“Nae! Dinnae say such madness. Aye, but it appears the maidservant’s quest was unsuccessful.” Logan stretched out. “I may have to find him myself.”
Still wrangling with her father, Beth knocked over the cup of water beside her. It spilled on Sophia’s dress.
“Oh my! I am so dearly sorry,” the girl cried, using her hands as a kerchief to dry out the water.
Sophia rose from her seat. “It’s alright. Ye dinnae have to do that. I will go dry it off this instant, and it will all be fine.”
“Should I join ye sister?” Lorena asked.
“Nae, I will be fine alone.” Sophia made to leave. “I will be back in a hurry.”
She passed through the entrance hall and out the door of the keep. She held her skirt and petticoat hems up to prevent them from running through the mud. As she walked through the darkness, a quiet contentment washed over her. She hadn't walked the grounds of the keep in years.
Sophia looked up at the sky and raised a hand up to it. “Heavens! It’s indescribably beautiful!”
She formed the shape of the moon with her fingers like Kendrick had taught her when they were younger. “A gift,” he had called it. “I will capture the moon for ye,” he had said. She could almost feel the warmth of his skin against hers as he repositioned her hands. The echo of his fingers against her own.
Then there was the sudden sound of moans and pants. She shifted her focus to the large oak tree where they sounded.
“Is anyone there?” she asked, but there came no response. She picked up her gown again and walked towards the field.
A couple was passionately kissing. Two silhouettes, on the other side of the trunk. They failed to hear her footsteps. She peered closer and realized it was the maidservant from earlier. Who was her lover? He was tall, with dark hair, almost like…
A shiver ran through her body.
Is it really him?
As if she was answering, the maidservant grabbed the man’s curly hair and brushed it away from his face, revealing Kendrick’s soft features. Sophia lurched back. It couldn’t be him! She stifled a smile to smother her betrayal. Her denial was futile. As much as she wanted to believe otherwise, Kendrick was there, desperately kissing the maid.
This is why he ignored me earlier. He loves another.
With blurred eyes, she choked on every breath she took. She should have turned away. She wanted to, but she couldn’t. Her heart was breaking, but it wasnotbetrayal. Kendrick was not hers, and she had no reason to believe he would be.
Suddenly, the maid turned her head toward Sophia. With a little gasp, Sophia finally dashed away. She would not let Kendrick see her pain—hurt by a man who had no affection for her. She rushed back to the great hall, trying to keep her tears from falling. She wouldn’t spill tears for a man who so clearly didn’t care.
I was silly to think he would ever love me.
“Did ye find him, lassie?” Logan asked her as she settled beside her sister.
She swallowed hard. “Nae, Sir Logan.” She was not sure if that was the right answer. She was not sure ofanythinganymore. Her insides coiled. She could hear the noise and voices around her but, somehow, they sounded like they were mixed up roars and neighs of horsemen.
“Damned lad,” Logan cursed beneath his breath. She wanted to curse too; she wanted to stand in the blackness of the field and shout at him until her lungs burst.
The hall shifted suddenly as Kendrick stepped to the great hall.
His curly hair was tangled. His plaid was out of place, and his lips were swollen. Sophia knew she alone caught the markings of his vice, but she could see it all. The corner of his lips curled in cursed smile.
“My sincerest apologies to ye all,” he announced, outstretching his arms. His guests stood—except the drunken landholder who had dozed off.
Sophia glared. She had spentyearsrefusing eligible men, to the dismay of her father. For what? Because she only wanted Kendrick… but there he was, enjoying the warmth of another woman’s body.
Logan hurried back to his high table. He dragged out the chair at the center of the table for Kendrick, and then whispered something into his ear before returning to his seat next to him.
“As Laird, I shall decide a bride for myself tonight.” He raised his silver goblet high in toast. “For now, we shall eat and dram until our bellies are full.”
Everyone in the hall raised their cups and cheered. Everyone, except Sophia. He did well to avoid her stare every time he looked over the hall as if heknewshe had seen him; as if he was aware of how sad she was.
“Sister, ye have nae touched a single thing,” Lorena said. “Are ye afraid?”