Page 34 of The Curse of McMillan Castle
Cooper smiled at her as she turned in her seat to look at him.
“Aye, lad?”
“Why don’t you and Jerry just move to the past with us? I miss you every day that I don’t get to see you. Things would just be so much better if you were there.”
Morna closed her eyes as she reached back to squeeze his knee. When she opened them, Cooper thought he could see tears in her eyes.
“Ach, lad. Ye canna ken how much it means to me that ye love us so, but me place isna where yers is. It hasna been for a verra long time. There is still much work I must do here.”
Rosie spoke up beside him. “What exactly is your job, Morna?”
“’Tis no’ a job, truly. ’Tis more me passion. I am quite fond of making love matches across time.”
Cooper smiled as Rosie glanced over at him with dubious eyes.
“Why across time?”
Morna shrugged. “Some of us are born out of time, lass, and ’tis me gift to fix that.”
Cooper watched as Rosie contemplated.
“So did you have something to do with the painting? Are you trying to set up Duncan and my mom?”
Morna hesitated for a brief moment before replying. “I’ll answer ye honestly, though I fear ye may think less of me for it. I did no’ bind Osla’s soul to that painting. ’Tis much darker magic than I’ve e’er had a mind to do. While I doona suppose any of us shall e’er ken for certain, I believe Osla bound herself to the painting when she ken someone within the castle meant her harm, not understanding what the curse would mean for herself after her death.
“That being said, I did come to ken of the painting some time before ye all came to ask for me help. And I may have made some effort to insure the painting found its way to Duncan, sure that he would be led to do the right thing and return it to McMillan Castle, and that ye and yer mother would be at the castle when he did so.”
Cooper could see that Rosie was thinking over Morna’s words, so he spoke up in her stead.
“So they are supposed to be together then? Duncan and Ms. Madeline?”
Morna nodded. “I believe they would make a fine match. But I will do nae more than I have to secure it. They are well on their way to seeing that for themselves. The rest is up to them.”
Cooper laughed. “That’s not like you.”
“What can I say, lad? Mayhap I am becoming less forceful in me old age.”
“Morna, why did you say we would think less of you? I don’t see what you did wrong.”
Morna sighed, and returned her gaze to the road in front of them. “’Tis only that I kenned of the lassie’s trapped soul and did nothing until ye came seeking me help. ’Tis no’ kind. Though in the realm of souls, a few moons is nothing. The lass has been trapped there for years. I dinna think a few more weeks would do her harm if it meant two others found love in the meantime. Still, ’tis morally questionable behavior.”
Cooper was no longer listening to Morna’s explanation. He knew that Morna always had a good reason for whatever she chose to do. Instead, his attention was back on Rosie, who seemed lost in thought.
He reached out and tapped on her leg. “Are you okay?”
Rosie blinked as if pulling herself from her thoughts and turned to smile at him. “Yeah, I’m okay. Just thinking.”
Cooper said nothing, but anxiety built in him. Lately, it never seemed to fair well for him when Rosie got to thinking too much.
* * *
Rosie
Rosie knew her judgment of Duncan had been right. Straight away, she’d liked him. Now she knew why. Only problem was, Rosie knew her mother well. If there was any way for her to mess things up, she would.
Rosie didn’t understand it—her mother’s addiction to unhappiness. Rosie thought about her father every single day, but she knew that he wanted her to be happy. He would have wanted the same for her mother, too. Rosie knew it as surely as she’d ever known anything.
Duncan’s stonework at McMillan Castle was almost complete. As quickly as Duncan and Cooper progressed, Rosie didn’t imagine they had more than a handful of days left. She would have to be on high alert, for any sign that her mother was attempting to sabotage her relationship with Duncan.
