Loving A Highlander by Aileen Wells

feelings by pulling away.
    She knew now that they were at the castle there would be other women to capture his attention.  She had witnessed a stunning brunette admiring him in the Great Hall.  Lust had shown in the woman’s eyes and she had licked her lips as she watched him.
    Isabella wondered if this was one of the many women who had warmed Gerard’s bed.  She certainly looked at him as if she owned him.  A feeling of jealousy sparked within her and she pushed it away.  She had only known Gerard Mackenzie for a short time and certainly didn’t own him.  Who he decided to take to his bed was his business and of no concern of hers.
    “Gerard was just being kind when he invited me to accompany him,” Isabella said, as she met Eva’s steady gaze.
    Eva laughed and shook her head.  “You have a lot to learn about men, my dear.  Trust me, Gerard has more than a passing interest in you, otherwise he wouldn’t have bothered to bring you to the castle.”
    She laid a cream colored dress on the chair next to the bed.  “You can wear one of my old dresses when you come down for the evening meal.  I will have my maid bring more dresses to your chamber later.”
    Isabella began to protest as she looked at the fine garment.  It was made out of a soft cream colored fabric and was finer than anything she had ever owned. 
    She looked down at her own scratchy garment that was tattered and worn and knew it was much better suited to her.  Her grandmother had always said that people who wore fine clothes were puttin’ on airs, that they considered themselves to be better than ordinary folk.
    “Oh, I couldn’t.”  Isabella attempted to press the garment back into Eva’s hands.
    Eva waved away her concern.  “Nonsense.  I would be delighted to have you wear it.  It has been hanging unused in my wardrobe for the past few years. 
    She smiled.  “I am not as slim as I was before I had children.  I’m not complaining.  I love my children dearly, but it would be nice to have the figure I had before the pregnancies.”
    Isabella thought the woman looked lovely and if she had been any skinnier, would have appeared gaunt and unwell.  “I’ve met your daughter.  Do you have other children?”
    Eva nodded.  “Our son, Nicholas, is two.  He is asleep in the nursery.”
    Isabella thought she saw a flash of pain in the woman’s eyes, but it was gone just as quickly.  Intuition told her Eva had given birth to other children who hadn’t survived.  It was something they had in common.  She thought about her own daughter who hadn’t lived to see her first sunrise.
    Eva smiled. “I will leave you now.  A maid will knock on your door when it is time for the evening meal.”  She reached the door and paused.  “The garderobe is down the hallway on the right.  I had a hard time finding it when I first arrived, but really all I needed to do was follow the smell.” 
    She waved a hand in front of her nose. 
    Isabella had heard about such things, but had never had the chance to use one.  From Eva’s description, it didn’t appear to be a place she wanted to visit any time soon.
    Alone in her room, Isabella sat down on the large bed with a sigh.  Her gaze skimmed the colorful tapestries on the walls and the chamber’s high ceiling.  The castle was a far cry from her cottage in the forest; that was for certain.
    She thought about the laird.  The Mackenzies were a mighty clan; their lands far reaching.  Even though she had grown up a few miles from the castle walls, she had never dreamed that one day she would be allowed to step foot inside the grand structure.
    Outside her window, a light rain had begun to fall, its steady rhythm drumming against the shutters and dampening the floor.  Isabella knew she should close off the window to keep out the rain, but she found it soothing.  She had often left the window in her cottage open to the elements.  Surrounded by nature, her cottage had been more than her