Page 27 of Ruined By the Ruthless Highlander
Her eyebrows knitted together as she pulled back from the hug, trying to figure out what had happened.
“Excuse me, Mrs. Campbell,” she spoke up, her voice returning to its usual politeness, though it was laced with curiosity. “Did you take one… or two?”
Mrs. Campbell looked down at the table, her eyebrows flying up in surprise. “Nay, me Lady. The plate was neatly arranged, and now…”
“It is nearly empty,” Marian finished for her.
“I shall send for more,” Mrs. Campbell said, before quickly stepping out to find a maid.
Marian examined the plate again, certain it hadn’t been like that before.
I’m sure it’s different.
She reached for another bannock and set it carefully on the edge of the table before tasting one herself. Her eyes closed as it melted on her tongue, warm and soft with a light, buttery richness and a faint crispness at the edges.
Mrs. MacBride is certainly the best at what she does. But that temper…
Mrs. Campbell returned with a fresh batch, and they savored them together. She shared some Highland gossip, and they laughed, bonding over what was left of the tea.
Moments later, Lilly returned with a young captain at her back and a wide smile on her face.
Marian recognized the captain as the Laird’s closest man.
“My Lady!” Lilly beamed, rushing toward her in excitement. “The estate is…”
Just then, Marian saw something out of the corner of her eye that made her freeze. She recovered and turned quickly toward the corner of the table where she had placed the bannock, but it had already vanished.
“Lilly,” her voice dropped to a whisper.
Lilly turned to her immediately. “Yes, my Lady?”
Marian heard a faint creak and slowly pointed in its direction. Something small and gray darted across the room in a flash, and she gasped.
“Did you see that?”
Lilly grabbed the back of a chair, holding it as if to shield herself from the ghost. “I did, my Lady,” she squeaked.
The young captain stepped forward, as if to rescue her.
“The castle is haunted,” Mrs. Campbell whispered with conviction.
Marian shot up, a sudden rush of determination replacing fear. “Nonsense,” she huffed. “This ends today.”
And when the shadow darted toward the door and slipped into the hallway, she followed it without a second thought.
CHAPTER TEN
Marian’s heart thumped loudly in her chest. Her steps slowed in the middle of a long, dark corridor, before she drew to a halt, looking around.
Where am I?
Her eyes narrowed as they adjusted to the darkness around her.
The corridor was long, dusty, and, save for a single torch flickering in the distance, completely empty.
Marian hadn’t thought about it when she ran after the creature—or ghost, if Lilly were to be believed—but she barely knew her way around the castle, and only now did she start to slowly realize that she might be lost.
Perhaps there is a way out ahead.
