'Meg? What has happened?' She asks, coming in.
I close the door after her and tell her everything that happened in the hallway. She is shocked but recovers quickly.
'Meg, I am not too surprised. They are evil, and they are jealous of us. Kaithria is afraid that the laird will look your way, and that is why she acts like that. She is frightened of losing him.'
'I do not care that she is frightened. She is afraid to lose her laird because she knows how evil she is, and she is scared that soon he may find it out,' I say. 'But of course, I am not going to let him know about her rudeness, because he may think that I am doing it on purpose to make him dislike her. He does not see that she is rude. All she does in front of him is smile and be nice.'
'You are right. Do not tell him anything about his fiancée,' Elsie says. 'He will find it out sooner or later.'
I nod. Sooner or later. I want it to be sooner than later. What if it will be later than sooner? He will be her husband then. And I will probably be married to someone else. So, let it be sooner than later. Though, it hurts when I imagine him being disappointed. I want him to be happy, with whomever he wants to be.
'I helped the maids in the pantry,' Elsie says happily. 'They are happy. We were piling the sacks of flour on the floor. Oh, and I saw Kaithria walk near the pantry, by the way. She looked my way and did not say anything.'
'She and her mother keep making plans to hurt us,' I say. 'And we just have to ruin those plans. Let's just be strong and kind. We defeat them all the time, and we will continue it,' I say. 'The good thing is that Sloan is on our side. He told me that we can stay here and feel ourselves at home.'
'So, let's feel ourselves at home, what are we waiting for?' Elsie says, and we start chuckling.
'Now it is time for dinner,' I say.
'After I finished my work in the pantry, I went to the dining-room, but you were not there. So, I came looking for you. It turns out you have locked yourself in your bedroom because Kaithria told you bad things. Come, let's go and have dinner with everyone else.'
'I just do not want to see her or her mother,' I say, looking out of the window – it's already dark outside. I probably spent an hour in my bedroom.
'I know. I also do not want to see them. But we must go now, otherwise everyone will think that something is wrong,' Elsie says and I agree.
Chapter 10
Sloan
Riding Bracelet in the highlands around the castle is a relief. As if it turns me into a new person. I ride my favorite horse and enjoy the nature, the scenery, the soft breeze. I let my horse gallop freely, taking me a bit farther than the surroundings of the castle, just to get away from the problems. Bracelet seems to be happier than me, feeling the nature and the soft grass with its hooves. There is no one in the surroundings – just the trees and the streams, small waterfalls and enchanting magical sounds of the nature.
I let my thoughts take me away wherever they want to. Maybe I was wrong and rude towards Kaithria. After all, she did not say anything bad about the sisters. She merely said that Elsie ruined flour, because she was anxious. Kaithria is worried about them, most probably. I am just protective towards Megan, and that is why I got super-defensive when Kaithria mentioned them. I should not have left Kaithria in the stables like that. It was rude. I hope she is all right, poor girl.
Returning, I get back just in time for dinner. I quickly wash myself and go to the dining-room. Almost everyone is there. Kaithria and her mother are sitting there, waiting for the remaining people to arrive.
I enter, and Kaithria smiles sweetly at me. I return her smile. She does not seem to be holding grudge against me for leaving her in the stables and storming off on my horse. After all, she is right in some way – she has noticed that I am not indifferent towards Megan, and her fear is well-reasoned. I go and sit next to my fiancée. Good that she is sweet and nice. I know that I have been rude to her, but she has forgiven me and everything is all right now.
I immediately notice that Megan is not in the dining-room. Her absence is felt before it is seen. I know I should not feel this way, but I am used to seeing her around, nothing more, I think to myself. I start wondering where she is. I even feel a little worrisome. Maybe I should go and look for her? Or maybe not. Kaithria will not like it at all. It will become a new topic for an argument between me and my future wife. And I do not want any arguments between us. Everything must be good and pleasant now, as well as after we get married.