Chapter 11
T o Brigid’s guilty relief, Sandy had already left by the time she woke up, stretching luxuriously in the big bed. A trace of his warmth still lingered on the sheets, but he was nowhere to be seen.
It turned out that she wouldn’t even have to face him over breakfast. Only Mary sat in the breakfast room, poking dubiously at a boiled egg. She looked up and smiled brightly when Brigid left the room.
“Good morning! Did you sleep well?”
To her utter shame, Brigid blushed.
Mary burst out laughing. “Well, new sister, I will say that you’re looking very well indeed! Maybe you truly have fallen in love with my big brother, even if it was rather fast.”
Brigid avoided eye contact and busied herself fetching toast and eggs. She kept her face as calm and smooth as she could, but inside her mind was spinning.
Mary was wrong, of course. Speaking nonsense. Brigid couldn’t possibly be in love with Sandy. Not when she’d only known him from a few days - and when he was from a different time period. They had hardly anything in common. And besides, she was already in love with Finn.
But last night really had made her feel wonderful, terrible though that was.
Mary chattered away while Brigid ate her eggs.
“Sandy and Tam had to visit some of the tenants,” she said. “A bit of a mess with a wall, or something. Tam said it should be fixed soon enough, and he should know.”
Brigid just nodded and smiled.
“Tam’s usually right about these kind of things,” Mary continued, buttering a fresh slice of toast. “He really is very knowledgeable. Sandy trusts him completely, you know.”
Brigid began to notice just how much Mary talked about Tam. She managed to slip him into almost every sentence, always with a hint of admiration. Interesting.
“What exactly is Tam’s link to the family?” Brigid asked. “You both seem very close to him.”
“He grew up with us, as the old steward’s son,” Mary explained. “He’s always been Sandy’s closest friend. And they used to let me play with them as well, until I was sent off for fostering.”
Brigid made all the necessary polite, interested noises, and kept eating her breakfast.
“Then, of course, I didn’t see Tam for years,” Mary continued. “But when I left my aunt’s house and came back here, he was working as the steward, and practically part of the family. I don’t know what we’d do without him.”
Brigid fought back a smile. It was plain to see that Mary was madly in love with Tam.
“Anyway, what are your plans now that you and Sandy are married?” Mary asked, putting down her tea and leaning forwards.
Suddenly, Brigid realised that she had never fully explained the Finn situation to Mary. It somehow didn’t right to tell her, not after the wedding and… everything else that had happened. Surely it was enough that Sandy knew. His entire household didn’t need all the details as well.
“The problem is that I can’t contact my family at all unless I force Edmondson to help me,” Brigid said. “It’s a bit complicated, but there it is.”
Mary frowned a little, but she nodded. “That does sound complicated,” was all she said.
Brigid felt obliged to add a little more.
“Edmondson kidnapped someone very important to me,” she explained. “I need to stage a rescue mission, and Sandy said he could help me.”
“Kidnapped?” Mary gasped. “I’ve heard some unpleasant stories about Edmondson since he set up his camp a few months ago, but that’s one of the worst.”
“It was rather terrible,” Brigid agreed. “Edmondson has to be stopped.”
“Well, we will help you to rescue this person,” Mary said firmly. “We just need a plan.”
Of course. How could Brigid have drifted so far from her original purpose? None of this was about Sandy. It was about Finn , and hatching a plan to rescue him. Then, once he was free, they could return to their own time and get married, as if none of this had ever happened.
And then she would finally be happy. Wouldn’t she?