"Aye, we are coming. My brother is hesitant still, but…"
"We will tell everyone not to mention his wife," Abigail interrupted. "I myself am on the decorating committee and it will be the best ball Colorado Springs has ever seen, especially if the MacGreagors are there."
"I am looking forward to it. Vivian, did you find a gown to wear?" McKenna asked.
The conversation soon turned to other things and while Sassy concentrated on learning to sew, she never missed a word. She found talk of husbands and wives fascinating and wondered what a normal family was truly like. They all seemed so happy and it made her miss Cathleen that much more. Someday, when she had enough saved up, she fully intended to try her hand at a normal life.
McKenna and Hannish were alone in the dining room, and they were just finishing dinner when Hannish asked, "How was your sewing circle?"
"I enjoy these women very much and you will like them too, but brother, Sassy said little more than please and thank you. On the way home, she wanted to know what other rules there are. I think you may have frightened her when you sent Charlotte away."
"So that is why she has been so quiet lately. It was not my intention to frighten anyone. What can I do?"
"I am not certain."
"What rules did you give her?"
"I could only think of lying and stealing," McKenna answered.
"I can think of nothing else either. Perhaps we might plan something fun for them to do -- an outing of some sort to let them all know I adore them still."
"Especially Sassy?"
"Sister, she warms my cold heart somehow. I look at her and realize my troubles are small compared to what she has lived through. I would rather send myself away than see Sassy gone."
McKenna laughed. "I would rather give you up too."
He pretended to look pained. "I am deeply wounded. Alistair will be back tomorrow, she adores him and he will set the world right again for Sassy."
"Indeed he will."
*
Olivia was tired of trains, tired of her small compartment aboard ship, and even more tired of dressing herself, and doing her own hair by the time the HMS Umbria docked in Liverpool, England. The voyage took all of six days, with half of the last day spent trying to dock the ship. After that, there was a train to catch to Glasgow, Scotland, but at least this ride was not across ten Godforsaken American states.
At last, she was back with her own kind, in a world far more familiar and comfortable. She expected her driver to pick her up at the train station, but it appeared that was not to be. At the bottom of the steps, Cameron MacGreagor stood waiting. He looked a great deal like his brother when he tipped his hat, and then offered his arm. "Hannish wished me to see you safely home," Cameron explained.