Page 67 of The Runaway Bride and the Highlander
Skylar looked at him openly, eager to know what he desired from her. “Anything, my love,” she replied.
“Dinnae ever kiss my forehead again.”
EPILOGUE
1719, Isle of Skye
30 years later
Skylar took a long sip of her tea while the others looked at her patiently. This storytelling business was thirsty work, and she was already on her second cup. She was actually surprised at how much she could remember, given it had been so long ago, and yet, like links in a chain, when she remembered one thing, another thing seemed to pop into her head.
“Perhaps we could have another cup,” she said, lifting her teacup to Rowan.
“Och, aye, I’d like another too,” Thea added.
“My god, what did yer last skivvy die o’?” Rowan huffed playfully. “Very well. I suppose I could do with another myself.”
Pushing herself from her chair, she lifted the kettle off the hook over the fireplace, and as the metal lid rattled with her movement, she went to fetch some more water. It was already past noon, and Skylar could hardly believe how much time had flown by. Getting lost in one’s past seemed to do that though, for she had at times slipped into daydreams of days gone by, only to rouse herself and discover hours had disappeared from her day.
Skylar noticed that Lana had not said anything about wanting more tea and, looking over at her sister, watched her as she appeared to be lost in thought. Even as an old lady, Lana still wore her beautiful hair down. It framed her round face and made her look younger than her years. Skylar had never seen her wear it any other way, but she knew there was a reason for that, for the mark of her power was hidden behind those long locks. As she thought about Lana’s gift, she could only imagine what it felt like having that power.
A teacup smashing onto the floor interrupted Skylar’s thoughts and brought her up sharply.
“My god,” she gasped. “I swear ye’re going tae kill us with shock one o’ these days, Rowan,” Skylar continued, now holding a hand to her breast, where her heart thumped madly against her ribcage.
“Talking about shock,” Thea said to Skylar, completely ignoring her younger sister’s clumsiness. “I still cannae imagine the shock ye must have felt when Johnson threw ye that pouch with Lana’s hair in it.” Thea shook her head dramatically. “I think I would have keeled over on the spot.”
“It wasnae long after that I did faint, Thea. Remember me telling ye?” Skylar said. “I was so worried for her. I kent the kind o’ man Johnson was and couldnae have imagined what poor Lana was going through at the time.”
“It was a dreadful, dreadful time. I’ll never forget how terrified I was when they cut it,” Lana said wistfully, still not looking directly at her sisters but aimlessly staring into space while stroking her hair as she spoke.
“Well, at least it grew back,” Rowan quipped, hooking the kettle back above the fire now she had refilled it and returned. “I kent a woman half my age who was bald as a coot. Honestly, ye would have thought she’d have worn a hat to cover it, but I swear, I nearly think she was proud of her baldness. She’d wander around the village with her shiny pink head. That kind o’ thing could put ye off yer supper.”
Thea burst into peals of laughter at Rowan’s comment, and Skylar could not help but join in. “Why, Rowan?” Thea said, still laughing. “Did it remind ye o’ something else?”
Skylar knew what Thea referred to and found herself a little shocked. She shouldn’t have been really, not when she thought of all the passionate lovemaking that she had shared with Maxwell over the years.
“Let me tell ye, Thea,” Rowan replied as quick as a whippet. “I never had tae closely inspect one tae ken.”
This comment only made Thea laugh harder, and Skylar also found herself chuckling raucously at her sister’s filthy talk. Rowan had always had a fast mind and a tongue to match, and often, she said things without even realizing how funny she really was.
“I dinnae think I’d want tae inspect one,” Thea said, tears streaming down her face. “They’re the ugliest thing on the entirety o’ a man’s body. Give me a firm bottom any day o’ the week.”
“Och, I have nae seen a firm bottom in years,” Rowan said.
Once more, the sisters giggled uncontrollably. Skylar now felt pain in her side from the effort. The laughter carried on for another minute until eventually Thea and Skylar both finally calmed themselves.
“My god, I dinnae think I’ve laughed so much in years,” Thea said.
Rowan lifted the kettle off the fire again and poured the hot water into the teapot. After giving it a good stir, she slowly lowered herself back down into her chair.
“Whatever is the matter with ye, Lana?” she asked.
It was only at Rowan’s comment that Skylar realized that Lana had not joined in with their camaraderie, and as she and Thea were now fully settled again, they all turned to look at her. Even now, she still looked buried in her thoughts, and Skylar knew well it had to do with the story she had told them.
All these things had been so very long ago, but reliving them brought up memories which in turn resurrected the emotions that were felt at the time. She knew that for a fact, for as she had relayed the story to them all, she had felt a great mixture of them herself. Perhaps too much had been said already. Perhaps it was better to leave the past firmly in the past where it belonged. Reminiscing was one thing, but reliving such horrors was something different entirely.
“Maybe we shouldnae talk about what happened anymore,” Skylar suggested. “There’s too much pain in all those memories.”
