Page 50 of Sinbound to the Highlander
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An incensed scream had Freya bolting out of bed and grabbing at her dressing robe, she ran out of the room, just as Lady Grace and Laird Aidan were rushing out of theirs. Elspeth’s room door was open, and inside was pure mayhem.
A maid was cowering on the far wall, and Elspeth was in the motion of flinging a vase at her, while screaming, “Thief!”
The vase shattered on the wall with an ear-splintering crash, flinging shards all around the room, adding to the broken remains of another jar on the ground. Horrified, Freya stepped away when Lady Grace and Laird Aidan hurried into the room, the older woman, to her daughter, and the Laird to the poor woman cowering for her life.
“Elspeth!” Lady Grace cried. “What is happenin’?”
Aiming a shaking finger at her maid, Elspeth said, “She is a thief, Maither. I woke up to find my pearl earrings gone, and she was in my room!”
The poor woman was shaking in Laird Aidan’s hold, “I dinnae take yer things, Miss, I swear.”
“And ye ken I’d believe that?” Elspeth hissed. “Why should I take yer word for it? Ye’re nothin’ but a penniless, simpleton, foul little wretch, with nae prospects and nothin’ to yer name so ye can only rely on thievery. Yer word has nay merit here, because ye are allliars, and when I’m yer lady, I will have ye all removed! Ye hear me! All of ye will be gone! I will nae have ye disrespect me in me house, and daenae ye look at me as if we are equals. Yer eyes should be on the floor!”
Lady Grace’s face went bloodless, and Freya, wondering what was making her so afraid, turned and felt her knees buckle under her—Evan was standing at the doorway.
When Elspeth realized it as well, she blanched. “Laird Ruthven.”
Evan turned to the maid, “Grizel, did ye have any dealings with Miss Milleson’s belongings?”
Grizel shook her head, her face pale and her eyes wide, “Nay, Me Laird. I dinnae.”
Nodding to her, Evan said, “She says she dinnae take it, Miss Milleson.”
“And ye believe her?” Elspeth gasped. “How could ye be so foolish to believe the words of aservant?” Her disgusted tone, when saying the word servant, was like a slap across Freya’s face. If she felt so horrified, Freya could only dare suppose what Evan was feeling.
Evan’s expression was blank, and as he was about to speak, Lady Grace, in a distraught tone, interrupted, “She dinnae take them, Elspeth… I did.”
Freya felt faint, and had to suck in a sharp breath. She held it in as her eyes flicked between Elspeth, Lady Grace, and Evan. Elspeth was staring at her mother, lips open and aghast.
“What?” Elspeth demanded.
“I took them last eve,” Lady Grace said regretfully. “But I forgot to put the set of emerald gems in replacement. I kent they would be a nice surprise for ye, but I also forgot to tell ye. Miss Grizel did naythin’ wrong, Elspeth. The fault rests with me.”
Unable to take much more, Freya sagged on the wall and pressed her hand to her pounding chest. Elspeth had just shown her colors to all who would see them. Laird Aidan’s face was set in rigor, and Lady Grace’s was sallow.
Tugging away from her mother, Elspeth sunk to her bed, crossed her arms and pouted, “Well, ye should have told me.”
She willnae apologize, will she?
A stifled pause heralded a suffocating silence, and as Freya had suspected, Elspeth did not utter one word of apology. Instead, she just stared petulantly out the window with her arms crossed over her chest.
Evan turned to Laird Aidan and asked, “Laird Lobhdain, may I speak with ye in me office for a moment, and Grizel, ye may go to yer room and rest.”
With a hurried bob of her head, Grizel hurried out of the room while Elspeth kept sulking. Laird Lobhdain’s face had not moved from the flinty set it had taken on, but he nodded curtly to Evan and walked out. Unsure of what to do, Freya lingered at the doorway.
“Elspeth,” Lady Grace said, “what ye just did was unacceptable, unprincipled, and very reckless. Ye’ve just destroyed the Laird’s property and insulted him by accusin’ his people of thievery.”
Narrowing her eyes, Elspeth said, “What other conclusions should I have come to? The earrings were there, and then, they were gone. I have never trusted servants, and they’re all filthy liars.”
“Do ye realize ye might have endangered yer engagement?” Lady Grace looked at her with distress coloring her every word. “Elspeth, ye cannae be threatenin’ people that have done naythin’ to ye. Ye should have come to me instead of raising a ruckus.”
Sniffing, Elspeth said, “I want to go home. Laird Ruthven will still marry me because I am the best he will ever get.”
Sickened with her sister’s conceit, Freya nearly retreated to her room, when a strange look crossed Lady Grace’s face—it was an intense mix of regret, pain, and disappointment. She was looking at her daughter as if Elspeth was a strange creature, one she did not recognize.
Lady Grace’s lips flattened in resolve, but Freya did not know what that resolution was. “Stay here, Elspeth, I’m going to join yer Faither and speak to the Laird. Hopefully, there is some way we can get ye out of this mess.”
