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“Ye should already be on a horse, ye bampot! Och, I’ll do it myself.” Felix raced for the door, but John blocked his path.
“I daenae think that’s wise, M’Laird. She’s nae too happy with ye, and she’ll nae thank ye for followin’ her before ye’ve had the opportunity to… resolve yer dispute.” John frowned. “I ken I shouldnae involve meself, but ye should speak to her sooner rather than later. She’s hurt. Very hurt.”
Felix hissed air through his teeth. “Ye were the one who suggested we shouldnae live our lives together.”
“I said, if that’s nae what either of ye want, ye could suggest livin’ apart. That was before I saw how ye were after bein’ around her,” John said. “If ye care, as I think ye do or ye wouldnae be runnin’ for the door like this, then fix whatever ye’ve broken. If ye daenae want to care, then… do as ye please, I suppose, but be prepared to see her hurt and for the pain of breakin’ yer own heart.”
The words of wisdom that came out of John’s mouth never failed to surprise Felix. It was as if he saved up all of his speech until he needed to unleash a torrent of sage advice, and though Felix hated to admit it, John was rarely wrong.
“Daenae let her out of yer sight,” Felix muttered, his temper dimming. “Inform me when she returns.”
John raised an eyebrow. “Ye’ll speak to her?”
“After all ye’ve just said, I think I have to,” Felix conceded. “Otherwise, I’ll just get another scoldin’ from ye.”
John chuckled. “Forgive me, M’Laird.”
With that, he sprinted off, leaving Felix to his crowded thoughts. Edwina was in every single one, pulling him in every possible direction. In some moments, he realized what a fool he had been, and he felt compelled to run to Edwina immediately to make amends. The next moment, he would envision her in some tragic accident, and his anxieties would take over, stopping him from running to her.
The moment after, he would picture her in a cottage by the coast, far away from him, living happily with another man—a man who could love and care for her without fear. Sometimes, he thought of her at Castle Moore, riding with him to the loch on a summer’s day, as blissfully happy as any couple could hope to be.
If only I could see into the future,he mused sadly.If only I could be sure that nay harm would befall her, then I could be happy.
Yet, the fact that she had wandered into the gardens at night, during the Masquerade Ball, and the fact she had no qualms about riding through the forest when there were known brigands lurking there, showed that she was a woman who courted danger. And though he had joked about it, he knew he would never dare to cage such a rare bird as her.
Try as he might, he could see no solution. Perhaps, because there was not one.
* * *
“Iamsorry for nae comin’ to join ye when I promised I would,” Edwina said to Meredith and Melissa, as a throng of children attempted to use her as a climbing tree.
Melissa wrestled her youngest son, Brecken, away from Edwina, for he seemed determined to smother her face in kisses. “Och, daenae even think of it, Edwina. As long as ye keep comin’ back, all is forgiven.”
“I ken what it’s like when ye’re gettin’ used to a new castle, new people, a new betrothed,” Meredith added. “It can be overwhelmin’. I’m just glad ye decided to visit us today. We were startin’ to worry.”
Edwina smiled wryly. “Ye were nae the only ones.”
“What do ye mean?” Melissa instructed her eldest nephew, Edward, to take the rest of the children to the other side of the Morning Room. “Has somethin’ happened? Is Felix nae bein’ kind to ye? Do ye need us to go and give him a scoldin’?”
Edwina reminded herself that these two women were Felix’s sisters, and not her friends. Although, the distinction was becoming more difficult to make, for Meredith and Melissa had made her feel so very welcome. One day, she hoped theywouldbe friends, as well as becoming their sister by marriage. Nevertheless, considering they were still partial strangers and Felix’s family, Edwina decided it would be unwise to mention the kiss.
“He has been in one of his infamous moods,” she said, instead. “I daenae ken what I’ve done wrong, but he appears to be avoidin’ me.”
Meredith rubbed the back of her neck and pursed her lips in thought. “But ye say nothin’ has happened? Did ye speak of anythin’ before he started to avoid ye?”
“He was… affectionate with me, which is why it is so confusin’,” Edwina admitted vaguely.
A sympathetic smile graced Meredith’s lips. “Then, my dear, that is the reason.”
“I daenae ken what ye mean.” Edwina shuffled closer, as if a great secret was about to be revealed.
Meredith and Melissa exchanged a look, but it was Melissa who spoke first.
“He thinks we daenae understand him, but we understand him better than he kens,” she explained. “To ken Felix ye have to ken his history. Ye wouldnae recognize him if ye saw him when he was younger. He was cheerful, could talk yer ear off, and would follow the gardeners around just to avoid bein’ on his own.”
Edwina gulped. “What changed?”
“Everythin’,” Meredith replied. “Our faither got into a great deal of debt. To pay it off, he arranged a marriage between me and Ryder. As part of the arrangement, Ryder also purchased our faither’s lands and Castle. Nae the title, but the title would’ve been as good as useless. So, through nay fault of his own, Felix was disinherited, and there was nothin’ he could do about it. That was when he first became sullen.”
