Page 79 of How the Belle Stole Christmas

The day drew on, but there was no sign of Catriona’s family returning to fetch her.

One by one, the servants approached and sheepishly asked if they might depart as planned to visit their families for Christmas. Catriona all but pushed them out the door. She wasn’t Meaghan, who needed an army of maids to press her gowns and curl her hair.

It being December, the sun had set by midafternoon, and still, her family had not returned. Was it possible that they had made it all the way to Portree without noticing that she was missing? Surely, they wouldn’t get on the ferry without her!

By then, the only occupants remaining at Castle Kilmore other than Catriona were Robert and Doreen Campbell, a pair of newlyweds who would be keeping watch over the castle for Christmas.

As Doreen was pregnant, Catriona decided to head down to the kitchens to discuss supper plans.

Not that Catriona was in a position to offer assistance in the kitchens; she’d never cooked so much as a biscuit.

But she wanted to make it clear that she didn’t expect the sort of meal they were accustomed to laying before the family. Simple fare would suffice.

In the kitchen, she found a pot of stew bubbling over the fire. The room was otherwise deserted. Catriona set out in search of the two remaining servants. She checked the pantry and the laundry. She checked the upstairs bedrooms and the downstairs parlors, but there was no sign of Robert or Doreen.

She had just thought to check the stables when she heard hushed whispers near the back door.

Doreen and Robert looked up guiltily as Catriona came around the corner. She smiled in an attempt to diffuse the tension. “I’m sorry if I startled ye. I was just going to ask if…”

Catriona froze because that was the moment she noticed the liquid pooling at Doreen’s feet.

“Doreen!” Catriona ran forward and clutched Doreen’s hand. “The bairn! Is it…”

“It’s time.” Doreen scrubbed at the tears streaking down her cheeks.

Catriona’s heart was racing. “But it’s too soon! The bairn’s not due until Easter, and—”

“It’s not.” Doreen waved her hands, giving a great sniff. “I ken the wedding was in July. But Robert and I, er…”

Catriona closed her mouth as understanding dawned. “Ye anticipated yer vows.”

Doreen looked miserable. “We did, aye.”

Catriona seized her by the shoulders. “Dinnae look sad. Here I was, worried that the bairn was coming too early. Yer bairn will be healthy. ’Tis a good thing!”

Doreen peered at her, lower lip trembling. “Ye dinnae mean to dismiss us, then?”

“Of course nae!” Catriona gave Doreen’s shoulders a squeeze. “And we willnae speak a word of this to my mother.”

Doreen burst into tears. “Oh, thank ye, Miss Catriona!”

Catriona pulled her in for a hug. She would have to think of an explanation to give to her mother as to how Doreen had delivered a hale, healthy bairn a mere five months after her wedding.

But that could wait. Right now, they needed to make sure there was a hale, healthy bairn to explain away.

Catriona turned to Robert. “Ye must get her to the midwife.”

Robert frowned. “We cannae leave ye here all alone.”

She waved this off. “I’ll be fine.”

He shook his head. “What would yer mother say?”

Catriona was about to reply that her mother had forgotten her entirely, and she believed there was a saying about glass houses and throwing stones that likely applied. But just then, Doreen gasped. Her face turned sickly pale, and she leaned heavily against the doorframe.

Robert and Catriona both hurried to prop her up. “Just look at yer wife!” Catriona exclaimed. “She cannae wait. Now, ye’re going to Mrs. MacKinnon, aye?”

Robert didn’t look too pleased about it, but he answered, “Aye.”

Mrs. MacKinnon lived in the nearest village, Teangue.

It was only a mile and a half down the road.

“Here’s what we’ll do—hitch Bill and Daisy to the cart and take yer wife to Mrs. MacKinnon.

By now, my family is sure to have noticed that I’ve been left behind.

I’ll wager they’re on the road home as we speak. ”

Robert frowned. “But what if they’re not?”

“Of course, they are!” Catriona draped Doreen’s arm across her shoulders, then opened the door. She gave Robert a push. “How could they not notice they’ve forgotten me? Now, hurry and hitch the donkeys to the cart. Go. Go!”

Catriona comforted Doreen through two more rounds of birthing pains before Robert brought the cart into the yard. He had laid some straw in the back. Snowflakes swirled around them as Catriona and Robert helped boost Doreen into the back of the cart.

Robert frowned. “I dinnae like leaving ye alone here, what with the weather turning.”

Catriona closed the boot with a snap. “Dinnae worry about me. It never snows down here by the coast.” As if to defy her, a large, fluffy snowflake settled on the tip of her nose. She brushed it off. “Leastwise, not more than an inch or two.”

“But—”

“Go!” Seizing Robert by the shoulders, Catriona hustled him toward the driver’s seat. “I’ll be fine.”

After a few minutes of Robert’s protestations, which Catriona met with firm nagging, he reluctantly climbed up. She stood in the yard, waving and shouting well wishes until they pulled onto the main road.

The cold suddenly hit her, and she hugged her arms around her stomach. Turning on her heel, Catriona hurried back inside the empty castle.