Page 62 of Cottage in the Mist
“Fair-headed did you say?” Iain asked, breaking into Bram’s thoughts.
“Aye, the color of straw,” Bram acknowledged grudgingly.
“And was he tall?” Iain questioned.
“Yes. Tall and brawny and handsome, if you must know.” His nails dug into the stone as he fought his emotions.
“And you said they were in Lily’s chamber. At Duncreag.”
“Come now, Iain,” Ranald groused. “You don’t have to rub it in. Canna you see that the man is hurting?”
Iain waved a hand absently in Ranald’s direction, his focus still on Bram. “And the vision, it was in Lily’s time, not ours.”
Bram closed his eyes and forced himself to see her again—standing with the stranger, their hands linked. “Aye. Her time. His clothes were as strange looking as hers.”
“Surely in this situation clothes are a good thing,” Ranald quipped, lifting an eyebrow.
Bram scowled at him.
“And could you see the man’s face clearly?” Iain asked, ignoring Ranald’s attempt at levity.
Bram shifted his attention to Iain, uncertain where his cousin was leading, but then nodded once, humoring him anyway. “The damned thing is burned in my brain. All blue eyes and floppy hair—and he was smiling down at Lily as if he had every right to put his hands on her.” Anger washed through him again, and he tossed the stone into the fire.
“You said he was only holding her hands. That’s hardly all over her, now, is it?” Ranald was trying to help. Bram understood it intellectually, but emotionally it still wasn’t working.
“Did he perchance look like my wife?” Iain asked, patently ignoring Ranald’s nattering.
Bram lifted his head in surprise, his mind obligingly presenting an image of Katherine. Her bright hair and laughing eyes. He sucked in a breath. “Now that you mention it, he did seem to favor her.” He waved at his own face, still concentrating on the images in his head. “The shape o’ his eyes and his hair, but also the tilt o’ his mouth and the turn of his chin.”
“You think it was Jeff making eyes at Lily?” Ranald asked, then immediately clapped a hand over his mouth. “I dinna mean…” He trailed off, his gaze dropping to his feet.
“Jeff?” Bram barked out the name. “Katherine’s brother?”
“The man who came here to help us rescue her,” Iain confirmed.
“But I… he…”
“Is married to someone else. Or at least I assume they married. He was most definitely in love with her when he was here.”
“Her name was Elaine,” Ranald offered helpfully. “She was Katherine’s best friend before, well, before Iain.”
“Aye, Lily mentioned them both.”
“Then you’ve no need to worry,” Ranald replied.
“You dinna see them…” Bram was having trouble finding words. “They were…”
“Anything is possible, I’ll grant you that.” Iain, as usual, spoke without gilding the truth. “But the Jeff we knew was an honorable man. And he certainly had no interest in any lass except Elaine.”
“Then why was he—“ Bram started, only to be interrupted by Ranald.
“You said they were holding hands. Looking in to each other’s eyes.” His cousin waited for Bram to nod and then continued. “Well, if I remember correctly, Jeff traveled both here and back on sheer determination. It’s possible he was trying to help Lily.”
“To do what?” Bram asked, anger, regret and frustration still clogging his mind.
“Get back to you, you great oaf,” Ranald said with a frown. “I know from personal experience that telling a woman to wait for you is like waving a red flag and daring her to come after you. Especially if she fancies she’s in love.”
“Ranald’s right. When a woman believes the man she loves is in danger—“ Iain’s gaze encompassed them both. “—there’s naught anything anyone can do or say to stop her. The only thing left then is to offer to help in whatever way possible.”
