Seeing how much Kate had improved was the only thing that helped Mother forgive me for how I’d treated her.
“Don’t get me wrong. I’m glad you’ve been such a hard ass. I’m just saying, you always pretend that I need you, but you don’t really do anything for me when you’re here anyway. It’s an excuse. I’m tired of being your excuse. It’s time for you to get your life back. You need your best friend. You need to start writing again. You’re not the one who lost everything in a fire, Laurel, yet you walk around here like you are. Whatever you need to do to get back to the life you had before I moved in here with you, you need to do it.”
Someone’s words had never had such a profound effect on me. I reeled back on the sofa as if she’d slapped me. She was right, but I didn’t know how to begin. Everything felt so completely off course.
“I don’t know how, Kate. I don’t know what to do. I’m not blaming you. I don’t ever want you to think that, but before the fire, I felt like things were just beginning for me, like I was on the verge of some big shift in my life. Then just like that, with one phone call, everything stopped. I floundered, and then I got comfortable in the floundering. Now, I can’t see how to pull myself out of it.”
Kate leaned forward to pull me into a hug.
“I know you don’t blame me, but I’ve upended your life all the same. And don’t worry about what you need to do. Signs always come in threes. You’ve another one due anytime. Just watch for it. You’ll know what to do.”
Squeezing her tight, I laughed at her confidence.
“Is this what you intend to do for your next career? Are you going to start predicting people’s futures?”
Gently pushing me away, Kate stood and reached for Mr. Crinkles.
“It’s not fortune telling, Laurel. It’s common knowledge. As a writer, I’d think you would know that. Anything important almost always comes in threes.”
I smiled at her as she made her way to her bedroom. It took all of three minutes for me to fall asleep on the sofa.
A loud banging on the front door woke me up from a dead sleep at three a.m.
Chapter 2
Allen Castle—Scotland—1651
*
The lass was persistent. It was the tenth letter he’d received from her in as many months. He’d yet to open a single one. He knew what he would find—a series of blurred letters to taunt him. Simply more proof that he was losing his sight. And even if he could make out Sydney’s words to him, what would he say in return? There was so much he couldn’t tell her. Until his land was securely deeded to another, he couldn’t tell her the truth of where he lived, or what he did, or even truly, who he was. Until he returned home to the rest of The Eight, he couldn’t know if the damage to his eyes was permanent. Even if it was, Sydney was the last person he would want to know. She was one of the few who knew his heart. If he truly lost his vision, he wanted her to remember him as he was before.
As much as it pained him, he would have to let his friendship with her die.
“Thank ye, Madge. Please take this to my bedchamber and leave it with the others.”
The old woman nodded but leaned in to quietly whisper in his ear.
“Aye, o’course, sir. If ye’d like to have someone read it to ye, I can have my son come to ye when ye retire this evening. I could assure his discretion.”
Raudrich reached out and grabbed her arm as she stepped away to leave him.
“Ye do know that I can read, doona ye, Madge?”
Her voice still low, she answered him.
“Aye sir, but ye canna see the words, can ye?”
His heart sank at Madge’s observation. His position as laird was already precarious enough.
“Do others know?”
“I doona believe so. Not many spend as much time with ye as I do. Though ye willna be able to hide it forever.”
“Thank ye, Madge. Just leave the letter with the others.”
He waited until she was gone from his view before standing from his seat. Music surrounded him as his clansmen danced and drank with merriment. He wished he could enjoy the evening with them, but a strong sense of foreboding made him uneasy. Two tragedies in the span of two months. First, the unexpected death of the man set to replace him as laird, followed shortly by the sudden and swiftly progressing loss of his eyesight. A third tragedy couldn’t be far behind—they always came in threes.
He could still see at a distance, though the edges of things were slightly blurred. He hoped it would hold steady until he could find another man to replace him. He’d been away from the eight for far too long, and having his powers stretched over such a great distance and for so long was costing him his vision. Never before had one of the eight stayed away from their magic for so long. Even those who had left for a short while had suffered much, and he’d been away for two and a half years.
He could just make out Silva standing at the end of the hall, hiding under a castle archway as she waved him toward her.
He waited until he neared her to speak. “What is it?”
“A messenger arrived from yer home, Raudrich.”
Panic set in at Silva’s words. Everything seemed to be falling apart so quickly. She hurried to reassure him by placing a hand on his arm.
“Doona worry. ’Twas I who greeted him. No one else saw the rider arrive or leave. Ye needn’t worry.”
Silva, the widow of the man set to replace him tonight, knew nothing of the truth about him, but she knew him well enough to see that something was wrong. Otherwise, she wouldn’t have hurried to calm his nerves.
There were few among his clansmen that he trusted fully, but he would have to trust Silva with the truth this night. This was a letter he couldn’t put off opening.
“Will ye come with me to my bedchamber, Silva? I need ye to read the letter out loud to me, and it must be read in private.”
He didn’t need to see her face clearly to know that her expression was confused, but she said nothing as he turned to make sure that she followed along behind him.
The moment they were safely inside his room, she spoke.
“Why do ye need me to read this? Surely, there is no need for me to know what is inside.”
“I canna see it. A fortnight after yer husband passed, my vision began to decline. Each day it grows a little worse.”
Silva’s voice was filled with concern.
“What would cause this? Have ye seen the healer about it? Mayhap there is something she can do to help.”
“No. I know the cause well enough. All that I doona know is whether or not the vision is restorable. Please read the letter.”
He moved to sit as Silva opened the letter. He knew what would be inside.
The third tragedy. He knew there was no other reason for someone from The Land of Eight Lairds to ride here. They all knew how dangerous such a message would be for him.
As Silva began to read, his worst suspicions were confirmed.
Timothy, the oldest of The Eight had lost his long battle with illness. The Eight were now seven, and it was more important than ever that he make preparations to leave Allen territory for good.
Once Silva finished reading the letter, she moved to bend in front of him, gathering his hands in hers.
“Who is this man that ye’ve lost? Who is so urgently calling ye away from here?”
An unprecedented idea came to mind as he looked at Silva. There was only one thing he could do. With one of The Eight now dead, he couldn’t remain here another day.
He took his time explaining everything to her, sparing her no truth.
“When my brother passed, this land became mine, but it is not mine by right. Since the age of thirteen, my loyalty has been pledged to another clan, which, as ye know, voids me of my inheritance. There is a land verra far from here that requires the magic of eight druids to keep the evil that resides within it at bay. Like my grandfather before me, I possess magic. I am one of The Eight. The man that passed was one of The Eight, as well. Wi
th The Eight now broken, the evil back at home will begin to look for a way to rise. It is imperative that I return home so we can search for a worthy man to replace Timothy.
“I came here after my brother’s death to see the village settled, to make certain that I found a just man to take my brother’s stead as laird. It has always been my intention to return to the isle that is now my home. No one else in the clan can ever know of this. If they do, they willna accept the decision I know is right.”
“And what decision is that?”
“I must leave here tonight, but first we must find a witness. I shall deed all of my land to ye, Silva. Ye shall be the first female laird of Allen territory.”
Chapter 3
Present Day
*
I stumbled over to the front door as I called out to my sister to tell her to stay in her room until I found out who was at the door. She replied with a snore. She could sleep through just about anything—even a fire.
“Who’s there? Don’t you know what time it is?” I stood an arm’s length away from the door handle as I called out.
“It’s me. Open up.” The moment I heard Marcus’ voice on the other side, I went limp with relief. Hands shaking, I unlocked the door and threw it open as I stepped aside to let him enter.
“What the hell is wrong with you? You should’ve called first. You scared me to death banging on the door like that.
He looked around the room with undisguised disgust. He’d not been inside my apartment since Kate moved in. Since then, my aptitude for tidiness, much like my aptitude for just about everything, had slipped significantly.
“You wouldn’t have answered if I called. I’ve been trying to get ahold of you for months.”
He moved to shuffle through the pile of mail on my entry table. I quickly moved to block him as I threw my hands down over the stack and glared up at him.
“You can’t just go through my mail. What are you doing here?”
“Are you not paying your bills now? Have you turned on a vacuum cleaner in the last three weeks? It smells in here, Laurel.”
I was most certainly paying my bills. It was just any other business that I allowed to slip through the cracks.
“It’s the cat.” I wasn’t altogether sure that was true. Kate was a stickler for making certain that Mr. Crinkles’ litter box stayed immaculate, but at least the cat was an easy scapegoat. He couldn’t argue with me. “And not a single thing on that table is a bill. Of course, I’m paying my bills. I’ll ask you one more time, Marcus, what are you doing here?”
“This has gone on long enough, Laurel. I messed up. I know that. I’ve known it since the words slipped out of my mouth. You’re not crazy. I never should have said that you were. I’ve been trying to apologize to you for months now, but you wouldn’t hear it, which frankly, isn’t fair. We’ve been friends for twenty-five years. I should be allowed one mess up. I’ve certainly forgiven you your fair share of stupidity.”
I hardly knew what to say to him. I was still so angry with him, but as he stood before me now, I couldn’t recall exactly why. What he’d said had wounded my feelings to be sure, but was it really all that cruel? From his perspective, he believed he was helping me. Perhaps, he was. Was it really myself I was angry at?
“I…” I said the one thing I felt most strongly as I stared back at him. “I’ve missed you.”
I expected him to hug me or at least soften a little at my confession. He did no such thing.
“Have you? Well, I can’t really say the same. The longer this has gone on, the angrier I’ve become at you for pushing me away. But guess what, we are about to fix that. We’re going back to Scotland—back to the place where all this fell apart. And we aren’t leaving the country until two things happen.”
He paused and lifted one finger, followed quickly by a second as he continued.
“One, everything is fixed between us. And two, we know once and for all whether you’re mad for believing that old woman’s story and her letter to you.”
Marcus was the last person I wanted to go looking for Morna’s inn with. He didn’t for a moment believe that it was there.
“You don’t have to do that, Marcus. We don’t need to go to Scotland to heal things between us. I forgive you, and I’m sorry for acting like such a child. I think I was angry with myself for hoping, angry for believing that something impossible just might be possible. When you confronted me that day, you made me kill a dream, and it made me resent myself for being so foolish.”
He did hug me then—a big bear of a hug that draped me in more comfort than I’d felt in months. I collapsed into him and began to cry.
“Oh, Laurel.” He held me tightly and kissed the top of my head. “I’m a shit friend. Even if I did believe you were mad, I should’ve just supported you. I’ve done many things I know you thought were crazy, but you never let me know that. I’m so sorry.”
It shouldn’t have been the thing I noticed in his apology, but one thing stood out amongst all the rest.
“You just said that you did believe I was mad. As if you don’t anymore.”
He pulled away, but kept both hands on my arms as he held me away from him.
“About that…something very strange happened last week that may have changed my mind.”
I raised my brows and turned my head like a confused puppy dog.
“Oh, yeah? What’s that?”
“I received a letter last week. There was no address, but the country of origin was Scotland, and it was signed by someone named Morna.”
A chill swept over my entire body. I didn’t believe I’d ever been so surprised in my entire life.
“Morna was the name of the woman who wrote the book I found in Conall Castle.”
Marcus nodded.
“I know. The entire letter was just her giving me a thorough lashing for encouraging you to cancel your plans to return to Scotland. How could she possibly know that I’d done that? How could she even know who we are?”
I stared back at Marcus, saying nothing until he broke the silence.
“What are you thinking, Laurel?”
“I shut my mind to the possibility of any of this being real months ago. Now, I don’t know what to think. Why did she wait so long to reach out? If she has the ability to know so much about both of us, why not contact me when I was searching for her? And why would she send you a letter? Why not just reach out to me directly?”
Marcus shook his head. He looked as confused as I felt.
“I don’t know. But my own curiosity is now piqued enough that I know I won’t be able to get anything done until we both find out. I’ve booked us both on a flight that leaves tomorrow afternoon. If the inn really does exist, we’ll find it.”
Perhaps, my sister was right and signs really did come in threes.
I couldn’t see Marcus’ sudden arrival here any other way.
Chapter 4
“Well, this is a pleasant surprise.”
Dreary-eyed and still a bit wobbly from sleep, Kate entered the kitchen where Marcus and I sat at the table, a road map of Scotland spread across the top. It was just past nine in the morning. We’d spent the rest of the night catching up while he helped me pack.
Marcus stood the moment he saw Kate and moved to wrap his arms around her just as he’d done me the night before. He really did give the very best hugs.
“You look wonderful, Kate. I’m glad to see you getting on so well.”
She smiled, but the smile didn’t quite reach her eyes. She always tried so hard to stay positive, but every once in a while she couldn’t hide her pain.
“Thank you, Marcus. I’m glad, too. It’s been a long few months, but I’m feeling a little more like my old self every day. When did you get here?”
He chuckled lightly and bared his teeth in embarrassment.
“About three a.m. actually. I’m afraid I gave Laurel quite the scare. I think I’ll run home and get my own bag ready. I’ll let Laurel tell you what’s going o
n.”
He bent to give her a quick kiss on the cheek before pointing to me.
“I’ll be back to pick you up at two. See you in a few hours.”
Kate waited until he was gone to say anything.
“Well, that was some night, wasn’t it? I went to bed wondering if you two would ever speak again, and I wake up to find the two of you as chummy as ever. What’s going on?”
Setting a cup of coffee down on the table for her, I waited for her to sit down to answer. The moment she was seated, Mr. Crinkles jumped up into the empty chair between us and purred so that I would pet him.
“You know how yesterday you were begging me to get my life back and to leave you be for a while since I don’t do anything for you anyway? Well, you’re about to get your wish. Marcus and I are going back to Scotland this afternoon.”
Kate’s face lit up with excitement. “To visit the castle in the documentary? I really do think it could be just the place to get you writing again. Oh, Laurel, this is wonderful.”
I’d almost forgotten about the castle, but Kate was right. If I was going to be in Scotland anyway, I should definitely pay it a visit to see if it could spark some writing inspiration.
“Well, that castle isn’t actually the main reason for our visit, but I do want to get over to it while I’m there.”
Kate’s smile fell. “Oh. Then, what are you going there for?”
I’d said nothing to anyone about what had happened to me in Scotland, and Kate had been so overwhelmed with her own recovery after the fire that she’d not noticed the hours I’d spent digging for information. It was hardly the sort of story you could tell someone without coming across as insane, but I could see no way to leave without telling her now.
Love Beyond Words Page 2
