1
BIRLET SHALLOWS, SCOTLAND
Bubbly laughter filled the air around Isla Lambert, as she lifted her wine glass to her lips and drank deeply from it. She grinned widely again, then gathered the cards on the table to her chest. “I win,” she announced as she stared into the sullen faces of the men around the table. Isla flung her head back and laughed a bit more to celebrate her victory.
To her side, Penny Harper laughed gingerly, then tossed a coin to prove the game was over and Isla had won her bet. The crowd watching the card game behind them roared and cheered for her. Isla marveled in the rush of adrenaline that surged through her and made her heart thump wildly in her chest.
Nothing ever trumped the joy and excitement she got from nights like this. It wasn’t her first time in Birlet Shallows, but it was her first time at the fair, and it was turning out to be more fun than she anticipated.
Isla got up from her seat, her friends Penny, Ada, and Katherine following, and together all four of them walked out of the pub.
“That was incredible,” Penny gushed. “You ousted those men, totally beat them like it was nothing.” Penny’s voice was getting a bit too high pitched, due to the drunkenness of the girl.
“True, she was amazing,” Ada agreed before adjusting her hat on her head. It was a cool night, unlike the stormy weather Isla had witnessed since she arrived on the shores of Scotland. She didn’t plan to travel there for long. Just until the start of winter when she could return to her home in London.
A place that doesn’t feel like home anymore.
The thought crossed through Isla’s mind and left a wake of raw pain in her chest. She shrugged it off and released a deep breath. Not wanting to remember anything about her life back home, she stopped walking down the street toward her parked car and turned back to her friends.
“What do you say we go to the fair in the main market?” Isla suggested in an enthusiastic voice as she held the skirt of her dress and twirled around on her feet. “We could enjoy the starry night as we drive toward the square, and when we get there, we’ll join the fun. I hear there’s always a round table of drinks…” she said with a suggestive laugh as she looked at Katherine who already had a fierce blush on.
“Plus, we’ll get to meet handsome Highlanders,” Ada suggested.
“Highlanders?” Isla asked as she continued walking in front of her friends again. She smoothed a hand down her short black hair and angled her head over her shoulder. “Don’t you know the history of this place? They may be handsome, but they are nothing like the gentlemen of England.”
Isla spent most of her time back in London reading and researching history. It was her favorite pastime, and she did it a lot, since she didn’t have anything else to do during the day. Born an heiress of a great fortune had those little perks. But her friends usually spent their time shopping or lounging together, and they always loved to hear what Isla learned from her books. Isla started humming to herself as they continued to where her car was parked.
Once she got in, Katherine took the front seat while Penny and Ada sat in the back. She saw Penny’s excited grin through her rearview mirror, causing Isla to entertain some tingles of excitement inside too.
She always enjoyed being in Scotland. Enjoying the lovely nature was one reason, but besides that the people had a beautiful culture, and it was always exciting to participate in fairs of this kind.
When they reached the square, Isla led her group toward the crowd. It took a few minutes for them get to the front of the crowd where they could watch the jugglers’ show.
Isla pinned her eyes to the fire; the performer toyed with it, and she kept watching until the show ended, clapping as the performers bowed in front of them. She usually didn’t fancy crowds like this. Isla noticed some of the locals were crowded in a corner trying to participate in the dance while the rest focused on purchasing items from the local sellers.
She was about to turn to Ada when she felt a hand touch her wrist. Isla nearly jumped from the shock. Her eyes widened, she gasped and turned around to see an old woman holding her hand.
“Bonnie lass,” the woman said, flashing Isla a toothy grin. “Did I scare ye?”
A frown appeared on Isla’s face as she pulled her hand away from the strange woman’s, and a shudder raced up her spine. The woman had the greenest eyes she had ever seen. They were like crystals, or emeralds. Isla didn’t think they were real. Who could look so…
Her gaze flickered over the woman’s face. She took in her long red hair, the smile curving on her lips and the way her eyes gleamed with a certain mischief Isla did not miss.
“What do you want?” Isla asked perturbed, as her friends came up to stand behind her. She let her gaze drift over the woman’s ragged clothes, and the wrinkles at the corners of her eyes.
“To tell yer future,” the woman replied in a thick Scottish accent, maintaining the same smile that nearly creeped Isla out.
The tingles of excitement she felt on her skin earlier turned into goosebumps and she shook her head. “I don’t believe in such things, sorry,” she said, then turned to walk away with her friends.
Fortune telling? What a joke,Isla thought with a small sarcastic laugh. Only uneducated minds believed a human like them could tell their future by palm reading and sign languages. It was absurd!
Over the years, Isla had run into a few con artists like the woman offering to tell her fortune for money. She always laughed them off. She wasn’t that silly. Her friends, however, kept glancing behind them and murmuring.
“Would you not like to know?” she heard Penny ask Ada.
Isla hooked her hand into Katherine’s, and they continued walking down the street while the girls talked about the wine they had tasted at the pub earlier. They had made it to the rows of food sellers, and Katherine was trying out a pie from one stand when Isla turned and saw the red-haired woman behind her again.
“Fortunes are as expensive as gold… what do you stand to lose by knowing yers?” the woman asked Isla. “There’s always somethin’ to learn… a fate to avoid if ye learn what happens.”