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Stepping back to open the door, Keir once more reached out to grasp Sarah’s hand. “I shall send up some breakfast and then take the girls down to the beach. Dunna worry and see that ye find some rest.”
Sarah smiled at him gratefully, knowing that the second half of his words were meant for her sister. In truth, she would like to join them, to walk along the beach and feel the wind upon her face. Still, it had been a long time since Sarah had had time alone with her sister, and perhaps it would be good for them to stay back and speak to one another over a bite of breakfast. “Have fun and I’ll see you soon.”
As Keir shooed the girls out into the corridor, Loki followed them. Then the door closed, and yet the girls’ eager voices still echoed back to their ears. With a heavy sigh, Kate fell back against the pillows. “It does not seem quite fair, does it?” she asked, looking up at Sarah. “They never seem to tire while I can barely bring myself to lift my head even after a good night’s sleep.”
Chuckling, Sarah seated herself beside her sister upon the bed, Frederica between them. The girl’s shiny blue eyes moved back and forth between her mother and her aunt, her hands raised and grasping at thin air. Rising once more, Sarah retrieved a small wooden hound from the toys still scattered upon the floor and handed it to her niece. Frederica grasped it eagerly, turning it from side to side, her eyes wide with fascination, before plucking it into her mouth.
Soon, a young maid brought them a tray of breakfast with tea and pastries with cream, as well as two small jars that smelled of jam and honey. The sisters ate eagerly, their bellies empty, and for the first time in weeks, they truly savored the moment, this meal they shared with one another.
Eventually, Frederica fell asleep, and her soft breaths lulled the sisters into a deeply relaxed state. “This is like a fairytale land,” Kate remarked with her eyes closed, a contented sigh drifting from her lips. A moment later, it was replaced by an amused chuckle. “With Mrs. Murray as the fairy godmother!”
Sarah laughed. “Oh, she does seem magical, does she not?” She sat up and looked at her sister. “Do you truly believe she was telling us the truth? That she’s seen ghosts in this castle?”
Kate shrugged. “Perhaps not ghosts as we imagine them,” she murmured, and a shadow passed over her face. “White sheets floating through the air, dragging chains behind them that rattle through the night.” Her voice sounded distant, and a faraway look lingered in her eyes. “Perhaps these ghosts are more of an earthly nature.”
Sarah reached out to grasp her sister’s hand. “You’re safe here. You know that, don’t you?” She looked deep into her sister’s eyes, needing Kate to believe her. “We are finally here, finally safe, but if we do not believe that we are, we will forever remain trapped in a place of our own making.” She squeezed Kate’s hand, relieved to see the touch of a smile come to her face. “This is our happily ever after, Kate. We did it! We’re finally safe. The both of us.”
Tears rolled down Kate’s cheeks, and yet the smile upon her face stretched wide. “We truly are, aren’t we?” Disbelief lingered in her eyes, despite the obvious truth of her words. “Perhaps we truly are in a fairytale… with Keir as the hero who came to free us from the tower.” A giggle escaped Kate’s lips.
It was infectious, and Sarah joined in with her. Yet the moment she did, she heard a voice whispering in her head—and this time it was not her mother.
Meeting Kate’s eyes, Sarah sighed, her heart suddenly lighter than before. “You know, according to Keir.” She smiled at her sister. “I’m the hero of my own story, and he is simply someone who… lent a hand.”
The expression upon Kate’s face spoke of many things: surprise, disbelief, emotion. In the end, though, the look in her eyes reminded Sarah of someone who had never known that the very thing they had searched the world to find had always been right there… and they had simply not known.
If only they had.
Chapter Twenty
OLD FRIENDS
Keir grinned as he watched Augusta’s and Dorothea’s eyes grow wider and wider with each delicious thing Mrs. Murray set down in front of them upon the table in the castle kitchen. The smell of warm pastry and fresh baked goods filled the air, their aroma only matched by the scent of honey, cinnamon and fresh cream. “Ye said ye wanted breakfast,” Keir said with a chuckle, nodding toward the laden table. “Now, eat up.”
Augusta licked her lips. “Is this all for us?”
Mrs. Murray nodded, pouring each of them a glass of milk. “Eat enough to fill yer bellies. After all, ye got a wee bit of growing to do.”
As Dorothea reached for the cream, Loki launched himself off the stone floor and in one giant leap stepped in between the little girl and the mug of cream. While the look in his amber eyes gave him a rather innocent expression, the way Loki angled his head suggested otherwise. He clearly demanded his share and thought himself very much entitled to it.
“It would seem Loki is hungry as well,” Keir remarked, nodding toward the feline and wondering how Mrs. Murray would react to him.
To his surprise, the old housekeeper seemed not in the least taken aback by this additional guest at her table. “Aye, right ye are,” she mumbled, then poured Loki some cream and milk into a small bowl and set it down for him at the other end of the table.
Keir grinned. “I take it ye’ve met Loki before, Mrs. Murray.”
The old housekeeper nodded, observing the feline for a moment before turning to look at Keir. “Aye, he joined us on our way to the guest chambers last night.” She reached out a wrinkled hand and brushed it across Loki’s head. “He seems very protective of yer lass.” Her eyes rose to meet his, and Keir could see a question there. Perhaps not a question but a suspicion, one that did not require a confirmation from him to be considered a fact.
“Thank ye for this fine breakfast, Mrs. Murray,” Dorothea said to the old housekeeper around a mouthful of food. “’Tis delicious.”
Mrs. Murray smiled; a smile Keir remembered from his own childhood. Indeed, at first glance, the old woman looked rather stern and forbidding; however, those who got to know her, those who won her good opinion, soon discovered that the housekeeper of Clan MacKinnear possessed a heart of gold.
“What are ye up to today?” Mrs. Murray inquired, her gaze wandering to Keir. “’Tis a rather pleasant day, not one made for remaining indoors.” She grasped a scone on her way around the table and thrust it into his hand. “Eat up,” she told him with a wicked grin. “Ye still have some growing up to do.”
The girls chuckled, crumbs flying from their mouths before they could cover them with their hands.
“I suppose I shall take them for a walk around the island,” Keir informed Mrs. Murray, then he took a bite from his scone. “As ye said, ’tis a perfect day for it.”
The old housekeeper nodded in agreement. Then, though, she lifted a finger in warning, her eyes meeting his. “But dunna take the wee dears near the cliffs, mind ye. ’Tis no place for children.”
