Beauty and the Beastly Highlander by Kenna Kendrick

Chapter Three

“Are ye all right, then?” Aisling asked.

Olivia pursed her lips and was doing her best to control her emotions. Aisling, who had been her lady in waiting and best friend since they were children, took her hand and gave it a gentle squeeze. Aisling was the daughter of her mother’s former lady in waiting. And though Aisling’s mother returned to Ireland after Olivia’s parents were killed, she stayed, unwilling to leave Olivia. And she was forever thankful to Aisling for that.

“I’m all right,” she said. “If you want to get settled into the carriage, I’ll be there in just a moment.”

Aisling squeezed her hand once more before climbing into the carriage. Olivia’s uncle stepped close to her, taking up the hand Aisling had just released. His expression was mournful, but he quickly gained control, masking his emotions once more. She knew he needed to show strength—especially in front of the household staff.

“Please convey my best regards to the Laird and Lady Drummond,” Olivia’s uncle said.

“I will,” she replied.

Standing next to the carriage, Olivia looked around the bailey of the keep for what she thought would be the last time. The entire household staff had turned out to bid her farewell—or rather, had been ordered to. They all stood behind her, and Olivia felt their eyes on her. She felt the weight of their gaze and felt sure they were all looking at her mark.

Pulling the hood of her cloak lower, she continued to look around at the high stone walls of the keep—her home. She would not let these cruel people deprive her of one final look at the keep. Here, she had spent all of her twenty-four summers and was the only home she’d ever known. It was where she’d grown up and where she had thought she would spend her entire life. When she was a girl, she’d dreamed of raising her own family within those stone walls. It would have been an excellent place to raise children, build a life, and carry on all the best traditions of her family.

But those dreams had all come crashing down around her. All her plans and dreams lay smoldering in a pile of wreckage. And no matter how kindly the move was intentioned, Olivia couldn’t help but feel that she was being banished.

She understood why her uncle was sending her north. His decision and his reasoning for it made perfect sense. But knowing she would never walk the stone walls of her family’s keep again was too much to bear. To know that she would never sit beneath the trees in the garden, or breathe in the delicate aromas of the flowers, or hear the birds call overhead left her heart shattered.

“I will miss this place,” she said softly, tears welling in her eyes.

“And we will miss having you here,” he replied.

His cheeks and nose were red, and her uncle looked as if he were holding back tears of his own. He reached out for her and pulled Olivia into a tight embrace, and stroked her hair. She genuinely felt that he would to miss her, and while that did nothing to blunt the pain in her heart, it made her feel slightly better to know this was not easy for him either.

Her uncle stepped back and gave her a small, sad smile. “Off you go then. And please, write to us, Niece. Let us know how you are getting on in the north.”

“I will, Uncle.”

Giving him one last wavering smile, she turned and climbed into the carriage. Her uncle stepped forward and shut the door. He turned and gave the four men on horseback—her guardsmen—a nod.

“Keep my niece safe,” he said, his voice solemn. “Get her to Glaslaw Castle safely.”

“Aye, m’lord,” replied the man in command.

Her uncle stepped back again and raised his hand in farewell as Olivia sat back and the carriage lurched to a start. When they passed the gates of the keep and were out on the road, the carriage bouncing and shuddering as it rolled through the rough and pitted dirt road, Olivia stuck her head out the window. Two men in armor rode ahead of the carriage while one rode on her left and her right. She knew a man was sitting on the seat at the rear of the carriage to prevent anybody from riding up behind and catching them unaware.

Her uncle had sent many men with her, tasked with keeping her safe. She was glad for it, though, and it made her breathe somewhat easier. Her parents had been murdered while traveling in a carriage, and ever since, Olivia distrusted that mode of travel. In fact, she hardly went anywhere. She’d hidden within the walls of the keep and rarely went out because of her mark, and she was terrified to travel.

“Well, it seems as if we’re off on a grand adventure, eh?” Aisling asked with a smile.

“I suppose so.”

Aisling frowned. “I ken ye’re nae happy about this. But it could be thae best thing that ever happened tae ye,” she said. “Gettin’ a fresh start in a new place? Not only that but gettin’ away from that horrid wretch Catherine… those are good things. I ken it may nae feel like it now, but ye’ll see. It’ll be good for ye.”

Olivia leaned back against the seat and closed her eyes, her body swaying with the rhythm of the carriage as it bounced and rolled along the road. Her mind drifted back to the night that changed her life forever—and not necessarily for the better. Her parents had traveled to a neighboring keep to visit the lord who resided there.

Her father hadn’t told her many of the details about the purpose of the visit but said it had to do with building an alliance. At the time, Olivia thought her father was trying to secure her a suitable match. But she felt he didn’t want to raise her hopes again and so had not wanted to tell her. He had been trying for several years to marry her to a man he considered worthy of his only daughter. But her mark had left her without any viable matches.

“I don’t see how things will be any different in Scotland than they are here,” she said. “It isn’t as if I am leaving this mark behind.”

Aisling opened her mouth to speak but closed it again without saying anything. There really was nothing for her to say because Olivia was right. Changing her location would do nothing to change her fortune. Her mark would see to that. Aside from Aisling, whom she loved like a sister, Olivia was going to be as alone in Scotland as she was in England.

Even worse, there would be new people to contend with, people who had never seen her mark before and who would feel less compelled to keep their cruel remarks to themselves. Olivia sighed and settled back in her seat again, trying to push away all the thoughts and fears that rampaged through her mind.