Chapter 10
Kate walked out of the room feeling the tears well up in her eyes.
She found it hard to breathe, and somehow, she felt heartbroken.
She knew what she had said, and she had meant it, and yet, seeing the way he reacted had simply broken her.
She had not considered the chances that what she had said were untrue, or how they would hurt the people she said it to.
Reuben did not deserve that, and yet she had hurt him in such a manner.
Before she had gone off to find Reuben, she had tried finding her sisters first. Kate returned to their bedroom after they had heard what she said to him, looking to see if they were there.
Not finding them there, she had decided to go apologize to Reuben before she would try finding them again.
But meeting the Laird had not gone as planned, and now Kate felt shattered.
She had upset her host, and her own sisters were displeased with how she had behaved.
She returned to their bedroom and got into bed, hiding away her face as she sobbed.
Her heart was heavy, and she realized just how hurt Reuben had been.
His reaction to her flinching when he had approached had broken his heart.
Kate had only ducked reflexively, as it was usually the same thing that led to a fight when she was with Max.
The door behind her creaked open, and she watched as her sisters walked in.
Each of them had a look on their faces that absolutely melted Kate’s heart, making her feel worse than before.
Freya looked disappointed, and Willow looked angry.
Lily had been crying, and she sniffled as she saw Kate crying as well.
“Where’ve ye been?” Freya asked, folding her hands.
“I…was looking for ye, and then I stopped by to see Reuben.” Kate replied.
Willow walked up to her, narrowing her eyes as she sat on the bed next to her sister. “Ye knew that this people are the ones who killed our parents, and yet ye brought us here. Why would ye do that?”
Kate shook her head, “There was no other place to go. Anywhere else, and we would be dragged out by Max’s men, and taken back. But here, in this estate, if he came, that would be a lot harder to do.”
“Ye decided to protect us in the home of the same people who killed our parents? Ye see how crazy that sounds, Kate?” Willow added, her voice getting more agitated.
“Willow, please calm down, I understand ye’re upset, I understand ye all are.
But please, it was the best I could do at the time, and it is why I keep telling ye to stay on yer own, and not to get attached to the people here.
But listen, I have no proof that this is true.
I heard the tales from the McGowan estate as a child, and I didnae ken how to confirm for myself. ”
Willow sat up, staring at Kate. Lily cocked her head to the side, wiping her eyes on her sleeves, “So, ye falsely accused Reuben?”
Kate ran a hand through her hair, sitting up in bed. “I daenae ken, Lily, I spoke to him, and he said he never did anything like that, and now that I think about it, Uncle Max was the one who put the idea in my head. I have nae way of proving what I was told.”
“Well, did ye apologize?” Freya asked.
“I’m sorry, girls, I’m sorry. I’ve been stressed and scared, and I just want to keep you girls safe. I have been doing this for so long, and so ye must understand that bringing ye here was not something I easily did.”
“Not to us,” Freya added, looking out the door at where Reuben would most likely be.
“He would not listen to me,” Kate replied.
“Why didn’t ye tell us?” Lily asked, touching her oldest sister. Kate grabbed her arm and pulled her in close for a hug.
“Lily, Willow, I was going to tell ye. But how could I break the news to the people I was supposed to take care of? I felt like it was best to spare ye the details of their death. I didnae have any details, because I was scared and wanted to do the same for me. I wanted to spare myself the horror of what had happened to them.”
Willow and Freya joined her in bed, sitting close together. For all of her toughness, Willow broke down and began to sob. Kate rubbed her hair and pulled her in closer, whispering apologies into her ears while humming a song which they were all familiar with.
“Ye were going to tell me,” said Freya.
“Aye, I was. Ye were old enough, and I thought ye would be able to handle it. But I couldnae put it to words. I didnae know how to, and I’m sorry I didn’t say it sooner, I really am.”
Freya nodded at Kate before she walked towards the window and took a seat, staring out to the stary night sky. Kate watched her for a moment, realizing how much Freya had grown. She was not a child anymore, and had become a woman, capable of handling herself.
Kate had known for a while, but seeing how she had handled herself tonight, holding herself better than even Kate herself had.
Freya had grown, and Kate would rely on her.
She would rely on all of them, they were her family, and she would do everything to make sure that they were comfortable, and they trusted her.
She would do what was best for them, and make sure that they knew why she did it.
“No more secrets, Kate,” said Lily, staring up at Kate. “Ye swear it.”
Kate paused for a moment, turning to Willow and then to Freya before nodding, “Aye, nae secrets anymore.”
The next morning, Kate went out to the fields to help some of the servants bring in some of the harvest. There was an entire field of corn which was ready for the picking, and the baskets they had put the corn in had filled and were overflowing.
Her sisters were already there when she got to the field, each one of them doing their part to help.
It felt a little strange that they would do work here, and be thanked for it, as Max had made them work, and forced them to believe that it was imposed on them.
As she moved through the fields, she would take her larger basket, and find a basket that was almost filled, and then she would take its contents, empty it into her own until it was filled.
Then she would lift it to her head and carry it back to the pantry in the castle.
She found a basket and turned over the contents into her own.
“Are ye done?” the servant asked.
“Nae, I have two more to gather,” Kate replied with a smile before moving forward.
She got to the next one, which had been gathered by Freya and Willow, and put it into her basket.
Willow turned to look at Kate, holding the stalk of wheat on the bridge of her nose.
She looked absolutely ridiculous, and Kate giggled at what she had just seen.
Willow took several steps forward before the cob fell off as she stumbled.
Kate reached forward to help her sister from falling, but Willow balanced herself before she could reach the ground.
Once she was stable again, she opened both her arms wide and gestured as though she had just offered a grand performance.
“Ye better be careful, Willow, don’t go hurting yerself out here.”
“Aye,” Willow replied.
Kate took their corn and tried lifting it.
Seeing it was too heavy, she noticed a pair of legs walking by and tapped them, calling out to the servant to help her lift the basket up on her head.
As she stood, she turned around to realize that she had not stopped a servant, but she had touched Laird Reuben, who had not spoken to her since the previous night.
He stopped and stared at her, causing her to break off mid-sentence.
“Help me get the basket o…”
Reuben lifted the basket with ease and brought it to her head, wordlessly.
He stared at her face for a moment, before walking away.
Kate let out a breath as she felt a little stunned by what had just happened, realizing that the Laird was certainly still angry at her.
She took the basket and made her way for the pantry where she put down the corn for the other servants there to continue working on it.
“Kate, have ye seen Freya?” Lily asked from behind her, carrying water in a pitcher. She was taking it out to the workers in the field.
“She’s out in the fields, ye probably didnae see her through all of the grass.” Kate followed Lily out with her basket, pointing over to Willow. “Ask yer sister, she’ll know.”
As Lily walked out to find Freya, Kate stared across the fields, looking for Reuben.
She had considered apologizing to him again, and was looking for a chance to talk to him.
She spotted him out in a corner where he worked on his lot and made her way out to him.
As she approached, he looked up and saw her.
Kate watched as he walked away instantly.
Reuben refused to make eye contact with her.
Instead he walked to the far side of the farm and sat with a few servants who were taking a break.
Kate walked away from the spot he had been working on, and Reuben returned to that spot, telling Kate that he did not want her anywhere near him.
“Wait,” Kate called out to Hudson as he walked by.
“Aye,” Hudson replied in his usually gruff voice. His eyes were still dull from all of the drinking of the previous day. “What can I do for ye?”
“I need to…” Kate paused as she thought of the relationship Reuben had with Hudson. Anything she said to him would only be passed back to the man she was inquiring about. “…know if ye have any corn.”
Hudson looked down at his hands, raised them up with a smile. “Nae, I daenae work the farm today. Just came by to talk to the Laird. Ye walk by Noah, he has a basket full. Ye can take that down to the pantry. Ye know yer way around, aye?”
“Aye,” Kate replied. “I do. Thank ye.”
Kate walked around, listening in on conversations which were held by the servants concerning the Laird.
None of them seemed to have anything negative to them, but what she was hoping to hear, was something about her.
But she heard nothing. Each time she got close to him, Reuben would walk away, and it became clear to her.
He was not going to give her a chance, and wanted nothing to do with her.
“Did ye speak to Reuben today?” she asked Freya.
“Nae, but Lily did,” Freya replied, turning to Lily.
Kate turned to Lily as well. “What did ye talk about?”
“The harvest, some of the flowers he put down, and he wanted some water from the pitcher,” Lily replied. “Why do ye ask?”
“He said nothing about me?” Kate asked, raising an eyebrow.
“Nae,” Lily answered, rubbing her chin. “But I saw him looking at ye for a bit. But he said nothing really.”
Kate nodded. For the next few days, Reuben continued that way, saying nothing to her when they had breakfast, and even going as far as blatantly ignoring her.
Understanding her fate, she decided not to talk to him either.
Now, all she had to do was find where they would move to, and leave the McDonald castle for good.
Freya watched as Kate dropped into the bed.
She had watched her eldest sister all day, and knew she was worried about the Laird.
Freya saw that Reuben was upset with her, but before then, Freya could tell that the Laird was attracted to Kate.
Twenty minutes later, Kate fell asleep, and Freya rushed to Willow and Lily, calling them out of the room to the balcony just outside the door.
“What do ye want Freya?” Willow asked, not pleased to be pulled away from what she was doing.
“I reckon I’m not the only one who’s noticed the tension between Reuben and Kate, nae?”
“Aye, I’ve noticed it too,” Lily replied.
“So?” Willow asked. “The Laird isn’t really happy with her right now.”
“Keep yer voice down before she hears ye,” Freya scolded Willow, and she obliged. Freya continued, “They both like each other, but Kate thinks wrong of the Laird, and he is still upset about what she said to him. But if we can get…”
Freya stopped talking as she noticed someone by the door behind them.
The girls turned around just in time as the Lady of the McDonald estate walked in on them.
Grear had a smile on her face, and a look that filled Freya with fear.
She was not sure what the woman would say, or what she had heard, but if she had been listening long enough, she would be able to put things together.
“Lady Grear,” the girls greeted.
“What are we doing all gathered here?” Grear asked with a knowing look.
“We were just talking about our sister,” Freya replied quickly.
“Yes, I heard,” Grear replied. “I heard everything Freya, and I believe I should be a part of yer plan.”
Willow looked from Grear to Freya, confusion etched on her face, “Wait, Freya, I never heard yer plan.”
“I haven’t said it yet,” Freya turned back to Grear, “But if we let ye in, you have to swear secrecy, along with us. Kate has a good heart, and she was just a little upset, she meant no harm, I am sure of it.”
Grear nodded. “I know, I care for all of ye girls, as I would my own daughters. I want Kate to be happy, just as I want my boy to be happy too, and if this is what ye propose, then I think we should try it.”
Lily smiled as she made sense of it, but Willow still struggled to understand. She looked back and forth between everyone present at the meeting as they all smiled at each other. “I have nae idea what is going on! What are we planning?”
“If ye keep raising yer voice, it’ll no longer be a secret, ye dobber,” Lily replied before moving her hair out of her face. “We are going to set Kate and Reuben up, and make them fall in love.”