Page 92 of Taming the Highland Misfits

Jamie ran off to wash his mouth out, and they both laughed as they watched him.

“Honestly, you would think he had swallowed poison,” Scott observed. “How are you doing at Kilkenrigg?”

“Very well,” Alex replied, unable to stop himself from grinning.

Scott looked at him suspiciously. “There is something you are not telling me,” he said, narrowing his eyes.

“All will be revealed at dinner.” His voice carried a wealth of mystery.

Scott looked as if he was about to say something, but he obviously thought better of it and turned away to speak to one of the guards.

A shiver suddenly travelled down Alex’s spine and a feeling of foreboding came over him. Something, he felt, was not quite right. “You are being fanciful, you idiot,” he thought to himself, but somehow the presentiment would not go away. It stayed with him all day, like a cloud over his head.

* * *

Next day, when she woke up after a night of wonderful dreams about Alex, Freya leaped out of bed full of energy. She was looking forward to the day immensely, but was subdued a little by the fact that Alex would not be with her. She recognized that she was being childish when she, a grown woman, was missing her man after less than a day.

After a bath, she went to the dining room to eat breakfast, but bolted her food down as fast as she could, because her father was absent and she had to sit alone with Aidan. She wished him a polite “good morning” but received only a sullen grunt in reply. The rest of the meal was eaten in heavy, oppressive silence, and Freya breathed a sigh of relief when her brother finally finished the last of his breakfast and left the room without a word or a backward glance.

Freya was beginning to hate him. However, it was not long before her good mood reasserted itself and when she went to meet Caitrin and Mhairi she was back to being her usual self.

Freya was finding it hard to sit still; in fact she had not sat on a chair for more than a minute since breakfast time. Caitrin and Mhairi tried to calm her down, but it was no good.

“We will have tae let her get it out o’ her system,” Mhairi observed. “Mind, I have never seen her as excited as this before.” She shook her head and looked at Caitrin, who nodded in agreement.

“Where is Alex?” she asked, looking around. “He is usually here somewhere at this time of the afternoon.”

“He has gone tae visit his family,” Mhairi answered. “I imagine he will be tellin’ them the good news.”

“Do you think they will be pleased?” Caitrin was smiling.

“I think they will,” Mhairi replied. “Even though she is a bit o’ a tearaway sometimes, she has a heart o’ gold.”

“That she does,” Caitrin said fondly as she watched Freya playing with one of the chambermaids’ children. “I think she will make a very good mother.” She stood up and called to Freya. “We have to see the dressmaker to pick out some cloth for your dress, Freya, so please come along. She will be here any moment.”

Freya, who had been enjoying running around with the little girl, sighed, then waved goodbye to her before coming back to her two friends. At last, she was beginning to look a little calmer, and she sat down beside Caitrin on a chair in the courtyard.

She accepted a glass of ale from Mhairi and stared up at the sky for a moment. It was white and hazy, and the weather was warm for a change. She wished she could have been with Alex, then reprimanded herself severely. She would not become one of those wives who could not do without their husbands for a moment and hung about them as if they were their shadows.

Freya looked to the future, seeing them going to their special place by the loch with their children who would all be splashing in the water and screaming with glee. She wanted at least four; two boys and two girls, but she would settle for any combination as long as Alex was their father.

After another hint from Caitrin, Freya trudged away to see the dressmaker. Although she loved to wear beautiful dresses, she hated the business of measuring and fitting them. Often, when twelve different materials were produced and set out for her inspection, she would ask Catrin and Mhairi to pick one out for her, since too many choices confused her.

The final choice was pale blue velvet, which was picked out by Caitrin. When she held it up for Freya’s inspection, she merely nodded and smiled, already bored. She wanted to go for a ride in the fresh air and feel the wind blowing through her hair, then scream her joy to the heavens.

“Would you like some French lace?” Caitrin asked, holding up a sample so that Freya could see it.

“If you think it will be suitable,” Freya answered. Her mind was elsewhere, busy remembering how she and Alex had touched and kissed the day before.

Caitrin shook her head in exasperation and instructed the seamstress accordingly, then Freya’s measurements were taken and she was at last allowed to leave. She knew that she would have to endure many more such fittings before the wedding, however.

If it had been her choice, she would have put on an ordinary dress and sneaked away with Alex, married in secret, then told everyone afterwards. This appealed to her mischievous spirit, but she knew that her family and friends would be looking forward to the occasion, and she could not let them down.

Freya sighed as she walked to her chamber to don her riding habit. Why did everything have to be so damn complicated?

She turned to ascend the main staircase that would take her to her bedroom, but her attention was suddenly caught by two figures who were standing behind a pillar conversing aggressively with each other.

One was Aidan, who was gesticulating wildly while keeping his voice down to a hissing whisper. The other figure was in shadow and his head was obscured by a dark brown hood. Freya could not understand why anyone would want to wear a head covering indoors, and it puzzled her.