Terese wondered if perhaps he would wear Megan down, and she would eventually see Andrew for who he was…a man willing to patiently wait for her.
She felt a stab of guilt. Here she was hoping Megan would see Andrew for who he truly was while she hid who she was from Lachlan. Her guilt quickly turned to sorrow for she realized that Lachlan was attracted to Terese, not Alyce.
And how would he feel when he discovered she played at yet another ruse, one that could damage more deeply than the other two?
He had promised her he would never judge or condemn her, but then that promise had been made to Terese, not Alyce. She shook her head. She didn’t even know who she was anymore. She had been living so long as Terese she almost believed Alyce dead. But then it was as if Alyce would awaken and break free. Sometimes she would be happy to be reunited with her, for she knew that her sharp-tongued nature was needed, especially in difficult situations. And then she would slumber once more.
Terese had to keep things in perspective. This friendship and attraction to Lachlan could go no further than that. She had to keep reminding herself that he would be leaving, and that he must leave when the time came, and she must go on as Terese.
The thought of his eventual departure left a solid ache in her stomach, but that couldn’t be helped. She already knew that her friendship with Lachlan had been growing deeper by the day, and she didn’t want to jeopardize what was or would be between them.
Hester’s wave and approach drew Terese out of her musings and she soon joined Terese, the basket on her arm revealing a bounty of food for them both.
“Rowena says eat then rest,” Hester said, spreading out a white linen cloth to place the food upon.
“All goes well?” Terese asked, realizing just how hungry she was upon smelling the delicious fare.
“Lachlan is true to his word. His men behave,” Hester said, pouring them each a tankard of freshly brewed cider.
“You fancy not a one of them?” Terese asked with a smile.
Hester didn’t smile, she was blunt. “I want no man. I’m happy as I am.”
“Piper seems busy with Evan,” Terese said.
That brought a smile to Hester. “Those two are alike, both loving the woods. She even confided to him that the woods had birthed her and was her mother.”
“What did Evan say to that?”
“I was impressed with his response,” Hester said. “He told Piper that her mother had taught her wisely, and he would like to learn what she knew.”
“Evan’s a good man, don’t you think?” Terese asked.
“Is he a good man for Piper is what you’re asking?”
“Piper deserves someone good, if that’s what she chooses,” Terese said. “And he does share her love of the woods.”
“It wouldn’t work,” Hester said. “Evan wouldn’t leave the Sinclare clan and make his home here and Piper will not leave.”
“I suppose that would be a true test of things,” Terese said.
“And what of you?” Hester asked and shook her head when Terese appeared to protest. “Don’t deny it. I and the others have seen the way you and Lachlan have been meeting on the hill in the morning, how he keeps you company while planting, and most of all how you look at each other.”
“And how is that?”
“With a desperate longing,” Hester said with a merry glint.
“It’s that obvious?”
“Only to those who know you,” Hester assured her.
Terese sighed. “I had resigned myself to never knowing a man…then Lachlan came along and I began to wonder.”
“I wonder if it would not be better for the warriors to leave,” Hester suggested with reluctance. “It seems the longer they remain here, the more they learn. And that could prove dangerous for you.”
“Lachlan has informed me that he has no intentions of leaving.”
“Then be careful,” Hester warned. “You don’t want to lose more than you’re willing to give.”
“I will give sparingly.”
“But will your heart?” Hester asked.
The men kept busy building extra shelters, having generously given the first one finished to the Moore family. Beatrice and Harry were thrilled and their parents grateful. Soon George and Gelda had prepared a patch of land for a garden and were planting seeds the women had given them.
Lachlan had set the men to erecting a small cottage a good distance away from the others and from the common house. It would be for him and he hoped Terese. He had never failed to charm a woman into his bed, but this was different. He couldn’t even say for sure how it was different; he only knew how it felt.