Page 53 of A Nameless Highland Laird
A clock on the mantle chimed just as a knock sounded at her door. It was either the messenger back to fetch her reply or it was Elizabeth. It suddenly dawned on her that Cameron would likely have issues with her sending word to her father so secretively. He had managed to see Alec leaving her chambers, there was nothing stopping him from seeing her father’s messenger there now. And with the trust between them still so tenuous, she wanted to be the one to tell him about the letters to her father.
Rushing to the door, Charlotte clutched the letter and turned the knob.
“Have ye finished yer reply?” the young messenger asked, looking much better than he had an hour ago.
“Aye, thank ye for giving me some time. I hope the other servants treated ye with kindness.”
“Och, aye. I ate while they tended to my horse. It was just what I needed to make the long journey back.”
She nodded, peering over his shoulder to make sure there was no one else in the hall with them.
“That is good. Ye should get going. I would hate for my father to think ye wasted any time in returning to him.”
Holding out her letter to him, she waited for him to take it, tapping down her nervous impatience. He took it and tucked it into his jacket pocket right against his chest.
“I will get this to yer father,” he promised in all seriousness. “Be well.”
She returned the farewell and watched him march down the hall before gently closing her door again. When the knob clicked shut, she slid against the wood paneling, her heart slamming against her chest. She needed to get down to breakfast and talk to Cameron before word from the servants reached him.
Just as she pushed off the door, it opened again, revealing Elizabeth standing there, looking more than a little put out.
“Well, look who managed to get herself dressed this morning. It was the least ye could do after sending that lad down to me to tend to.”
“Och, I’m sorry Elizabeth. I was nae expecting for my father to send such a determined messenger, but he insisted on waiting for my reply. He knocked so hard I thought he was going to break the door. I did nae want him standing in the hall while I dressed and wrote my father back.”
Elizabeth shooed Charlotte towards the vanity with her hands, forcing her to sit while Charlotte tried to explain.
“What did yer father want this time? He is more worried about ye than a mother hen.”
Elizabeth tugged a brush through Charlotte’s auburn hair, smoothing the sleep out of it.
“I would nae describe his letters as ‘worried,’” Charlotte hedged. “He is more interested in finding out as much as he can about Cameron. I am starting to wonder why he did nae come with me himself with as much information as he is asking me to send him.”
“Hmm,” Elizabeth huffed and she pined two braids into an intricate crown around the top of Charlotte’s head. “One must wonder what that man is plannin’ to dae with all this information. If I was ye, I would place my loyalty in the hands of the man I am pledged to spend the rest of my days with. And I would dae it before the servants are able to twist fact into vicious rumors.”
She all but shoved Charlotte out of her chair and towards the door.
“Go. Ye look bonny enough that hopefully Laird Knox will nae mind yer letters to yer father.”
Charlotte hurried down the hall, trying not to let her nerves get the best of her. She didn’t even know if Cameron was well enough to attend breakfast, but she had to try.
To her great relief, he was sitting at the table when she walked into the dining room, a book in hand as he sipped some tea.
“Good morning,” she greeted cheerily, her smile a little too big to be natural.
He set down his book and looked her way. His color was back as was the glint in his eyes as he smiled back at her.
“It seems as though ye slept well,” he commented as she made her way to the table.
“Aye, I did.”
He watched her as she filled her plate with the presented food. His stare was unnerving as she tried to find a way to bring up her father’s letters casually. Eventually, she settled on being direct and honest.
“I received a letter from my father this morning. It is always so good to hear from him.”
She couldn’t meet his eyes as she spoke, but she tried to keep her voice even and neutral.
“That would explain yer chipper mood. Is this the first letter ye have gotten from him since yer arrival to my castle?”
