Page 29 of The Highland Heir

Jenny laughed as she gathered her basket.

“My brother worries too much. If I had beenso ill, I wouldn’t have wasted my strength to write to him aboutsuch mundane things as going riding and getting caught in the rain.Which I’m sure is how I caught a chill.”

“I thought your illness a timely convenienceif one wished to avoid the games at the castle.” Ella lookedstraight ahead with only a small smile on her lips.

“You have grown wise, niece. I’ll say youtake after me in that way.”

“Why do you not live at the castle, as isyour right?”

“I grew weary of castle life and even moreweary of the expectations inside those walls.”

“You speak of marriage?”

“Aye. Though I’m too old for my brother, thelaird, to bind me to someone in an alliance, I wouldn’t put it pasthim if he noticed some visitor taking an interest in me.”

“Would that be so bad? To marry?”

“When one has given their heart to another,it is an impossible thing. Sure to bring nothing but pain to theperson unlucky enough to be snared to a heartless bride.”

Ella frowned. She’d often thought herselfsimilar to her aunt. Both had a pleasant character with a heartysense of humor. She didn’t realize they were alike in this way aswell.

She wondered if she might be able to confidein her aunt about her growing feelings for Kieran. But she didn’twant to hear the truth Aunt Jenny would no doubt bestow upon her.Ella wasn’t ready to give up on her fantasies.

Jenny cleared her throat and pressed her lipsinto a smile.

“It is nice that my wee brother cares enoughto look after me.”

Ella nodded, knowing her father worried overJenny. He had asked her many times to move to Caithness with them.But Jenny always replied that she liked being on her own.

Yet every time Ella visited, Jenny seemedlonely.

Her father had once said Jenny would probablynever live with them while they lived on Sinclair lands, but he’dnever said why. And maybe Ella had never asked.

“Auntie, do you have an issue with theSinclairs?” she asked now.

Jenny’s smile dropped immediately, and sheshook her head with more vigor than a simple denial.

“Why would I care one way or another aboutthe Sinclairs?”

Kieran often answered her questions withother questions when he was trying to avoid answering her. Itseemed Jenny had mastered the technique as well.

“I didn’t say you would care at all about theSinclairs, but we live in Caithness; it would be easy enough foryou to live there with us.”

“I like my freedom.”

“As you’ve said. You wouldn’t need to live inour cottage. You could live in your own home, just close enoughthat we could see each other more often.” It would have been nicehaving a woman around when she was younger and her body andemotions seemed to have taken over.

“I’m settled here.” She waved the basketaround at the village.

In previous visits, Jenny had introduced herto some of the villagers, but Ella wouldn’t have called them dearfriends of her aunt. She wasn’t particularly close to her brother,the laird. From what Ella could tell, Jenny rarely even visited thecastle. And had clearly used her illness to get out of attendingthe games.

Ella would remember to ask her father aboutit when she returned home. She didn’t like Jenny living here alone.Not that she was too old to care for herself—she was fit andindependent.

But then Ella remembered why it might bebetter for her aunt to stay here in Kildary. So Ella might have aplace to live if she found it too difficult to stay at home afterKieran married.

After yesterday, when he’d gotten herflowers, it was easy to pretend they would still be friends.

She hadn’t forgotten her world was about toshift, but she rather wished she could.