Jack chuckled as he remembered the term Isla had used to refer to Jamie. “I dinnae think she likes ye very much either,” he said.
“Understandable. I have been tough with her from the start, but it was only because I dinnae trust her. She appeared suddenly with nay family or relatives and ye brought her to the Castle. Nay one has visited since she arrived. I am the only one sayin’ it, but I ken the others are thinkin’ it too.”
“If anyone asks, I will simply tell them she is an orphan who has nay family. That part is true, Jamie.”
Jack, however, found it strange that while Isla came here from another time, she had also existed in this life too.
He wondered if the Isla in this time would be alike to her, and what her life would have been like.
Would she love history and travels? Would she have a witty mouth and sharp mind just like this one?
His thoughts wandered while Jamie’s voice faded into the background. Jack stayed in his study until the early morning hours after Jamie retired for the night.
He avoided his chamber because of the memories of Isla in his bed. Her passionate moans still stayed in his head and the feel of her breathless whispers on his skin made him taut with desire the entire night. It was torture thinking about her, but what could he do?
Unable to stop himself, he left his study and went to her chamber after it was past mid-night. Jack opened her door slowly, hoping she was awake, but Isla was fast asleep.
He went into the chamber and pulled the sheets over her body to protect her from the wind filtering into her room from the windows.
Jack closed the drapes, then moved to her bedside again and watched her sleep for a while. Isla was beautiful even in her sleep and staring at her filled him with longing.
Talking to Jamie tonight had brought him clarity about his feelings for her, but he still couldn’t admit it to himself. If he ever did, then he wouldn’t be able to let her go.
Jack didn’t want to ever stop her from doing what she wanted. Isla’s happiness now mattered more than anything to him. At least during her time here, he had made her smile. That was enough.
He leaned down and pecked her forehead. His lips lingered before he brushed tendrils of hair falling to the sides of her face.
Jack returned to his study to pass the night, and after falling asleep on his settee, he dreamed of Isla.
In his dreams, she wept, and once again, there was chaos around her.
26
Isla woke up with a pounding ache in her head. She had the strangest dream, and the images of her lying on that bed in her room back in England lingered in her mind hours after she had left her chamber for the day.
She wondered what had happened. The gypsy had shown her images of what happened to her during the fair. She was stabbed and lying unconscious on the ground while no one noticed.
Now in her dreams she was in her room, bleeding, and surrounded by her worried friends and her family’s physician. It dawned on Isla that the gypsy’s vision might have been true.
I might really be dying back in my time.
Her thoughts remained troubled even as she sat in the healing chamber alone.
There were not many patients to treat today, so later that evening, she had time to walk the garden with Moira and enjoy the evening breeze.
The gypsy had appeared in her dream. Isla could remember the woman’s cold stare, and the grin on her face as she said:The time for ye to return is near.
This had to be a sign that she could finally return home. She ought to be excited by that prospect. Instead, she was in a sullen mood all day and unable to eat even the haddock she had grown to enjoy.
“Ye seem lost in thought,” Moira said to her after they had completed a walk around the garden. “What bothers ye?”
Isla believed she could share her thoughts with Moira. They grew closer with each passing day, and she needed someone to talk to. Penelope had returned to her duties after recovering from her wound and since Jack hadn’t found the culprit, the security around the Castle stayed ever vigilant.
They were guards at almost every turn and entrance now.
“What would you do if you have come to love something, but you have to let it go?” she asked after glancing Moira’s way.
“Why would ye need to let somethin’ ye love go?” Moira questioned. “If ye love it ye should hold onto it, right?”