Chapter 28
CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT
“Iwish we could stay with ye,” Freya said, her eyes shining as she looked at Marissa. “It would be nice to help ye plan yer weddin’.”
Marissa nodded, and as she looked at her older sister, a sudden lump formed in her throat. It would have been nice to have her here as she prepared. But she understood why they had to leave, even if she wished that it wasn’t the case.
“Ye’ll be back soon,” she responded.
Freya nodded, tears shimmering in her eyes, before pulling Marissa into a tight hug.
Tears stung the back of Marissa’s throat, and when they broke apart, she couldn’t help but laugh when she saw that her sister had begun to cry.
“The bairn has me mind in a tizzy!” Freya exclaimed, fanning her face with her hands and laughing. “Weepin’ over every wee thing. It’s nae like I willnae be back in just a few days.”
“It’s all right,” Marissa assured her, giving her a sweet smile. “Let the bairn cry whenever it wants.”
Freya nodded, another chuckle rising in her throat before she stepped aside to say her goodbyes to Ayla and Amara.
Abigail came up to Marissa next, looking a bit sheepish.
“What is goin’ on in that mind of yers?” Marissa asked as she pulled her into a hug.
“I’m just sorry, is all,” Abigail said, keeping her voice low enough so that only Marissa could hear her as she returned the embrace.
Marissa stepped back but kept her hands on her sister’s shoulders, studying her features. “What do ye mean?” she asked in a hushed tone. “What do ye have to be sorry for?”
Abigail shifted from foot to foot. “That I was angry at ye last night. That I told everyone that he kept contactin’ ye and ye lied.”
Marissa shook her head. “Enough,” she said softly, effectively silencing her. “Ye need nae apologize. Nae for that. He’d just tried to end me life. I think it was about time to tell the truth.”
A sheepish look crossed Abigail’s face before she threw her arms around Marissa’s neck again, wrapping her in a tight embrace.
“Freya had better nae have this bairn while we’re travelin’,” she griped. “I dinnae want to help her deliver it. Can ye imagine?”
Marissa chuckled, giving her younger sister another squeeze before letting her go.
“Can ye imagine bein’ a bairn and havin’ ye as the first thing they see comin’ into this world?” Marissa pretended to grimace.
Abigail swiped at her playfully, making her laugh. And just like that, everyone had said their goodbyes, and Michael was ushering both her sisters into the carriage.
Marissa stood in place, watching as the driver flicked the reins, urging the horses forward. Her sisters looked out the window, giving her and everyone else who stood in the drive a wave.
A warm, steady presence washed over her, and when she cast a sidelong glance, she found that Arthur had come to stand beside her. His face was solemn, his eyes fixed on the carriage as they all watched it slowly fade from view.
“This will be good for everyone,” he murmured, loud enough that only she could hear him. “Securin’ the alliance, bein’ on good terms with Clan Sherman. It’s the right thing to do.”
Marissa wasn’t sure if he was trying to convince her or himself, but she didn’t press him on it.
Ayla’s voice sounded from behind her, and Marissa whirled. She was standing on the front steps, already halfway toward the door. Cody and Amara were at the top, standing side by side. All of them looked at her expectantly.
“We’re goin’ inside to play chess and mayhap some cards,” Ayla announced. “Do ye want to join us?”
“She has plans with me,” Arthur answered.
Shock wound its way through Marissa, and her head swiveled to him. He had made no mention of plans earlier that morning.
“I do?” she asked, curiosity flickering through her.
Arthur nodded. “We’re goin’ back to the loch.”
Heat flooded her at the mention of the place where they’d had their first outing. But she was spared from having to respond when Ayla began to speak again.
“Have fun!” she called from the steps. “Mayhap we’ll still be in the drawin’ room when ye get back. If we are, I want to play a round of chess with ye.”
Marissa assured her that the second they were back, she’d try to find her, before turning to face Arthur.
“What are we goin’ to the loch for?” she inquired, trotting to keep up with him as he started walking.
“Ye’ll see,” he said simply.
Marissa was dissatisfied with the answer. After the events of the night before, she just wanted a little bit of predictability. She was tired of surprises.
But she didn’t want to seem immature, so she kept her pouting to herself.
The walk from the castle to the loch seemed to take much less time in the day, and before she knew it, they were breaking through the dense trees at the edge of the castle and stepping onto the rolling shores that met the water.
“What did ye want to show me?” she asked, putting her hands on her hips and staring out at it.
“Do ye trust me?” he asked, his eyes glimmering with mischief.
Despite her apprehension, Marissa nodded. It was the truth. She did trust him. How could she not?
But when Arthur looked down at his hands and she followed his gaze, she suddenly wished that she had lied. From his pocket, he’d pulled out a handkerchief, and he lifted it.
“I need to tie this around yer eyes,” he said.
Immediately, she backed away and started shaking her head.
“Nay,” she protested, fear coiling deep in her belly. “I dinnae want to be blindfolded.”
“Ye said ye trusted me,” Arthur reminded her, his tone growing impatient. “I need ye to show it.”
She glared at him. “Just because I trust ye, doesnae mean I need to let ye take me sight away from me! What if I fall? I’ll go tumblin’ right into the water and drown.”
“Ye’re nae goin’ to fall. I’ll hold ye every step of the way.”
She placed her hands on her hips. “And what happens if ye fall? Ye’ll be too busy fussin’ over me that ye will hardly be able to pay attention to where ye’re goin’, and we both go tumblin’. What happens then?”
Arthur threw his hands up in the air in exasperation.
“Then we both drown, and Cody and Joseph can go sing our tale as a tragedy to warn everyone away from ever usin’ blindfolds again.
Throughout Scotland, they’ll sing the tale of the lovers who died tragically in this loch, and we’ll haunt it for centuries. How does that sound?”
Marissa laughed despite herself, his agitation getting the better of her. Shaking her head, she stepped forward. “Ye promise ye’ll be careful?”
Sensing her defeat, Arthur heaved a sigh of relief.
“Aye,” he said. “I promise that I will be careful. And if it looks like either of us are goin’ to trip, I’ll throw meself into the water and sacrifice meself for ye. Does that sound like enough for ye?”
She rolled her eyes, the corner of her mouth quirking up into a smirk. “There’s nay need for ye to be dramatic,” she muttered playfully. “I was always goin’ to let ye do it.”
A growl of exasperation sounded low in Arthur’s throat, but he didn’t argue further. He turned his finger, gesturing for her to turn around.
Doing as she was asked, Marissa waited with bated breath as he reached around her. The handkerchief fell over her eyes, blocking out the late-morning sun.
It grew tighter around her head as Arthur knotted it. And, slowly, she became accustomed to standing there without being able to see.
She was suddenly hyper-aware of all the sounds and smells around her. The lapping of gentle waves as they met the shoreline. The leaves on the trees rustling as they were stirred on a breeze.
That same breeze carried with it the smell of late summer flowers, as well as the scent of the loch.
“Be careful,” Arthur warned, his large hand wrapping around her arm as he started to guide her to whatever destination he had in mind.
She stepped more hesitantly than she likely should have, listening to every one of his barked commands as they made their way.
Marissa tried to keep track of where they were heading, tried as hard as she could to recall the map of the loch. But the only other time she had been there was during late evening. The sun had sunk so soon after they’d arrived on their first outing.
And when they’d arrived at the loch this time, Marissa had been so busy arguing with Arthur about blindfolding her that she hadn’t taken much stock of her surroundings.
She soon found herself so confused and discombobulated about which direction they were heading that she gave up trying to figure it out.
Marissa also had no concept of the amount of time that had passed since the handkerchief had been slipped over her eyes. It could have been minutes, or it could have been hours. She would not have been able to tell the difference.
The one thing that she did know, however, was that a sound had begun niggling at her mind. It was familiar, but she couldn’t immediately place it.
There was splashing involved, quite a lot of it. And a soft, gentle rustling and… Was that flapping?
The sounds grew louder, amplifying to be almost cacophonous. It was one distinct sound, however, that she was able to identify. A squeaking wail, high and raspy, that had the hairs all over her body standing on end.
“Arthur,” she said hesitantly, trying to fight the urge to tug against his gentle lead. “What am I hearin’?”
“We’re almost there,” he assured her, refusing to answer her question.
Before she could argue back, he stopped walking. He placed her in front of him and tugged the handkerchief from her eyes with a flourish.
Marissa blinked rapidly, trying to clear her vision from the sudden onslaught of light. Slowly, the scene before her started to come into focus.
Just as she’d begun to suspect, it was ducks that sat in front of her. But not just a few of them.
No. Seemingly hundreds, if not thousands of them sat before her. They were quacking merrily, ruffling their feathers and squawking at one another.
Rubbery legs kicked in the air as they turned their bodies upright, diving beneath the water to catch fish.
Marissa didn’t wait. As soon as her mind caught up with what she was seeing, she opened her mouth and screamed as loud as she possibly could.