Page 15 of The Veiled Wish of a Highland Bride

Just then, Archibald stopped an elderly looking woman who was carrying some bags of produce from the market.

“Greetings, mistress,” he said.

To Mia, the woman barely looked like amistress. She was in her middle age, but something about her small physique gave her a youthful look. It was obvious to Mia why Archibald had chosen her. She had a certain aura of confidence and kindness, and she looked to be the kind of woman who would help a stranger off the street. Her hair was caked in dirt, but her eyes shone brightly.

“Do ye live around here, ma'am?”

Mia presumed the woman must have thought they wanted to ask for directions. She nodded gently, and Mia could not help but notice her graceful stance, like a fighter in the field. It was the type of aura that Mia’s father had so desperately tried to encourage inher, but she had been far too clumsy for any sort of grace on the battlefield.

Mia chipped in at this point. “Och, I hate to be a bother, but I've been in a wee bit of an accident. Ye see, I lost my way and was wandering around all night in the woods, but my husband will consider this an excuse rather than take it as fact.”

She paused to gauge the woman's reaction, but the woman simply stared at her, unblinking.

“I was hoping ye could help me by accompanying me home and explaining to the guards that I was sick and ye took me in for the night. Ye neednae enter my home if ye deem it fit nae to. I just hope I can escape my husband’s unnecessary fury, for he can be a tad quick to anger. Ye ken these Highland men and their tempers…”

“Naturally,” Archibald interjected, shaking the purse affixed to his belt, “we can pay ye some for yer time. What do ye say?”

The woman smiled graciously.

“What is yer name, lass?” She stared directly at Mia and ignored Archibald's bribe.

Mia glanced at Archie, unsure if she should answer. The woman did not seem to care about payment. Mia could always say she was a simple maid working at the keep. Why bother telling her something she might regret?

The woman waved her off. “Ye ken what? Ye will have to pardon my manners,” she babbled. “I am too nosey for me own good. Of course, I will help ye home. I ken how worrisome men can be about their wives. Are ye newly married, young one?”

Mia could not help but smile back. “Yes. Just about a year now.”

“Ah, see? Lads are still hot-blooded around this time,” the woman replied.

There was something oddly familiar about her, but she couldn’t put a finger on it. She reasoned that perhaps the woman had visited the castle once or twice to present the Laird with a grievance, or something of the sort.

Archie had sauntered off to find a horse for the woman to ride. The keep was still some distance away. After they had successfully mounted their horses, Archibald waved the women off, having promised to carry the woman’s wares to her home.

Mia felt suddenly saddened and alone. She had grown attached to the man, having spent so much time with him, but she knew that whatever had come between them ended with their one night in the woods. However, she indulged herself in the thought of him perhaps someday being a friend to her, just like Clyde. She could use all the friends she could get.

The woman had agreed to the payment at Mia's insistence. Riding slowly to the keep, the woman asked her the same question again.

“What is yer name, lass? Ye dinnae have to tell me, but it might make the story more convincing, ye ken.”

Mia wished she did not have to share that she was Lady Murray to this woman. She had hoped the woman would believe her to be one of the servants' wives. Something nudged her to tell the truth.

“I am Lady Murray,” she replied quietly.

“I see… And what is yer first name, my lady?” the woman asked again.

“Mia.”

“Mia, who is married to Laird Murray.”

“Aye,” Mia replied, chuckling at the oddness of the question.

The woman smiled back at her.

She felt comfortable with the woman, despite her somewhat intrusive questions. She was grateful that she had agreed to help her out, so much that she kept answering her questions even when the woman asked her about her childhood and family.

As they neared the castle gates, Mia began feigning a shiver, wrapping herself up in her cloak. The woman jutted her chin upwards and rehearsed the lines that Archibald had told her to speak.

“Halt!”

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