Page 44 of Bride Takes a Charmer (Highland Vows & Vengeance #3)
S orsha awakened to light filtering through the tent flap.
She sat up and peered at the empty spot next to her.
Shaw had risen already and was probably making ready for their journey to the next croft.
She didn’t want to be the reason for a delay so she crawled from the bedding and hastily pulled on her overdress.
Before she left the tent, she folded the blankets and stacked them in a pile for the men to collect. She grabbed her satchel and now that she was ready, she wanted to go and wash by the stream and perhaps get a bit to eat before they departed.
Outside the tent, she didn’t see anyone about until Walen rounded a tree and waved to her.
The man appeared tired and his hair was a tangled mess about his shoulders. “Milady, Cadge’s ox got loose last night and the men went in search of it. We will leave when they return. There is some food there, in the satchel,” he said, and pointed at the fire. “Help yourself.”
Sorsha knelt to rummage through the assortment of fruit and grabbed three plums. That would abate her hunger until they stopped for the midday meal. “Is there a place to wash?”
Walen was about to answer her, but Corliss ambled forward.
How the woman appeared so beautiful in the morning, irritated Sorsha, but the woman’s lovely black hair fell in untangled waves to her waist. Her blue eyes shone brightly and were stunning.
If only she wasn’t such a shrew, they might be friends.
But then Sorsha almost scoffed aloud at that thought.
“Sorsha, I would like to wash too. There is a river not too far from here. We shall go together. I would probably get lost trying to find my way back.” Corliss linked her arm with hers. “We shall return shortly, Walen. Tell Shaw not to worry.”
Sorsha had no chance to refuse Corliss’s offer and walked along with her.
Corliss gave no care that her skirts grazed the ground as they walked.
Sorsha tried to hike her skirts up a little to make it easier to walk because with her long legs, Corliss’s stride was quicker than hers.
As they left the treeline, a stretch of open fields sat before them that led to a craggy area of rocky hills.
Beyond the steep hills, she saw the glimmer of water.
Near a huge bluff where a boulder sat and shaded the ground before it, Corliss stopped.
“This is a good place to seek nature’s call.” She ventured forward and squatted beside the boulder.
Sorsha had an urgent need too and for privacy’s sake, she used the other side of the boulder.
When she finished the chore, she rose and rounded the rock.
Corliss awaited her and faced the exquisite view.
Beyond the high bluff sat mountainous peaks that seemed to go on forever.
The hue of them grayed and some were bluish.
The sight mesmerized her because she’d never seen anything so spectacular.
“It is lovely here, is it not? I have never seen such a beautiful view.” Sorsha wished she could stay there and gaze with wonderment at it. But there was no time to dawdle. The men likely returned from fetching Cadge’s ox by now.
Corliss linked her arm again and eased her forward. “Let us go there,” she said and veered around a crevice on the ground. “Take heed. Watch your step.”
The woman’s concern forced Sorsha to keep her gaze on the ground before her, ensuring that she didn’t twist her ankles or misstep.
Now, the closer she got to the bluff, the more nervous she became.
She wasn’t fond of high places and she sensed she’d become dizzy if she got any closer.
With a yank to her arm, she dislodged herself from Corliss’s hold and stepped back.
“I do not like heights. I shall stay here and await you if you wish to take in the view.” Sorsha moved back to the crag and it was the perfect place to sit and await her. “We should head the other way though and seek the stream to wash. I do not wish to be away too long.”
“Oh, nay…” Corliss returned to her and pulled her away from the rock. “Come, it is not that high and I do not want to view it by myself. ’Tis bonny and ye will regret missing out. There are waters not too far beyond this point.”
Sorsha tightened her hold on Corliss’s arm. “Only for a moment then.”
Corliss stepped toward the edge and Sorsha’s legs shook. Fear lodged its horrible tendrils in every part of her body. Her legs wobbled, her shoulders tensed, and her stomach twisted in a knot that alerted her to the danger she was in. She tried to pull back but Corliss kept hold of her.
“Geoff told me that he had hoped to marry ye and asked ye before ye left for Edinburgh. Ye thwarted him, did ye not? What I wonder is how ye got a message to the queen. Geoff said that ye were good friends. He spoke about his plans and that ye went and ruined it. Do ye know, Sorsha, how disappointed he was?”
“You spoke to Geoff about me?” Sorsha’s breath quickened, not only at the thought of being so close to the edge of a drop but also that her sister-in-law had conversations with the knave about her.
“Aye, when I stopped at Tor before coming to Moy, we had a nice visitation. I was surprised to find that ye married Shaw. My brother professed not wanting to marry, and then, here ye are—his attitude greatly changed. I also wonder what ye did to Shaw to change him.” Corliss clicked her tongue as if she disapproved of her relationship with her brother. “Ye must be some kind of temptress.”
“I had no choice but to accept Shaw. The king put us both forward for marriage. Shaw and I had met many years ago at the king’s castle.
We got on then and…” She did not know why she bothered to explain her relationship with Shaw to her.
“Our paths crossed again and we were pleased by it. Surely you want Shaw to be happy.”
Corliss kept her eyes trained on the view in the distance, her pert nose raised slightly as if she disregarded her. “Not really. I couldn’t care less whether he is happy or not. He and I never got on well together. Why should he be happy when I am not?”
“You do not mean that, Corliss. Shaw cares for you. You are the only family he has left.”
Corliss scoffed with derision. “He has plenty of cousins who would have stuck by him, but Shaw thought to distance himself from them.”
She gripped Corliss’s arm tightly and managed to shuffle back a step. “You mean the Chattans.”
“Aye, the Chattens. I am so close to getting everything I have ever wanted. There is only one thing that stands in my way—you.” She shoved Sorsha and then forcefully pressed her to the edge of the land. “Farewell.”
Rocks scuttled on the cliffside. Sorsha cried out and tried to grab hold of Corliss.
But then the woman pushed her and her body plummeted over the edge.
The descent was long and steep. She screamed with sheer terror then shut her eyes and prayed.
At first, she felt dizzy but then a sense of spiraling came.
Her stomach knotted and even though she tried to grab hold of something…
a stone, grasses, or even a tree root, the land gave way beneath her.
She slid downward, her body scraping against the hard rock.
Numb to the pain, she thought she would surely die before she reached the bottom.
With a hard thud, Sorsha landed at the base of the summit. Small pebbles and rocks followed her descent, clattering after her. But the sound of the water lapping at the shore brought to her the realization that she had survived.
It was a miracle.
She lay still in case Corliss looked to see if she moved, if she was alive—or dead. Obviously, her sister-in-law had a murderous mission on her mind. Sorsha wouldn’t allow her to discover she’d failed in her attempt.
After a bit of time passed, she opened her eyes a mere slit to see Corliss peeking over the edge. She even made a joyful whooping sound as if to celebrate what she saw as her success. Then she pulled her head and shoulders back and disappeared from view.
Sorsha waited a few more moments before she finally began to look around.
She lay on a rocky beach of sorts, before the waters of the loch.
It was a miracle. Still, Sorsha didn’t try to move from where she lay because not only did her head throb, but so too did her leg.
Her hands stung too, but nothing appeared to be broken as she wiggled her fingers, then lifted her arms and looked to be sure.
She drew a gasp at the sight of the bloody scrapes covering her palms.
Sorsha moaned and wished she hadn’t gone off with Corliss.
No one knew where she was, or even that she’d gone off with the woman.
She’d be left there to die alone, certain her injuries were far too severe for her to make her way back up the hillside.
Even if the men searched for her, they wouldn’t suspect that she’d fallen over the cliff—or rather, had been pushed.
Why would Corliss want to hurt her? Even as she thought about it, she couldn’t discern any reason for Shaw’s sister’s hatred.
Sorsha closed her eyes and listened to the noises around her: birds squawked as they flew nearby, water lightly met the land with a whispered, hissing wash of waves, and the wind that made a light whistle around the bluff—it was almost peaceful.
Except for the hammering of her heart and the sound of her own breath, she heard nothing.