had. Helene would not have lied to her about Logan, so what happened that changed everything? She wasn’t done with him yet. She had to get to the bottom of this. For her own peace of mind, she had to know what had gone wrong.
* * *
Sittingin the darkness of her office, Edna couldn’t seem to shake the image of Sara from her mind. She’d warned her it would be difficult and that this may not be the right time, but ultimately the romantic in Edna had agreed to let Sara go across the bridge. She wondered for the hundredth time if she’d made a mistake. She hated seeing Sara so sad. She felt her pain and wished with all her heart that she could help.
Edna was a matchmaker by nature and a meddler at heart. Those two things had combined to create some great romances, but right from the start, they’d always, always been orchestrated by her. Sara’s romantic notions about Logan were news to Edna. Perhaps she should have paid closer attention when he visited San Francisco with Dougall. If she had, she could have begun the process of matching Logan and Sara, but it was too late now, Sara had already set things in motion and Edna could do nothing but watch. From what she’d seen in the glow of her fire, her worst fears for Sara were coming true.