Page 51 of Savage Kilted Highlander

Agnes shook her head. “Och, Faither, me chambers are far too big for one person. Constance can move in with me. That is if she would like tae, of course,” she added, glancing shyly at Constance.

“Oh, thank you, Agnes, I would love it!” Constance exclaimed, thrilled at the prospect of sharing a room with her twin. “I confess, now we are together, I do not wish to parted from you.”

Agnes beamed happily. “I feel the same. We can get the servants tae bring another bed fer ye from one of the other chambers and share. Och, I’m so excited! And after that, I’ll take ye on a wee tour of the castle and show ye all me favourite places. Would ye like that?”

“I can think of nothing I should like more,” Constance replied, unable to stop smiling.

Agnes giggled, her face wreathed in smiles as she pressed Constance’s hands in hers. “Then should we leave Faither tae his work and go and make the arrangements right away?”

“Um, just one moment, Agnes. If you do not mind waiting for another few minutes, there is something else important that I need to talk to Father about first,” Constance replied, turning to him.

“Och, all right,” Agnes agreed at once.

“Father, something happened on the journey back here that I must tell you, for it is worrying me greatly.”

“Aye, what is it?” he asked, looking at her intently.

“It is my stepfather. I had no idea he was looking for me until Bane and I ran into him and a party of his soldiers on our way back here,” she began, knotting her fingers nervously as she recalled the terrifying incident. “He demanded that I return to England with him, to go through with this marriage to the earl. But I have sworn never to go back there. When I refused, he ordered his men to take me by force. They would have succeeded if Bane had not protected me and fought them off.”

“How many of them were there?” the Laird asked unexpectedly.

“Five, including my stepfather, though he did not actually do any of the fighting,” she explained.

“Five, was it?” he murmured, nodding in a perplexing manner.

“Yes, five. Is that important?”

“Nay, carry on,” he instructed.

“Well, Bane fought and killed the men, and he was about to kill my stepfather too, but he rode off, out of reach. Even then, he still tried to make me go with him, and when I refused again, he was furious and threatened me, saying he would not give up, that he would be back, and he would find me and take me back to England to go through with the wedding to the Earl of Belton” she paused, starting to lose her breath as the fear gripped her more tightly.

Agnes put a comforting arm around her shoulder, which helped her to compose herself. “I know what he is like, and I know he means it. He is not going to simply give me up without a fight. There is too much to benefit him in this marriage, and I am frightened he will find some way to make me go back with him. He has more soldiers at his disposal. What if he comes here to castle and tries to take me by force?”

Her father’s face had darkened as she was speaking, actually growling under his breath at the mention of the Earl. For a moment, she trembled, fearing he was angry with her for bringing trouble to his door. She was totally unprepared when he stepped up to her and placed a large hand on her shoulder. He looked her in the eyes and said calmly in his deep, gravelly voice, “Constance, listen tae me well. First of all, ye’ve done the right thing telling me all this. By daein’ so, ye’ve put me on me guard and given me time tae make some preparations in case he daes turn up here. So, well done.

“Second, and this is the most important, I want ye tae trust me tae protect ye at all times and put all yer fears of that man out of yer mind. I will personally ensure he never gets the chance tae take ye anywhere, let alone England. So, ye neednae fret about him fer a moment longer. And that’s an order from yer faither. All right?”

Constance stared trustingly up at him, feeling for the for the very time in her life what it was like for a scared little girl who had awoken from a nightmare to find her loving daddy there, to hold her and tell her it was all just a dream, that he would never let her come to any harm. When she gazed into her father’s eyes, she believed his every word as though it were scripture. A warm glow of peace and happiness radiated from her chest until it permeated her entire body, chasing all her fears away.

The smile that came to her lips was as irrepressible as it was heartfelt. Her heart was so full, there were a thousand things she wanted to say, but she thought she would probably cry if she tried. So, in the end, she took a deep breath and said simply, “Thank you, Father.”

He just nodded, his jaw set tight as he lifted his hand away, leaving a cold patch in its wake.

Agnes tugged on Constance’s arm, pulling her back to the moment. “May we go now, Faither?” her sister asked.

He cleared his throat before replying, “Aye, off ye go and settle Constance in. We’ll meet again later at supper, eh? We’ll have a wee celebration tae mark this momentous reunion of our family and maybe have a bit of a talk. I’m sure both ye have a lot of questions fer me and each other.”

The girls thanked him in unison and, holding hands, left the study. Outside, in the tapestry-lined hallway, Agnes linked her arm in Constance’s and led her back towards the vestibule. “I ken ye’re very worried about yer friend,” she said. “Let’s go tae the castle infirmary first, and I’ll introduce ye tae Llewellyn, the healer. He’s very good. I’m sure he’ll be happy tae go and check on yer friend.”

And so it proved. Llewellyn, a surprisingly young man with a serious but friendly demeanour, was much more approachable than any physician Constance had ever met. He had just seen his last patient and agreed to go and check on Bane immediately. Constance felt better at once, but she was still resolved to go and see him for herself later that evening.

The next few hours were spent excitedly rearranging Agnes’ spacious chambers to accommodate them both. A bed, a nightstand, and other furniture was brought in for Constance’s use, and there was much laughter and excitement as they supervised the changes together.

Constance soon got to know Agnes’s lady’s maid, a young woman about their own age with red hair and a cheeky smile called Morag. When she first saw them together, her mouth fell open, her eyes went wide, and her hands flew to her cheeks. She stood looking from Agnes to Constance and back again in disbelief.

“Have I gone mad?” she asked with obvious amazement. “The laird told me ye have a sister but I didnae expect her tae look just the same as ye, me lady!” the maid cried in confusion.

The twins laughed at her comical reaction. “This is me sister, Constance, Morag,” Agnes told her, slipping her arm around Constance’s waist affectionately, just as Constance did the same to her. “As ye can see, we’re identical twins.”