Freya’s hand left her belly as she reached forward. She grabbed the hand of each sister, giving them a tight, loving squeeze.
“Just because ye willnae be livin’ here anymore,” she said, her eyes brimming with tears, “doesnae mean this will nay longer be yer home. Ye’ll just have more than one home now, and a husband to bring with ye when ye come to visit.”
Marissa stared at her two sisters. Freya looked happy and oblivious to the worry that was now knotting itself in her belly. And dear, beautiful Abigail… The skin around her youngest sister’s eyes was still tight, still creased with concern. But there was something else there. Something that Marissa had not noticed earlier.
Hope.
It’s because she loves me that she worries.
The reminder was a necessary one. As was the realization that, while Abigail might be worried for her, she was hopeful for her as well. So, Marissa vowed that she would take that hope and turn it into something meaningful as she carved out this new life for herself.
“Ye should have seen them together.”
Freya’s voice broke through Marissa’s inward spiral, and as Marissa focused her attention back on her sisters, she found Freya beaming at Abigail.
“They are a perfect match!” Freya continued.
Abigail gave her a soft, hesitant smile. It had been one thing for her to voice her concerns to Marissa, but everyone was more than aware that Freya’s advancing pregnancy had affected her moods. One moment she would be the happy, level-headed sister they had grown up with and admired so much, the next she would be blubbering about a kitten and how it was too cute to be able to exist.
There was no rhyme or reason to the way Freya’s moods swung these days. And Marissa could see on Abigail’s face that she would not be risking anything by bringing her concerns up to their oldest sister.
“How so?” Abigail prodded. “I would love to hear all about it.”
“Hear about it?” Freya chuckled. “Ye’ll be seein’ it soon enough. We all need to get ready for the feast.”
She clapped her hands.
“I said, we need to get ready,” she repeated, a little more forcefully this time.
She slapped at them playfully, urging them to rise from the couch.
“Ouch, oy!” Marissa yelled, jumping up when Freya gave her arm a small pinch.
“What do I need to get ready for?” Abigail protested, also rising to her feet. “I dinnae need to impress anyone!”
“That’s enough from both of ye,” Freya admonished.
She struggled for a moment as she tried to push herself up from the couch. But when it became clear she was going to need a bit of help, both Marissa and Abigail extended a hand.
Freya scoffed, but she didn’t reject their offer. When they’d finally pulled her to her feet, she leveled a look at them.
“Marissa,” she began. “Ye ken why ye need to make yerself presentable. And Abigail, this will be yer first time meetin’ the man who is to wed yer sister. So, get to it. Both of ye.”
Freya swatted at them affectionately, making Marissa roll her eyes and Abigail giggle. But they both heeded her words.
Striding out of Abigail’s room and toward her own chambers, Marissa hummed lightly to herself, wondering what the rest of the night would bring.
Once she stepped inside her room, she stopped short. A gorgeous dress draped in tartan lay on the foot of her bed.
“I had it made for ye recently,” Freya’s voice sounded from behind her, causing her to whirl around. “I was goin’ to surprise ye with it later as a gift. But I thought now would be as good a time as any and asked the maids to bring it.”
Suddenly, it was all too much. Finding out that the man she claimed to be betrothed to was real. Leaving in the morning to a new home. Getting married. Freya’s kindness and acceptance. Abigail’s drive to protect her. It all came crashing down around her, a ball of anxiety forming in her chest.
Her ever-perceptive sister gave her a worried look.
“What is it?” Freya asked, stepping forward and placing a hand on each of Marissa’s arms.
I cannae tell her the truth now, can I?
