Highlander’s Triangle Of Passion
Fiona Knightley
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Highland Lover Series
Highlander’s Triangle of Passion
(this book)
Highlander’s Lost Love
(next in the series)
Contents
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Afterword
Also By The Author
Chapter 1
What on earth is Sophie Gartley doing here? She looks thoroughly at the figure standing in the doorway to be sure her eyes weren’t deceiving her. And of course, they weren’t. There is Sophie, beautifully dressed as she always remembered her, standing elegantly with a surprised look on her face.
“If I be damned! Amelia!”
Sophie says as she chuckles with disgust, “What in the world are you doing here?”
“I should be asking you this, why are you here?” Amelia asks, unsure if asking her was the right thing to do. Since she fled from her husband a few months ago, she hasn’t encountered anyone who knew her there and didn’t think she would.
There is quite a distance between distance Arbroath and Montrose, and even if anyone searched for her, they would never have thought to look in Montrose. After all, she left the castle on foot rather than taking a horse, which could have been the fastest means of transportation or fleeing.
If she was to choose who she wanted to see from the few people she knew in Arbroath, Sophie is the last person on that list. Amelia carefully scrutinized Sophie again, just to be sure she wasn’t missing any details about her, and she still didn’t say why she is here.
From her tussled clothes, she could tell that Sophie has been on the road. Her renaissance gown is made of bright quality material of both green and gold, matching her golden hair. At the same time, on her shoulder, rest a tartan. She must have used it to shield herself from the cold night as she usually doesn’t use one. She loves her fine clothing to be very visible. Her neck exposes more of the upper part of her bosom, and an expensive necklace hung to the top of her cleavage, along with matching earrings.
Sophie has always been a woman of fashion, and even traveling for long distances won’t stop her from looking good, especially when she is trying to impress someone. But the point is, who is she trying to impress? Of course, it wasn’t her; the look on her face when she saw Amelia at the door says that she never expected to see her here.
Just then, Amelia notices the trunks on the ground. Her escort, whom she hadn’t seen earlier, was standing next to them. What does this mean?
“I take it you lost your way or something?”
Amelia says, spitting the words out like a statement rather than a question.
All she needs right now is an answer to satisfy her curious mind, and it doesn’t matter how she laid out the words. Sophie looks at her with an astonishing expression, mixed with disgust, then looks around at the castle.
“When did this castle start accommodating meagre wenches?
Sophie says.
“How can a hog like you be here?”
Her words cut deep into Amelia’s heart. She is not surprised by her harsh words. Back in Arbroath, she grew used to it. However, what makes it hurt now is her remembrance and how she couldn’t defend herself when she, directly and indirectly, threw words at her.
“I will choose to ignore your words and advise you to find your way out of here, as I believe you have lost your way,”
Amelia says while trying to maintain calm while she then attempts to close the door.
“Oh, Please!” Sophie snaps as she stops the door with her hand and forcefully pushes it wide open. Sophie’s force causes a bang on the wall, and Amelia almost loses her balance due to it, but she struggles to maintain it. Immediately, one of the maids and a guard rush toward them because of the noise.
“Lady Sophie?” The maid spoke out in surprise on sighting Sophie.
Sophie pushes Amelia away as she walks majestically inside the house, and finally, Amelia lands on the ground. Ignoring her or what she did, she asks.
“Where is Laird Oliver?”
Without replying to her question, the guard and the maid channeled their attention to Amelia. The maid attempts to walk toward her to help lift her, but Sophie repeats her question.
“Where is your Laird, I said?”
Sophie shouts out. This outburst startles the maid and stops her from carrying out her action.
“He is out on business,” t
he maid says.
“Take the trunks inside to my chambers and make me a warm cup of tea,” Sophie says as she walks into the living area.
Not knowing what to do, the maid replies with an
“Aye, ma lady.”
The guard and the maid swing into action, carrying the trunks inside the castle, leaving Amelia. The latter is still sitting on the floor. They have a guest, and they must obey her.
Slowly, Amelia stands from the fall to her feet, and she couldn’t make sense of what just happened. She isn’t surprised by Sophie deliberately pushing her to the floor or how she commands the maid around; of course, she is good at making people obey her or bend to her will. Instead, the one thing that baffles her is her mention of Oliver’s name.
How does she know Oliver? Nothing struck her more than when Sophie had called out Oliver’s name. When she opened that door and saw her, she had thought Sophie was at the wrong house or probably lost her way, but this boldness she witnessed now from her made her think twice.
To avoid getting too close to the living area, Amelia walks straight to her chamber. She needs a more transparent atmosphere or arena to think and make sense of what just occurred. And most importantly, how should she face or confront her unwanted guest who just showed up unexpectedly?
A few hours later, in her chambers, Amelia made different assumptions of who Sophie is to the Adair’s and what made her so bold as to walk into their castle with such confidence. At first, she thought she was trying to protect the castle from an outsider or intruder since it is in her care while Oliver is out. Still, Sophie’s confidence gave her a shock. How she wishes Oliver was home to give her answers to all this. Just then, she heard a knock on her door. The same maid who witnessed her disgrace at the castle entrance entered when Amelia ushered her in.
“Ma, lady,” the maid greets.
“I came to see if you needed anything?”
She must have thought that she was in pain from what Sophie did to her. Grateful for her concern, Amelia smiles at her.
“Nay, Thanks, Ah'm good.”
“Ah, okay, ma’am,” she replies delightfully and is about to leave for the door when Amelia calls her back.
“Wait,” Amelia said.
“I see you know Lady Sophie. Well, is she a good friend of this house?”
The maid hesitates, and Amelia notices this.
“You are free to tell me anything,”
Amelia carefully assures her.
“She used to be ma Laird Oliver’s fiancé,” the maid says cautiously.
Chapter 2
“What!” Amelia exclaims. Her mind begins to spin, trying to make sense of recent events. Did Sophie use to be Oliver’s fiancé? How in the world is that possible? Sophie, she knew, used to be Laird Dunn Gartley's wife, the same Sophie who sleeps with her cruel husband, Laird Clach. How could Oliver choose to befriend or attempt to tie the knot with such a horrible person?
“Are you sure she is the one?” Amelia asks, hoping the maid might have mistaken her for someone else.
“Aye, ma lady. Lady Sophie can never be forgotten. She looks as graceful as she ded years ago.”
Of course, she should have known. Sophie put every effort into looking ageless, and Amelia, who is younger than her, can be mistaken as her elder. Amelia never knew who she was except through Clach, and even till now, she never changed. Therefore, if the maid says she is Sophie, who used to be the lady of the house's madam, then indeed she is the one.
“What happened between her and Oliver?” Amelia asks the maid.
“I don’t know, ma lady.”
The question she asked the maid should have been for Oliver; if Sophie and Oliver were not together, they are the only ones to give reasons for it and not the maid. She dismisses the maid, preventing her curiosity from pushing her into asking further questions and losing face.
“Thank you; you may leave.” The maid bows to her and exits the room.
Her curiosity has been mostly quenched from the information she got from the maid. This explains the question of Sophie’s valor to thump into the castle and order the workers around. She was to be the house's former lady, except for Lady Adair, Oliver’s mother. Most vitally, it clears the air of why she boldly demands Oliver.
Even though she was once the house's lady to be, she has been gone for years, five years, and approaching six. If she enters this castle after all these years, she should have shown some respect to anyone she sees here. That’s right, Amelia thinks. Without the presence of Laird Alexander and his wife, nor the Uncle Elrick, Oliver has left this castle in her care as Dughall, who is another trusted employee of the house, has accompanied Oliver on business. Therefore, Sophie has no right to disrespect her in that manner.
The thought of this pushes Amelia to the door and out toward the living area. Sophie is sipping a cup of tea, looking out of the window, deep in her thoughts, and upon seeing Amelia lets out a smile at the corner of her lip.
“You took so long, I was expecting you,” Sophie says.
“Is Oliver expecting you?” Amelia asks, ignoring her question.
Sophie laughs. “Oliver, not Laird Oliver. Huh, it seems you have no respect for your employer?”
Employer? Is that what she thought? Does her question make her seem like an employee? She knows Sophie and her manipulative nature; she won’t dignify her words with her a response. Ignoring her words, she asks her,
“Why exactly are you here? And why are you looking for Oliver?”
Of course, she knows who she is to Oliver, but she won’t let this disrupt her from accessing her more, especially what intention brought her here.
“You have no right to ask me this. And come to think of it,” Sophie replies as she places her cup on a side table and looks straight at Amelia. “Do you know what Clach would do if he knew you were here?” she says, smiling mischievously.
“To think you left your marriage to whore around here with lairds in a different village. You have no shame!”
Shame? How dare she say that to her? If Clach had treated her right, she wouldn’t have fled or been here in another man’s arms, or home. Nor would she have had to kill Laird Alexander. And, if she is to fish out who is the whore here, it will be her, Sophie, the married woman who had sex with another woman’s husband without remorse. Amelia opens her mouth just to give her a piece of her mind; a familiar voice calls out her name.
“Amelia,” Oliver calls out, approaching toward the living room. His cheery voice calls her again, “You won’t believe what...What on earth!” Oliver exclaims amidst words when he notices Sophie. “Are my eyes deceiving me. Sophie?”
Sophie stands up with a smile and walks toward him, “My love, it’s been ages,” she says in a sweet voice, then hugs him, but Oliver resists.
“What...Why are you here?” Oliver asks her, confused. Amelia can see the pain, delight, and surprise in his expression, which is uncertain.
“I heard about the death of your father. I thought I should...”
“You shouldn’t have,” Oliver snaps as he moves back from her. “It’s been a long time now. All burial rites have been performed.”
“I would have sent my condolences, but I thought I should do it in person,” Sophie says, moving to Oliver again and holding his hand. “Laird Alexander was like a father to me, I owe it to him,” Sophie says in a calm voice.
“If he were alive, you would be the last person he would want to see here.”
“We believe we sorted out our differences. Things happened that way because it was fate.”
“You chose your part, don’t involve fate to this!”
Oliver snaps, and Amelia could sense the irritation in his voice. “Well, your condolences are accepted, you should leave now.”
Oliver walks toward the front door. Sophie follows him in a panic.
“Oliver, I'm sorry, I know I have wronged you, but...”
“There is nothing to apologize for.”
He opens the door,
“You should leave now.”
Sophie looks at him for a few seconds, and she could see the sting in it. “It’s been a long journey. I will leave in the morn,” Sophie quickly adds. “Or else you still want me to leave, but you know how dangerous it is for a lady to be out there late at night.”
Oliver, silent for a few seconds, mutters, “Fine. You can leave in the morn.”
Oliver proceeds to storm out of the room without saying a word to Amelia.
Chapter 3
The next morning, Oliver wakes up with a headache, and he is sure what caused it; he barely slept last night. Throughout the night, he has been rolling on each side of his bed, trying to make meaning of his previous encounter yesterday—especially who he saw in the living room, Sophie.
Not that he was expecting any visitors; she was the last person he had ever imagined he would see. He has fought so hard to forget the one person he has thought about for the past five years, the very person who contributed to why he left Montrose for Dunfermline. His first love, who he worked so hard to see her memory fade.
Just when he thought he was about to have a perfect life, she shows up randomly in this very castle where she had left her, even after he pleaded with her in tears. How bold of her! It’s been a month and weeks now since he buried his father; why does she still insist on paying her condolences? She knew perfectly well that many people detest her here because of the trauma she caused in this household. Well, he knows her well; Sophie has always been a lady who fiercely goes after what she wants without a second thought.
Sitting on his bed, lost in his thoughts, Oliver could still remember how his mother had begged Sophie when she announced that she is no longer interested in the marriage anymore. She had pleaded with her, giving her many reasons why her marriage to Oliver will be a happy one. Still, Sophie’s mind was made up. Upon seeing him broken, his mother had been devastated. She did everything she could to make him see life beautifully again.
If his parents were still alive to see the same Sophie in their castle, trying to make peace, they would have seen her leave, no matter how late she came visiting. When she started seeing Oliver, his family had seen her as a daughter, another member of the family, They took her as their other child, but she disappointed them even with their act of kindness, especially that of his mother.
She is here, crawling back to him, calling him “love” as if there were no differences between them. When she said that she couldn’t leave yesterday evening because it was getting late, she knew he would not send her away nor allow her to be hurt. She
had her way of manipulating him, and foolishly he succumbed to it. Well, the night is gone, and the morning is here, he hopes she will be on her way to wherever she came from.
Even when he thought this castle would bring him unwanted memories of her, luckily it didn’t, lots of events have occupied his mind. Thanks to Amelia, who he believes has a genuine love for him, they have had their differences concerning his father, but the truth made him think she does love him. And speaking of Amelia, where is she? He hasn’t spoken to her since he came back yesterday.
He remembered seeing her in the living room yesterday when he saw Sophie. Also, when he walked away into his chambers, she was standing there, watching all the events without a word. Or has Amelia figured out who Sophie is? Did Sophie tell her? It was unwise of him to walk away then in anger and even lock himself in his chambers without explaining things to Amelia. His rage was toward Sophie and not with Amelia.
He stands up from his bed as his stomach rumbles in hunger; he didn’t eat anything yesterday evening as he was fuming. He will have breakfast with Amelia, but he needs to apologize to her for his irrational behaviour before they do.
He shouldn’t have walked past her the way he did without explaining why things were like that. And most significantly, he owes her an explanation of who Sophie is and how she is linked to him. These matters are not a discussion they should have over a meal, but one they should discuss without any distractions. And probably, they could also talk about what she said she wanted to tell him earlier yesterday morning.
Unlocking his door, he walks out of his chamber, heading to Amelia’s. Still, he sees the one person he never wishes to see this morning.
Highlander's Triangle Of Passion: A Highlander Steamy Romance Short Read (Highland Lover Series Book 3) Page 1
