Despite being nearly twenty-two, I had considered my life all but over before I went through the stones. My mother, father, and husband were all dead. I had nothing in my time. That was probably why I was quick to embrace the new life thrust before...
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Castle Leoch
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The next morning, I found myself awakened by Lottie gently shaking me and calling my name. I slowly opened an eye at her. It seemed like I had just fallen asleep after spending hours reading. The book on the Scottish Highlands lay on the bed beside me, still open to the page I had been reading. I closed my eyes again. It couldn't possibly be time to get up. So I glanced out my bedroom window to find that it was still dark outside. Why on earth was she waking me now? She knew I never awoke before sunrise unless absolutely necessary.
I could hear the words Lottie had once spoken to me in jest: You'd never have survived if you married a farmer. Her words might not have been far from the truth. I groaned and pulled the covers over my head.
Lottie must have known I thought it was too early to be awake because she said, "Father informed me that he was inviting Matthew for breakfast if we were planning on going out today."
I knew why she was telling me this and it wasn't because she wanted to see Matthew. "So, we're going out before he gets here then?" I asked, despite already knowing the answer to my question. She didn't respond to me, so I slowly poked my head out from beneath my blanket just enough to see her. She then turned on the light. Too bright. I dove beneath the blankets once more and hit.
She placed her hands on her hips. "A beautiful drive through the Highlands at sunrise is just what you need."
Had my eyes not still been tightly shut trying to block the light, I would have rolled them at her statement. Instead, I retorted, "You mean, it's what you need."
Lottie rolled her eyes and nodded her head before she pulled the quilts from my body. I groaned and rolled over to bury my face in the pillows. I wasn't normally this ornery. I'll confess, I certainly could be from time to time, but I had changed drastically since Stephen had taken ill. I had changed both physically and mentally, sometimes I hardly recognized the person I had become. I wanted to be the person I was before Stephen, but I wasn't sure I could ever be her again.
I sighed, knowing Lottie was only trying to help before I rolled onto my back. "How long do I have?" I asked.
She smirked in victory. "About five minutes before my father wakes."
I propped myself on my elbows and nodded my head, looking at her rather curiously. She glanced at her wristwatch.
"Which should give you about twenty minutes." Lottie gently smacked my leg before she bent down and grabbed the quilt she had tossed on the floor. "This way you won't get any ideas," she said before she left the room with my quilt.
