Chapter Ten
Brianna followed her out of her room knowing full well she had changed the subject because she didn’t want to deal with the question of Chloe.
Neither of her sisters truly understood her.
How could they? There was a ten-year age gap between her and the twins.
They’d had a very different childhood than she did—almost charmed.
As the older sister, she had been expected to be more responsible, levelheaded, dependable.
While the twins—who were late in life children—were allowed to run wild and free.
Brianna admitted now, looking back, there was a certain amount of resentment toward them. When the girls were young, she’d often felt invisible. It had fueled her bad decisions. It had encouraged her to rebel against her parents. Which in turn had garnered their attention.
Not exactly the attention she’d wanted, either.
When they entered the great hall, all those dismal thoughts of her previous life fled her mind. Jamie was there. The moment he saw her, his face lit in a bright smile, showing off his deep dimples. He got to his feet as they entered.
Callum and Malcolm were there, too.
And Chloe, whose sharp emerald gaze bored into her.
But Brianna only had eyes for Jamie. She did her best to ignore her sister’s dagger eyes.
“Good morrow, lass,” he greeted. “I trust ye slept well.”
“Well enough.”
Brianna took the seat nearest him while Evie sat next to Callum. He gave her adoring looks, and it was clear they were mad for each other.
In front of her was a trencher of what appeared to be some type of porridge or oatmeal. Next to it, a stack of oat cakes. It was quiet in the great hall as the men finished eating. Callum kissed his wife’s cheek.
“I have duties to tend.”
She nodded and watched as he headed for the door.
“As do I.”
Malcolm was the second to abandon the great hall, following Callum out.
Tension shifted through the room. Jamie was the last to get to his feet. “I… have horses to tend. Mayhap ye come to see me after? We can have another ride, if ye like.”
He granted her a weak smile as he scurried out behind his two older brothers, the door banging closed behind him, sealing the three of them inside.
It all seemed too convenient for Brianna. Unease flickered through her as she picked up her spoon. Her stomach was suddenly in knots.
Silence.
Chloe glared at her as though she’d committed some heinous crime.
Evie broke the silence first. “The tapestries have changed.”
Chloe’s curious gaze slid in her direction. “Oh? How?”
“We are represented as the Triple Goddess,” she said, as though it were the most natural thing to say. She stuck her spoon into the porridge and took a bite.
“What do you mean represented as the Triple Goddess?” Chloe asked.
“I mean, the images have changed. Instead of Moira, Bridget, and…” She faltered.
“Athea,” Brianna said, filling in the name. “The Goddess of the Future.”
The goddess she represented. They both looked at her in surprise. Eventually, she was going to have to tell them both about the strange dream she’d had.
“You know this?” Evie asked.
Brianna nodded.
“How?” Evie asked.
Chloe interrupted with her impatience. “What do you mean we are represented as the Triple Goddess?”
“I mean, the three of us are positioned like the Triple Goddess in the tapestry of the Night of Shadows,” Evie said.
Chloe’s gaze snapped back to Brianna, her eyes narrowing. “Brianna, too?”
Before Evie could reply in an attempt to keep the peace, Brianna answered.
“Yes, me, too. Just what is your problem with me?”
“I’ll tell you what my problem is. You—”
“Chlo—”
“Don’t try to shush me, Eve. She has it coming.”
“I have what coming? You don’t even know what I went through for you two.”
Brianna dropped the spoon, her flight instincts rising. She didn’t want to fight her sister. She wanted to bolt. But then, she also wanted to clear things up with Chloe if she’d listen. The problem was, she doubted she’d listen.
Chloe scoffed. “Oh, please. After Mom and Dad died it was so obvious you were only doing your duty.”
Brianna remained mute, pressing her lips into a thin line as she stared across the table at her sister.
Evie’s face drained of color once again.
She sat ramrod straight and perfectly still in her chair, her eyes wide and her spoon hovering over the trencher.
Brianna waited for her to intervene, but she said nothing.
She took a deep breath to calm her ragged, raging nerves. “You have no idea what I was going through when Mom and Dad died.”
“Yes, I do. You were living it up in Puerto Rico. I doubt you were ‘going through’ anything stressful.” Chloe put the words going through in air quotes and rolled her eyes.
Red rage clouded her vision. She clenched her hand into a tight fist, her nails biting into her sore palm. She realized, too late, it was the one with the brand from the rock.
“You think you’re so smart with your fancy degree and your international museum job, don’t you?
But the truth is, Chloe, you don’t have a damn clue about me or my life.
” Chloe started to object, but Brianna forged on.
“Let me finish. You’re going to hear what I have to say and you’re going to keep your mouth shut while I say it. ”
Evie’s eyes widened at the sheer venom in her voice. Chloe clenched her jaw, the anger lines in clear display around her mouth.
“I was going through the divorce from hell when Mom and Dad died. Not only did I have to pack up and leave my home, but I also had to come back and deal with the probate court and all the shit the goes along with two people who died without leaving wills. Not to mention dealing with two moody teenagers.”
Evie sucked in a sharp breath of surprise. Chloe’s eyes widened a scant inch.
“That’s right. They had no wills. Do you know what a giant pain in the ass that was?
Meanwhile, not only did my ex-husband decide to clean out my bank accounts, leaving me in financial ruin, but he also took everything I ever had except for the clothes I came back with.
So don’t be so quick to judge me with your high and mighty self, hmm? ”
And with that, she shoved back from the table, her chair scraping along the floor, and stomped out of the great hall.
The door slammed behind her. She stood a moment there, the cold breeze fluttering over her burning cheeks as she closed her eyes and took a deep, calming breath.
Tears threatened behind her eyes, but she refused to let them fall.
Brianna had done everything possible to shield Evie and Chloe from the hell she had been going through with her parents’ deaths and her messy divorce. Maybe she’d shielded them too well and it had clouded Chloe’s vision about who she was and her motivations.
“Lass? Are ye well?” Jamie’s voice was like a soothing balm to her soul.
She opened her eyes to see him standing near her, concern creasing his features. She shook off her anger and her despair and managed to smile.
“Yes, thanks. Just a bit of strife with my sisters.”
His gaze flickered to the closed door behind her. Deep understanding furrowed his features.
“Och, siblings can be difficult, aye?”
She stifled a giggle. “They can.”
He held his hand out to her. “How about that ride?”
“I’d love that.”
The invitation was much too difficult to refuse. She placed her hand in his. He closed his warm fingers around hers and led her to the stable. And for that moment, there was only her and Jamie and nothing else mattered.
But on their way to the stables, she shivered in the cold wind. She didn’t have her coat. “I forgot my coat.”
“Dinnae fash,” he said, giving her winning smile.
He unfastened his own cloak and handed it to her. She stared at the offering, her heart doing a quick ka-thud.
“Oh, I couldn’t.” She shook her head, but he walked around and placed the cloak on her shoulders.
“Ye can.”
The cloak was still warm from his body heat. She pulled it tighter around her frame, enjoying the feel. In this century, chivalry was still alive and well. She could get used to that.
She followed him to the stables. She couldn’t help but notice his limp.
It seemed worse today than it was the day before as though the pain was more intense.
In the stable, the horses were saddled and ready, as though he expected her to arrive at any moment.
That was endearing, really. She loved that he wanted to be with her.
Jamie called out to his brother that he was going to check the perimeter.
He winced a bit as he climbed into the saddle.
Clearly, the ache in his leg pained him.
Once they were ready, they trotted through the bailey and out the portcullis.
She kept pace with him as they headed away from the castle.
He pulled his horse up next to hers and slowed to a walk.
“I dinnae ken what this trouble is with ye and yer sisters, lass, but I do ken Evie has been waiting for ye to arrive since ye first appeared in the tapestry.”
She appreciated his attempt to make her feel better. “I have a better relationship with Evie than I do with Chloe.”
“Why is that?” It was a genuine question of curiosity.
“I think Chloe thinks I’ve had a charmed life.”
He gave her the side-eye while smiling. Those dimples deep in his cheeks showed. It was starting to be her favorite thing about him. “Have ye?”
When she realized he was kidding, she laughed. “Hardly.”
She mulled over what to tell him as they took their time to walk around the perimeter of the castle.
The sky was dotted with thick, gray and white clouds.
Only a break here and there allowed slashes of morning light through.
Being here in the Highlands, though, Brianna appreciated the wild, untamed, yet beautiful, landscape.
Even if it weren’t for her. She longed for her sunny beaches and her warm ocean breezes.