Willow hugged her tight. “It doesn’t hurt to have hope.”
Sorrell laughed lightly. “You, the sensible one, telling me there might be hope, when James has made it clear how dire it is that you and I wed the men chosen for us?”
“I like to think what Mum said was true. That destiny would find us one day and we’d have a good life. Maybe destiny brought John here and somehow destiny will find a way to bring you both together.”
“I expected only sensible advice from you,” Sorrell admitted, grateful her sister had given her words of hope, even if that hope would never see fruition.
“I’m not sensible. I adapt because most of the time there isn’t any recourse, but that doesn’t mean I can’t dream or hope for myself and others.”
“You’ve always been so unselfish.”
“I’ve had no choice. I’m the oldest and Mum depended on me to help. With you and Snow not even two years apart, and me six years, it was simply expected of me. And you, dear sister, were a handful.”
For the first time, Sorrell realized how little freedom Willow had had when they were young. She had been like a second mother to her and Snow.
“But this isn’t about me. It’s about you and John,” Willow said.
“There is no John and me. I am to wed Seth MacCannish.” Sorrell scrunched her face and stuck out her tongue.
Willow laughed.
“What am I missing?” Snow asked as she appeared in the open doorway and felt her way in with her hands.
“Sorrell thinks she is falling in love,” Willow said, joy filling her every word.
“It’s John. I knew it,” Snow said and Willow hurried out of the chair to help Snow to sit in the one next to Sorrell. She went to return to the footstool, but Sorrell waved her over to share her chair once again.
“Shhh, no one can know,” Sorrell ordered. “And I don’t know what it is I feel for him.”
“He kissed her,” Willow whispered.
“Oh my, how did it feel?” Snow asked, eager to hear.
“It was magical,” Sorrell said with a dramatic sigh.
“I’m so pleased for you,” Snow said, her wide smile proof of it.
Willow and Sorrell looked at each other, both feeling for Snow, since they both knew it was unlikely she would ever know what it was like to be kissed. And that thought hurt both of them.
“What will you do?” Snow asked.
“There’s nothing I can do. I’m duty-bound to wed Seth MacCannish, and nothing will change that, no matter how much I object.”
“You never know what might happen,” Snow said, hoping for a miracle for Sorrell.
“Destiny may step in,” Willow encouraged.
“Miracles do happen,” Snow said with a grin. “One just did. Willow said something that was not at all sensible.”
The three sisters laughed and Sorrell thanked the heavens for them. She could never survive the heartache of this ordeal without them.
The next morning, she thought to avoid John, but she was braver than that. She would not hide from him. Besides, she tried to convince herself that what she felt for him was probably nothing more than a young woman’s fancy. After all, no man had ever attempted to kiss her. That wasn’t completely true. When she was young there was a lad who thought to try, though later she had learned it was a challenge he had accepted. He had suffered a split lip when he had tried and when she found out it had been a challenge; she gave him a bloody nose.
She would get over this as she had done with many things. What choice did she have? She would be sensible and adapt as Willow always did.
The air was chilled as she walked through the village, and she was glad she wore her wool cloak. She intended to find John and see that the work on the new shed was well on the way to being done.
Her steps slowed when she spotted him working. The shed was the last of the two to be rebuilt that had been destroyed in a mysterious fire. Her heart began to thump faster and a flutter settled in her stomach. She hadn’t expected to feel this thrilled to see him.
If she felt such joy after only having seen him last night, how would she feel if she never got to see him again? Her stomach roiled so badly she thought she would lose her breakfast.
“Are you all right, Sorrell? You’re pale. Come sit down,” John said and took hold of her arm to walk her to a bench by the storage shed.
Sorrell hadn’t even heard John approach, though she had felt the gentleness of his touch and she welcomed it. Sure signs this was no passing fancy she felt for him.
Sorrell was never one to hide from a difficult situation. She had always faced them straight on and so she spoke bluntly and honestly as she always did. “I enjoyed the brief kiss we shared and it upsets me to think we’ll never share another. It is a truth I must face, and you were right to send me away. It is proof you are a good man, though you stubbornly refuse to acknowledge it. However, I need you to know something. I will never regret that kiss. I will tuck the lovely memory away to think on when I need it the most.”