'I wish someone could persuade him not to marry Kaithria,' Grizela says. 'But I am sure Sloan will not listen to anyone. Maybe only you?'
'Me?' I ask, surprised.
'Yes, why not? He may listen to you, as he respects you very much. It is easy to see,' Isla adds.
I smile at them and say nothing. In fact, I have no idea what to say. They suggest that I go and tell Sloan not to marry Kaithria, but me. 'All right, girls, thank you, I will go and look at the sky for some time,' I say, 'To be honest, I do not know how to speak to the Laird about his own life. Most probably, I will not do that, I am sorry,' I add.
'Well, I understand. It is not easy to speak to someone and say something against their decision,' Isla says.
'Yes, especially when that someone is the Laird of the castle,' Grizela adds, shrugging. 'Anyways, have a nice time there on the tower.' They smile and wave, as they continue descending the stairs.
Absorbed in my thoughts, I reach the tower. I can see the horizon from here. Elsie is in the pantry, helping the maids. I have noticed that Sloan does not rush with the wedding. Maybe he wants to make sure that he wants Kaithria as his wife? Or maybe he wants to find me a husband before getting married himself? I have no idea, but it is obvious that he is not in a hurry. I do not know what he is thinking about, but I like the idea of him not being married yet.
His cousins' words keep spinning in my mind. They want me to be the Lady of Domnhall. They see me as Sloan's wife. I cannot help but smile at that idea. Even though it is pleasant for me to hear such things, I know that I must not get excited.
The evening sky is wonderful, a bit reddish to the south, and spilt with thousands of stars. I can stay here forever. But I need to go down, as Elsie probably worries, now that I have gone for a long time.
On my way to Elsie's bedroom I constantly look around to make sure that Kaithria and her mother are not there. Not that I am afraid of them, but I do not want any fights in the castle with me or Elsie involved. Good – they are not in the hallway. Only Forba is there, carrying a basket full of laundry.
'Good evening, Forba,' I greet her, and notice that she looks sad. 'Is everything all right?'
'Yes, my girl, I am well.' She replies. 'But as I know you and I can trust you, I think I can speak with you about how sad I am.'
'Yes, of course, you can trust me, Forba,' I say, getting worried. 'Why are you sad? What has happened?'
'I have known Sloan ever since he was a newborn,' she says, putting the laundry basket down on the stone floor. 'He is the sweetest boy that I have ever seen – and I have seen many, because there are many other boys and girls in this castle, as you already know.'
I nod, not knowing what she is going to say next.
'Sloan grew up to become the kindest Laird I even knew,' she continues. 'He is handsome, kind, and brave. He is also very clever. But I do not know why he has chosen such a bad bride for himself.'
Now everything is clear – Forba wants to talk about Kaithria, and she does not like that girl, as everyone else here lately.
'Sloan deserves a better wife,' Forba says sadly. 'Everything is just wonderful, everything except Kaithria and Lady MacTravis,' she adds. 'I think Kaithria will not be a good wife for our Laird, and will not be a good Lady for Domnhall.'
I nod. I agree with her. But I do not want to say anything about it.
'Megan, my girl,' Forba says, lowering her voice. 'Is there any chance that you can talk the Laird out from marrying that rude girl? It would be so nice if you convinced him, and they went away.'
This is already the second time in a single day that I hear things like this. At first the cousins, and now Forba.
'At the castle everyone has realized how the real Kaithria is,' Forba goes on. 'Only the Laird thinks that she is the sweet girl when she behaves so in his presence. No one wants her to become the Lady of Domnhall. I have spoken with all the maids, and they hate her and her rude mother. The clan members also do not like them, although they do not speak with me about those things. I am just a maid,' she adds, shrugging. 'But I know what their facial expressions mean, as I have known them for ages. No one is glad about Sloan being engaged to Kaithria.'