Page 25 of To Serve a Laird
Please write back and tell me that all is well with you because I think of you every day and I must know if you are well. If you are not, please let me come and take you away.
Please reply as soon as you can, Claire. I am anxiously waiting to hear from you, my dear sister.
All my love,
Rose.
Claire read the last words and began to weep silently. She could almost hear Rose, with her husky voice, saying the words she had written. At that moment, she wanted more than anything else in the world to be able to hug and kiss both of her sisters and tell them how much she loved them.
She immediately began writing her answer. After all, it was not like she could focus on any of her tasks with thoughts of Iain plaguing her.
Claire knew that she would have to be sparing with her parchment, since she still had to write a letter to Amanda, so she kept her writing as small as she could. It did not occur to her for a moment that she should compose a shorter letter; she had a lot to tell her sister and she wanted to express herself properly.
She thought for a long time before putting pen to paper, then began:
Dear Rose,
You have no idea how much I have longed to hear from you. Let me tell you at once how absolutely overjoyed I am to hear your news about little Barbara. I think she is a very fortunate child to have such a wonderful mother because I know that you will be one of the best mothers who ever lived.
Things are slowly getting better here. The women I work with seemed to have calmed down a little, probably because they can see that I really am trying my best to work as hard as they do. It has helped me to see life from another perspective, and I am very grateful for that.
Unfortunately, I still haven’t been able to make any friends here yet, but maybe that will come in time.
Claire paused for a moment, trying to decide whether to tell Rose her real experience in Glengar Castle; the unkind jokes thrown at her, the scornful looks, the kiss with Iain…
In the end, she decided to say nothing, because she knew that Rose would worry, and she did not want to cause her sister any distress, since she had a new baby to cope with. As well as that, Rose seemed to have an idyllic life, and Claire had no wish to spoil it.
You will be pleased to hear that there is an absolutely magnificent library here, and after the Laird caught me trying to sneak into it one night, he allowed me to borrow some books. I am taking the opportunity to teach myself some Scottish history, since I think it will help me to understand more about life here.
You asked if you could come and fetch me, but for the moment I am quite happy apart from the fact that I miss you and Amanda, but I have a story to see through here.
However, I will try to finish it as soon as I can, and we will be reunited soon, so I can see my new niece.
Thank you for everything, my dear Rose, and please send my love to Cormac, Elspeth, Nell, and little Babs, and of course, take a mountain of love for yourself.
Your dearest sister,
Claire.
Claire read over the letter again, trying to think of anything she had missed, but of course, it was too late to do anything about it now. The writing was crammed onto the page in such small letters that she hoped Rose would actually be able to read it.
She sealed the letter and wrote her sister’s name on it before putting it aside till the morning. The news of the baby had surprised her, even though she knew it should not have.
Cormac and Rose were in the first months of their marriage, and no doubt their love would be strong and passionate, and now it had grown into a new life. How she envied them!
12
Claire was exhausted, both physically and mentally, and had to drag herself out of bed the next morning, having slept very badly. Rose’s letter, telling her about the baby, had disturbed her more than she had thought possible.
Although she had never before longed for a child, she could not help picturing a little baby boy that looked just like Iain Ross, and despite telling herself again and again not to be so foolish, the thought kept her awake. Indeed, she could not remember the last time she had enjoyed a decent night’s sleep.
As soon as she went into the kitchen, looking tired and bleary-eyed, she was ambushed by Lorna, who narrowed her eyes and said, “My god, dae a’ Sassenachs look like you first thing in the mornin’?” Then she burst out laughing, and many of the others joined in.
Claire bunched her hands into fists by her side, and only just stopped herself from planting a fist in Lorna’s face with a great effort of will. She had thought that the other maids were thawing out a little and treating her with a little less hostility, but whenever Lorna was around, they seemed to go back to being as cruel as they had always been.
One of these days, Lorna, you are going to go too far,Claire thought.
She had managed to keep her anger in check for the whole time she had been in the castle, but constant lack of sleep and the unfriendly environment in which she found herself were wearing her down. She was on the verge of lashing out and putting Lorna in her place, and that would not be pretty.
