One Scottish Lass A Regency Time Travel Romance Novella

Chapter 5

Sorcha blinked against the sense of loss which enveloped her. Jonathan had vanished into the chattering brilliance of the next room. Sorcha had no doubt that Julia was attentively glued to his side, working every devious wile in her possession in order to claim him as her husband.

The thought filled her with rich despair.

Sorcha shook her head. She had only met the man a few minutes ago. What had caught at her soul? Perhaps it was the fact that he was one of the few men her own age she'd been able to talk to in a long, long while. Perhaps it was those rich amber eyes which seemed to see right through her. Perhaps it was the fondness he clearly held for his younger sister. Or perhaps it was the tender way he'd cared for the tiny kittens – kittens that Julia had orphaned.

Florentia giggled, and Sorcha blushed, looking down at the teen. Florentia nudged her in the ribs. "All the women look at him like that," she teased. "He's got to be the most handsome man in Bath. And now that he's turning twenty-five, it seems everyone and her mother thinks it's time he gets married." She pressed her hands together in delight. "And then I'd have young nieces and nephews to play with!"

Sorcha looked down at her hands. "I'm sure your brother has the pick of all eligible women, when he's ready."

Florentia grinned. "Oh, he's got them, all right, but he's too picky." She looked over at Theodoria and her face scrunched. "I don't know how she ever ended up with that old fart. But I guess Johnny's right. He wouldn't have much fun with Thea. Still, I suppose it always seemed like the perfect match, especially after he saved her life."

Sorcha turned to Florentia. "Johnny saved Theodoria's life?"

She eagerly nodded. "Both of our lives," she expanded. "I was six years old, and Thea was maybe twelve. We were riding double on this old mare that I adored, Speckles. I named her myself. And she was normally the sweetest horse you'd ever seen."

She bit at her lip, thinking back. "We had stopped by a stream to get a drink and to pick some apples in this orchard we'd found. We stuffed quite a lot of the apples into an old brown sack. Then we climbed back on Speckles to head home with our prize."

She shook her head. "I still don't understand it – Speckles suddenly went wild! It was as if a snake bit her or something. Both of us were flung off. With the horse leaping around like that, we could easily have been trampled to death."

She shuddered. "But, thank God, Johnny just happened to be riding out that afternoon and raced to help. He grabbed Speckles's reins and dragged her to the side. He managed to get her quieted down."

Sorcha looked between Florentia and Theodoria. "That must have been scary! So you both were all right?"

Florentia spun around in place. "As right as rain! It was a true miracle. When the initial shock was over, both families said it proved that Thea and Johnny were meant for each other."

She looked over toward the piano room, and her eyes shadowed. "So you can imagine how rough it was on everyone involved when he said he couldn't go through with it."

Sorcha could imagine exactly what that must have been like. The idea of disobeying her own mother over an issue of that magnitude staggered her mind. It simply would not be possible.

She looked to Florentia. "Did they ever figure out what went wrong with your horse?"

Florentia's eyes dimmed. "No. She seemed perfectly fine when we got her back to the stables. Even so, Thea's family insisted that Speckles be put down. They said the horse had proven it was a danger to people and no other lives should be risked."