Highlander's Heart (Clan Matheson #2)

“Aye, your betrothal does pose an issue, but ’tis naught we cannae fix.”


“Tor’s speaking to Father now. Already I miss him, although I’ve asked Tor for some time to consider things. I dinnae know quite what to do. All I know is that he is the only one I will ever desire.”

“Come then. Let’s talk in your chamber where we cannae be overheard.” Cherub hooked her arm through hers and led her toward the stairwell.

“I hope you hold the answer to my questions, or at least some solid guidance. I’m in desperate need of it this day.” She scaled the stairs to the second floor and traversed down the corridor lit by a hazy beam of sunshine streaming through the narrow window at the far end. At the fourth chamber on the left, she opened the thickly paneled door and motioned Cherub inside. “Take a seat while I change. I willnae be long.”

“Take as long as you need.” Cherub sat at the side table, fluffed her skirts about her.

Quickly, she crossed to her burgundy curtained ambry and selected a change of clothes, a rich royal blue gown with long sleeves edged in white lace that draped over the backs of her hands. She always wore it donned with her mother’s favorite leather girdle embellished with bits of bronze. Father had gifted the heirloom to her when she’d come of age, along with a few of her mother’s other most beloved trinkets. She dug Nessa’s missive out of her pocket along with the bear figurine, kissed the top of the bear’s head and popped the carving and the folded parchment inside her wooden keepsake box. She’d forever cherish the memento Tor had given her, as well as Nessa’s precious words. That poem would remain etched within her heart for all time.

“Here we are.” Effie arrived with a tray holding a teapot and two cups, oatcakes and raspberry tarts for both her and Cherub.

“I’ll take my tea here with Layla, rather than in my chamber. Thank you, Effie.” Cherub moved a red leather-bound book out of the way and patted the tabletop.

Her maid set the tray on the embroidered cloth in the center then closed the door behind her as she left.

With her blue gown in hand, Layla nipped in behind the corner dressing screen hand-painted with rolling moors awash with purple heather.

“Do you have honey in your tea?” Cherub called out.

“Aye, a good spoonful. I like it sweet.” She shed her clothes, donned a clean ivory shift then tugged her gown over her head. The whisper-soft velvet shimmered over her hips and swished to her ankles. She adjusted the scalloped neckline with its pretty embroidered white-lace edging that draped low along her neckline, belted her mother’s precious girdle about her waist and slid her feet into a pair of matching royal blue slippers. Dressed, she nabbed her comb from the table holding a basin and jug and in the looking glass, ran the comb through her spiral locks until she’d tamed them once more.

“Tell me all about the moment when Tor discovered you two were soul bound.” Cherub stirred honey into the tea. “I cannae wait to hear of all that happened.”

“He sensed the bond taking form between us even afore night had fallen. I picked the cherries then he asked me to join him for a swim. He said he wished to show me a sacred cavern he’d found hidden behind the waterfall high in the hills, one that held a warm pool of water, then he carted me off up the hill even though I’d said I couldnae come.” From her dish holding a spill of ribbons, she selected a circlet headband of red silk flowers with trailing red and white ribbons and popped it on top of her head to keep her curls in place. ’Twas the same headband she’d worn the day Tor had arrived in their time, the day she’d first met him. A smile came to her lips. The memory of their first meeting would always hold a special place in her heart, as would the night before in their most special place.

“Did you stay in the cavern for the night?” Cherub enquired.

“Aye, we did.” She sat at the side table opposite Cherub. “While he carted me up the hill, he asked me what I was hiding, but I swore I hid naught.”

“The fact you are betrothed to another man must have been what caused him to miss the earlier signs of your bond taking form. In a way, you were hiding.”

“The day he first arrived in this time, he told me once he’d learned I was betrothed to another, the knowledge had frustrated him and in all honesty, I’ve always felt far more than mere intrigue alone for him. I simply wasnae willing to acknowledge it, no’ to myself or to any other.”

“What happened next?” Cherub nudged her tea cup toward her. “Once you arrived at the cavern.”