Chapter 1

The perpetual sound of rain pattering out on the road bled through the thin glass windows of the old inn and mingled with the muted sounds of the drunkards below. Allie sniffed and wiped her brow as she continued to flatten down the freshly dried sheets on the bed.

The day was already darkening, despite the early hour of the afternoon, but Allie was used to it. The dark clouds were customary as they hung low, even in the highlands. Yet down in the Lowlands, where they shared weather with the English, it was just as common.

Allie slowly stood and wiped her hands on her dress as she breathed out heavily. It had been a long day, but it wasn’t over yet since they were expecting rather opulent guests. She was pleased to have at least another hour to prepare herself before they would be receiving the Lady in question.

Allie surveyed the room, but something was missing… the light. She let her eyes close for a moment as her tired limbs almost groaned at the thought of working anymore. All she wanted was a good night of rest with a hearty meal beforehand.

The candles needed to be lit, the floor swept by the door, and Allie wanted to make sure that Duncan was in the front of the house to receive their guests. The thought of the new girl who worked in the kitchens being out at the front to welcome the Lady was worrying.

She could hear the wind picking up outside, and the old structure creaked and groaned. Allie shuddered and knew that the fire would need to be built up too, so that their guests would not experience any kind of discomfort during their stay.

“Ach, Duncan? Is that ye?” Allie called down the hallway as she heard the floorboards creak. She knew the place as though it was her own home; the way that certain pieces of wood make sounds when a person is walking the halls was something that she was all too familiar with. Allie narrowed her eyes when she received no response.

She did not have time for games. There was too much to be done and too short an amount of time to do it. The inn was very busy because of the incoming storm, although the locals were used to it, the weary travelers weren’t. Many were English and returning south of the border. Staying at The Blinde Man’s House was the last touch of Scottish hospitality before they would set off on their journey home.

“Duncan?” Allie called again, but still, there was no response.

She was in two minds about going and investigating; she wasn’t the innkeeper or his wife, but she still could assert some authority over a drunkard who may have wandered too far from the tavern downstairs. On the other hand, the room wasn’t going to clean itself, and she thought about how angry William, the innkeeper, would be if he saw that she was neglecting her duties.

Her distress was answered by another howl of the wind through the thin walls. The rain seemed only to intensify as it hit the pane of glass more frequently. Allie hugged her arms tightly to her chest – the thin and washed out cotton of her dress doing nothing to protect her body from the cold. Allie got down onto her knees and moved over to the fireplace where she could tend to it with the poker. She relaxed slightly as the amber hue of heat warmed her skin and made the job slightly more bearable. After placing another couple of logs onto the fire in the way that William had once shown her, Allie got to her feet and brushed the soot from her already ruined dress. Although Allie did not mind, she thought that it would at least show her employer just how hard she worked for her money.

Her mind was already jumping ahead of her, like a galloping horse runnin’ out of control, and she started to think about the next job that needed doing.

“Candles, the wee candles,” Allie muttered to herself as she spotted the burnt down wax by the bed. They were going to need replacing for the Lady coming to stay. Allie was certain that she would not appreciate candles that had been half-used already. She could tell that this Lady, wherever she was from, was going to cause a lot more trouble for them than the average guest. Many travelers were simply grateful for what they got, but Allie already knew that this woman was of the kind that would not settle for anything less than her impossible expectations.

“Ach, this must be me room down here.” A voice spoke out of nowhere and caused Allie’s heart to leap in her chest from the fright of it.

Allie gasped as she knew no female voice like that belonged to anyone from those parts. She started to panic as she realized that it must be the Lady whose arrival they had been anticipating.

Without turning around to see who had arrived, Allie quickly grabbed the unused spill from the table in the corner and let it hover over the fire to light it. She then had no choice but to light the candles that had already been used; the footsteps grew louder and would be upon her at any moment. Allie shuddered once more as the cold seemed to cling to the room with an iron vice, unrelenting and seemingly unphased by the growing fire.

Her hand was shaking, and she could feel the dread rising up inside of her at the thought of being scolded by William for not being ready in time.

“This room here? I suppose it is the biggest we’ve…who are you?”

“I-I’m sorry, My Lady. Yer room is almost ready, ye have me word.” Allie stammered her way through her words as though she was trying to walk with ease through a thick bog. She tried to calm herself and focus on lighting the small candles around the room, but her hand simply would not stop shaking.

“And this is supposed to be the best room at the inn?” The woman sniffed from behind her. Allie closed her eyes and felt as though the distaste in the Lady’s tone was directed straight at her.

“W-well, it’s the best that we could dae at such short notice. I’m s-sorry if it’s not up to yer usual standard…”

Allie did not dare to turn around after speaking, she closed her eyes and braced herself as her body tensed. She knew that she had been far too brave in her words while defending the inn. She had forgotten about the decorum that she had been taught from a young age.

“Please, let me apologize for talking to ye in such a way, My Lady. I should have made sure that the room was ready for yer arrival.”

Allie then busied herself by grabbing the broom that she had brought up with her after catching sight of the soot near the fireplace.

“Ye sound like a yappy dog. This will have to dae for now. Leave me.” The woman snapped as she said this, her voice curt and as cold as the wind outside.

“Aye, My Lady. S-sorry again, My Lady.”

Allie continued to nod and look around as she kept her gaze to the floor. She did not want to look up at the woman, afraid that she would turn her to stone with her gaze, or even worse, chop her down with her cutting words. She swallowed and set the broom down as she finally had no choice but to turn and walk in the direction of the Lady who stood in the doorway like a blockade.

“I hope yer journey wasnae too tirin,’ My Lady?” Allie muttered as she walked forward.

When no reply came from the woman, Allie groaned internally as she had no choice but to look up at the Lady who blocked her path of escape. Slowly, she tore her gaze from the old, wooden floor and up to meet the inquisitive blue eyes of the woman before her.

Allie opened her mouth to say something, but all words evaded her. The beauty of the woman shone through her pale skin as though she was radiating a light aura about her. Her dress, so finely articulated by many hands, was one that Allie had only ever witnessed once – it had been in the form of a painting. Jewels were encrusted onto the vibrant colored fabrics, but her eyes were the purest blue jewels that Allie had ever seen. Her attention shifted back to the dress and the way that it expanded out in many layers of opulence. Allie was suddenly very aware of how her beige dress must have been considered, to this Lady, a mere undergarment. The bodice of her dress was embroidered in the most beautiful, yet delicate patterns, and they continued all the way down her skirts.

However, what stood out the most, despite the beauty and expense in front of her, was the woman’s face. Underneath the scornful, yet shocked, expression, were features not too dissimilar to her own. Allie felt like she was looking into an enchanted mirror, a crude image of what her life could have been if she had been born into some form of nobility instead. Even her hair was the same color, length, and volume; and framed the lady’s face in the same way that Allie’s framed her face. The woman in front of her had her dark, brown hair styled so that half of it was pinned up in a well-crafted style. It appeared far too much work for the kind of activities that Allie carried out each day, but she admired the effort that had been put into it. The similarities were too obvious; even the woman in front of her had noticed.

“Who…who are ye?” The woman’s voice shook slightly as she put a jeweled hand to her chest. The rings on her fingers looked like they could buy the entire inn and still have money left over.

“Answer me, lass. What sorcery is this?”

Allie blinked and realized that she was still yet to answer the question that the woman had asked her. She was sure that the woman was much less pleased about this revelation since she was looking at what she would consider as a lesser version of herself.

“Me name is Allie.” She hesitated for a moment before attempting a small curtsey. Allie winced as she knew that the gesture must have come across as more comical than formal. “Allie Denniston.”

“And ye ken me name?” The woman’s voice boomed around the old room.

“Nay, My Lady.” Allie kept her gaze fixed back on the floor.

“Me name is Adamina, and I am the Lady of Clan Buchan. Have ye really nae heard of me or me clan?”

The Lady Adamina sounded amused as she spoke, as though she found this situation just as comical as Allie’s attempt at a curtsey.

“There are many clans in this land, My Lady. I cannae say that I ken them all…”

“Dinnae tell me what I already ken,” Adamina snapped. “Tell me what I dinnae ken.”

“My Lady?” Allie frowned as she looked up to see that Adamina was smirking.

“Tell me more about ye. Since ye now ken that ye’re talking to the Lady of a large clan, I wish to ken more about ye.”

Allie stood up straighter and bit her lip for a moment as she thought about Adamina’s question. Her heart deflated slightly when she realized that there really wasn’t that much to tell her.

“W-well, I live in a wee cottage just along the road from ‘ere.” Allie swallowed thickly and dared to look back up into the intimidating gaze of Lady Adamina. The well-dressed woman was almost hunched over her as Allie felt the urge to cower away. “I dinnae really have any family. Me parents died a very long time ago…”

Allie let her head fall again slightly, although she did not see the amused look on Adamina’s face drop. The woman appeared to be enjoying this, merely a story for her to tell at a grand dinner in the months to come.

Adamina coughed, but Allie wasn’t sure if she was just clearing her throat, or simply waiting for Allie to continue with her story.

“I dinnae ken what else to say, My Lady. I’ve worked at this inn all me life. The innkeeper has always been good to me.”

Allie winced at how dull her life sounded in comparison to the great Lady in front of her. She was from another world, a class that was leagues above her own, and Allie was only reminded of that further as Adamina started to laugh.

“Me apologies for laughing, lass.” Adamina shook her head. “I take pity on ye; really, I dae.”

Allie did not know how to respond to this, so she pursed her lips and nodded her head rather simply. She still did not understand why Lady Adamina looked so much like her. No explanation came to mind.

“Is that all, My Lady?” Allie dared to ask as she stole another glance at the familiar features of the foreign Lady.

“Aye, for now.” Adamina nodded curtly. “But I want to speak with ye more later on.”

“Aye, My Lady.”

Allie turned to quickly snatch up the various tools that she had brought up with her only hours before. She jumped slightly at the sound of the wind battering against the outside walls and did not breathe properly until she was out of the room and in the safety of the hallway. Her chest rose and fell under her bodice, and she tried to control her breathing. She turned to walk back the way she had come but bumped into the rock hard chest of a man who one might mistake for a mountain upon impact.

“Oh!” she exclaimed and jumped back slightly.

“Is that Lady Adamina’s room?” The man spoke in a deep and gruff voice. Allie found it difficult to pick out his features in the dark. Fear had frozen her to the spot and closed up her throat so that no sound could escape. Instead, she nodded profusely and pointed a shaking hand out to the room.

“Thank ye.”

The man, clad in armor, stepped around her and walked over to the room. Before Allie could protest that he should not enter the Lady’s room without permission, he stepped inside and closed the door.

She waited a few moments for any sound or signal that Lady Adamina might be in distress, but none came. Allie felt rather faint as she staggered down the stairs and away from the intimidating Lady that looked so much like her.

Chapter 2

“Ah, Stuart, I’m glad ye’re here.” Adamina smiled as she reclined in the chair by the fire. Her body was tired from riding, and the cold chill had brought on a cough that refused to leave.

“How are ye feeling, My Lady?” Stuart asked after bowing to her.

“I feel weak and sick. I hate feeling this way. This is how commoners feel, not Ladies.” Adamina spoke with venom in her tone.

“It will pass, as will the storm.” Stuart walked with his hands clasped behind his back over to the window and peered out into the darkness.

“I hope ye’re right about that.” Adamina nodded and let out a labored sigh. “Did ye get a glimpse at that lass?”

“The servant girl who prepared yer room?” Stuart glanced over at his Lady with a frown already etched into his face. His tiredness made the wrinkles around his eyes more pronounced, and the dark shadows under his eyes were emphasized by the dim light of the room. His hair was speckled with grey flecks.

“Did ye see her?” Lady Adamina emphasized.

“I…saw her briefly in the hall, why My Lady?”

“If ye have to ask, then ye clearly didnae see her properly,” Adamina huffed in annoyance. She turned back to the fire and let it warm up her cold body. She sputtered slightly as the cough relented in her chest, although she could feel it causing her insides to rattle, and an ache had begun in her head.

“How much farther is it to the castle?”

“I would say that we have another day of ridin’ ahead of us, My Lady.”

Adamina groaned at the thought and shook her head.

“Nae, I will have to stay here for at least another day. I cannae ride to see the Colquhoun clan if I am sick. It wouldnae be received well.”

“As ye wish, My Lady,” Stuart spoke despite his clenched jaw.

He did not agree with the slow pace that Adamina had shown throughout the entire journey. Had it not been for her stubborn attitude about going so slow, Stuart was confident that they would have made it to her father’s castle at least two days ago. They had left Lady Adamina’s husband’s castle almost five days ago, and they were still on the road, much to Stuart’s vexation.

Nevertheless, he had always followed her word, wherever it happened to take them, or however long it took them. He was sworn to guard and protect her, even if she insisted on stopping in every small village along the way. Stuart knew of guards who had traveled down into England in quicker time than they were making. But he kept silent on the issue and simply nodded.

Lady Adamina trusted Stuart with her life. She allowed herself to let her guard down when he was present. He had protected her since she was merely a child. He had been much younger then, and Adamina felt privileged in getting to see how he had aged. Much the same, Stuart had been pleased to see the way that Adamina had grown into the woman she was, although her strong will was as unrelenting as it had always been.

“I need ye to dae somethin’ for me,” Adamina said but trailed off into another fit of coughing.

“Aye, My Lady?” Stuart stood up slightly straighter and prepared for her request.

“Will ye get the lass? Now that I am settled, I wish to talk to her.”

“The lass, My Lady?” Stuart blinked in confusion.

“Aye, the one that prepared this room.”

“Which lass would that be, My Lady?”

“She is called Allie, I cannae say that I remember what her last name is, nor dae I care. But bring her ‘ere.”

“Aye, My Lady. I will be right back.”

Stuart hesitated slightly at the thought of leaving Adamina without any kind of protection. But he swiftly shut the door behind him and willed the door not to open should any intruders come roaming through the narrow hallway.

*

“Duncan! Where are ye? I need to speak with ye!” Allie called as she walked into the back of the inn on the ground floor and over to where the staff that weren’t needed were waiting. “Ye, new lass, there are tables out there that will nae wipe themselves down.”

Allie watched as the younger girl quickly nodded and scurried off to get to work.

The sound of the muted chatter and drunken laughing still managed to pierce into the backroom, although it was much quieter. And the smell of spilled ale that had long since soaked into the wooden flooring had become a smell that the workers were used to. Allie remembered the first time that she had the strong alcohol spilled on her. It took her a week of washing to no longer feel sticky and get rid of the smell.

“Duncan! There ye are!” Allie groaned as she walked over to where he sat smoking a pipe.

“What’s up lass? Keep the heild, ye look terrible!”

Allie swatted off the older man’s attempts to tell her to calm down. How could she, with the strange encounter that she had just experienced?

“Who let the Lady Adamina up to her room before it was ready?” Allie snapped, trying out what her voice would sound like if she had the authority of the Lady upstairs.

“I dinnae ken.” Duncan shrugged nonchalantly.

Despite the fact that the man was only about ten years older than Allie, the wrinkles that spattered his face and hands spoke of relentless days working hard with little time to spare for himself. Duncan had worked at the inn before Allie joined. He was as customary to see in the building as smelling the ale in the air.

He wasn’t being very helpful, however, and only stirred up Allie’s frustration more.

“What? I dinnae ken! I can’t help ye! I was back ‘ere!”

“So, you didnae get a look at her?” Allie’s eyes narrowed.

“Nae! How could I if I’m telling you I was back ‘ere?”

“Ach, all right.” Allie groaned. “She is not happy with the quality of the place.”

She decided not to mention the likeness in their appearances. Duncan was already vexed, and he would only think that Allie was trying to trick him in some way.

“Ach, that’s not my concern, is it?” Duncan leaned back in his chair and jumped slightly at the sound of a clap of thunder. “This damned weather.”

“It’s always like this.” Allie chuckled as she made herself busy by tidying up some of the stock that had come in early because of the storm.

Admittedly, she enjoyed the fact that the Lord was clearly angry about something; it was a wild break from the perpetual dreary rain that fell and soaked you through. This was the kind of rain that landed with an energy in it that one might only consider as anger.

She thought of the Lady Adamina upstairs and winced at the thought of her having even more to complain about because of the storm.

The sudden sound of the door opening caused the two of them to startle once more. Allie held a hand up to her pounding chest, attempting to ease the rapid beating of her heart; however, it proved futile as her eyes locked with the dark figure in the doorway.

The open door allowed broken parts of conversations to waft into the room, followed by the heady smell of alcohol. Allie frowned as the man in front of them began to walk in.

“I’m sorry, kind sir, this is an area for the workers only.”

“Are ye Allie?”

She could feel her heart beating much faster.

“Aye, she is. Who are ye?” Duncan snapped from behind her as he craned his neck to see who had burst in. His stubbornness showed as he refused to rise from his seat, even with an armored intruder standing before them.

“I have come with orders of the Lady Adamina to take ye to her chamber.”

“‘Tisnae much of a chamber, only a wee room.” Duncan cackled as he rocked back on his chair. Allie winced at the way he spoke to a man who was clearly the protector of the lady in question, and no stranger to the decorum of the nobility, something that could not be found in a single bone of Duncan’s body.

Allie ignored the older man behind her and urged her feet to start moving so that she would not appear as weak as she felt on the inside.

She followed the tall and muscular looking man up the stairs and down the dark corridor to where the rooms were situated in the building.

The man knocked on the door and waited for the faint call of his Lady to respond.

“Enter!”

Allie held her breath as her body seemed to prepare on its own for being under the cold scrutiny of the lady once more.

“Ach, there ye are.”

Allie tried not to stare at Lady Adamina but busied herself with glancing around the room to look for anything that could possibly be wrong. The candles, she thought to herself. Dread rose up in her like dark shadows, Allie prepared herself to take the brunt of Adamina’s criticism, just as the exterior walls of the inn were taking the full force of the raging storm.

She took comfort that the room felt much warmer now that the fire had been going for a while. The fire, she suddenly thought to herself as she noticed how hungry it looked for another dry log.

“Ye wanted to see me?” Allie asked with a frown.

“Aye, come closer, I want to get a better look at ye.”

Allie stood still for a moment, but she felt the guard’s hand hovering behind her back, ready to urge her forward if she did not comply.

“Stuart, come ‘ere and look at her properly.”

Allie was closer to the fire now, but she knew it was the feeling of being picked apart by the gazes of two people that sent her cheeks alight in the color of a rose.

“Good God,” the man called Stuart muttered under his breath.

Adamina’s eyes lit up once more as she took in the sight in front of her. Allie herself was still shocked by her likeness to the noble Lady. She could not understand why they looked so similar.

Adamina maintained the stern expression that pulled down her almost identical features, the beginnings of a scowl hiding at the corners of her lips – ready to pounce should Allie say something that she did not agree with.

“Ye wanted to see me, My Lady?” Allie frowned as she locked eyes with Adamina. She could not understand what the Lady could want other than to be entertained by the likeness in their appearances.

“Aye, Allie. I have a… proposition for ye if ye’re interested in gettin’ out of this life.”

Allie blinked in confusion; she could feel it clouding her own features, but she had no idea what the Lady was talking about.

“My Lady?”

“Ye heard me. Would ye be interested in doing somethin’ else with yer life?”

Allie thought about this for a moment; she had never imagined that the opportunity would arise, and so her dreams had been stunted from a very early age. Presented with the possibility of not working at the inn anymore felt as though she were one of the King’s horses suddenly allowed to roam free up to the peaks of Glenn Coe.

“Aye, My Lady.”

“Good, then I propose to ye that since we happen to look so similar, how would ye feel about becoming Lady Adamina?”

Allie did not know what she had been expecting, but it was not the offer that had been laid in front of her. Even Adamina’s guard, Stuart, snapped his head in his Lady’s direction as though the wind had shaken her logic.

“My Lady? I’m afraid that I dinnae understand what ye mean. Ye are Adamina, the Lady of Clan Buchan. That cannae be my title as well?”

“Aye, I see yer point.” Adamina held her head up so high that she could only look down her nose at Allie in front of her. “That is why I’m proposing that when I am due to return to me husband’s castle, it will be ye that takes me place.”

“But, My Lady, what are-”

Adamina held a hand up to silence her guard. Her gaze never left Allie’s. She watched as the young girl toyed with the strange idea that had been thrown at her.

“Ye will have a good life. There will be nae trouble for ye at the castle. Think about it; ye will never have to work another day in yer life. Ye will have people that will take care of ye, like Stuart here.”

Allie listened to the Lady for as long as she could bear before shaking her head. She was breathing heavily once more, and the room suddenly felt a lot smaller and more constricting than she remembered.

“My Lady, I ken ‘tisnae my place to speak, but please, think about what ye’re saying.” Stuart tried again, causing Adamina to turn to him. Her eyes were blazing with anger, a look that was enough to cause the strong man to recoil and remember his place as someone that simply served her.

“I ken what I’m saying, and I understand the consequences, but it is the way out that I’ve been lookin’ for.” Adamina continued as she sat up straighter until her posture resembled that of a wooden board.

“I-I’m sorry, My Lady, but that is yer place, that is yer life. I ken that we look like each other for whatever reason, but my answer is nay. I cannae pretend to be someone that I am nae.”

Allie turned with her body back toward the door that she had entered through. Never in her life had she been so terrified of what the consequences to her actions held. Her cheeks were still stained with a pink hue, and Allie could feel two pairs of gazes on her as she almost reached the doorway.

“Come back here, Allie! I was trying to be nice by asking ye, but mark me words; I always get what I want.”

Adamina’s words boomed around the room, bouncing off the wooden beams as they pushed Allie out of the door much faster than she had been walking beforehand. She could hear the Lady coughing through the open door, but still, she carried on. Allie shuddered and crossed her arms over her chest as she made her way down the hall.

Adamina’s words played over in her mind as she made it back down to the main area of the inn. It was warmer due to the high volume of intoxicated bodies that filled the space, yet Allie had never wanted to be alone with just her thoughts so much in all of her life.

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