Chapter 7 #2
“What do ye mean?” She gazed up at him and he found himself drawn into her lovely hazel eyes, which took on a golden hue in the candlelight. Her skin looked so soft he wanted to reach out his hand and stroke her cheek, but he didn’t.
“You know. What do you dream of? What makes you happy when you think about it?” He was determined to find out what made Brenna MacRae tick. She was a puzzle and he found himself wanting to know more.
“Hmmm …” She tipped her head and gazed up towards the ceiling in a most adorable way. “I guess I’d like to travel far away from here. I’d like to go somewhere other than Castle Treun for once in me life. Mayhap a big city like Edinburgh.”
“You’ve never been away from Castle Treun?
Really?” He couldn’t imagine what it would be like to be stuck in one place forever.
To never experience all of the wonders of the world.
It suddenly occurred to him that she was a prisoner here at Castle Treun.
She wasn’t behind bars or in the dungeon, but she’d never been able to leave.
He suddenly had the urge to show her all the things she’d been missing.
“Aye. Me Da has never allowed me to go beyond MacRae lands. I almost made it once, when Da sent me with me younger brothers to find Dougall. He was returning home at me father’s request and it was taking a bit too long for Da’s liking.
I begged him to let me go and he finally relented.
I thought surely I’d at least make it on to MacKenzie lands.
Unfortunately, we didnae make it verra far before we ran into Dougall and so we turned around and came right back to Castle Treun. ”
“That must have been very disappointing for you,” Zeke said.
“What of ye? Ye’ve surely travelled. Yer here from San Francisco. I wish I could see it,” she said.
“It’s the most beautiful place. You’d love it,” he said.
What was he doing? He didn’t want to give her anymore reasons to hate her life here.
Telling her about San Francisco was probably not the best idea.
He could see her imagining it in her mind’s eye and he felt bad for planting that seed.
“Tell me more about your life here. How many brothers do you have?” He watched as Brenna shook herself from her daydream, a look of longing in her eyes.
“I’m sorry. What did ye ask?”
“How many brothers do you have?”
“Four. Two older and two younger.”
“Any sisters?”
“Nae. What of ye?”
“I only have a sister, Sara. “
“Yer searching for her here. Why do ye nae ken where she is?”
“She ran away, like you did.”
“Were ye trying to marry her off to some old geezer?” she asked with a twinkle in her eye.
“No,” Zeke laughed. “She found her own love, but she didn’t tell me she was going. She knew I’d try to stop her.”
“Are ye angry with her?”
“I was, but now I just want to find her. She’s my only family and I miss her.”
“Will ye make her return with you?”
Her question gave him pause. “I don’t know.
I guess I’ll try to persuade her to come back with me, but if she doesn’t want to …
” He wasn’t sure what he’d do. He hadn’t thought about what she’d want.
He started to look at Sara’s situation through Brenna’s eyes.
He knew he couldn’t force her to come home, but he still hoped she would come back with him.
“Let’s talk about something else. What do you do for fun around here? ”
Brenna laughed. “I like to take a walk down to the stream. Alone. I take me shoes off and dip me feet in the water. I ken ‘tis probably not what you’d consider fun, but when I’m there, all me cares and worries are left behind and I can be free of the castle and …
” She nodded her head in Greer’s direction and made a comical face.
“And do you just sit there with your feet in the water?” Zeke couldn’t help but chuckle. He was enjoying Brenna MacRae. She was fun and easy to talk with when the subject of marriage wasn’t on the table.
“Aye. I do. And I listen to the birds singing so sweetly in the trees and I spy on the fish as they swim by. And sometimes, if I’m verra lucky, an otter will join me.”
“An otter!”
“Aye. He sits on the opposite bank and grooms himself. He hasnae gotten any closer, but I have …” She corrected herself. “I had hopes that one day he would join me, but that willnae happen now.”
“I’m sorry.” He kept trying to steer their conversation away from upsetting things, but somehow it always ended up right back where he didn’t wish to go.
His heart ached for her, but there was nothing he could do to save her from the plans her father had for her.
He noted that Brenna still hadn’t touched her food and it didn’t appear she would. “Are you going to eat that?”
“Nae. I’m nae hungry. Ye can have it if ye like.” She pushed her food towards him.
“No. I’m just concerned that you’re not eating.” He pushed it back towards her.
“Dinnae waste yer time worrying for me. I’ll eat when I’m hungry.” She sighed as if she had the weight of the world on her shoulders and he guessed that she did.
He wished he could lighten her mood. If things were different, he’d want to spend more time with her, but that wasn’t possible. He was here to find Sara and once he did, he’d be leaving. There was no sense in starting something he would never be able to finish.