Read If My Heart Could See You for Free Online

sit on a vacant stool next to her sisters and brother who were also near the blazing hearth. Sabina, who was ten and seven, had her mother’s dark brown hair, but had inherited none of the sweet disposition their dame had possessed. Her features were sharp and her eyes, which were too often filled with the look of hatred, were an eerie golden brown, almost like that of a hawk. She had oft wondered how Sabina came to be so bitter. Amiria found her sister callous and demanding and spent as little time in her company as was possible.
    Lynet was the complete opposite at only ten and four. No matter the circumstances, the young girl always saw the bright side to things with the innocence of the young at heart. A smile could readily be seen on her face, with the exception of these past months and now as their sire had been laid to rest. Even so, she looked up at her sister with adoring eyes. Her golden blonde hair shone from the reflection of the flames and her clear blue eyes held a radiance few could hope to compare. Amiria smiled at the sweetness of the young girl’s demeanor.
    Her gaze at last fell on the forlorn little boy of only eight summers with shiny black hair, who could only stare into the fire with a lost look upon his face. His dark brown eyes held no joy. Amiria knew that no comforting words could alter the fact his laird was dead and older brother missing amongst the departed. Her heart sank at the loss of his childhood, as no boy should lose both of his hero’s in one bad stroke of fate. She knew ’twould be sometime afore she once more heard Patrick’s cheerful laughter ring out as he pretended to save her from evil with the forgotten wooden sword now lying on the floor near his feet.
    What a mismatched group of siblings we are, for we are nothing alike , she thought to herself. Looking at us, one would think we had different parents than the two that bore us all . Amiria gazed reflectively again at her siblings and then shook off the horrible thoughts of her mother possibly straying from their father. She would not be the first wife to do so, and yet she hated thinking of her mother in such a manner.
    Pondering the memory of her mother only brought more sorrow to her already broken heart as she had been very close to her. ’Twas giving birth to Patrick that cost her beloved mother her life and she watched as her father grieved for his love as she had never seen afore. Amiria could only envision the wonder of having a husband whom she could love in a like manner and have that love returned tenfold. Since her father never found a betrothed worthy enough for her, she had her doubts she would find the man on her own. Those who had come in the past only saw her for her dowry and saw nothing of the woman who they would take to wife.
    Taking a poker from the hearth, she plunged it into the crimson, fiery coals then turned and poured herself a mug of wine. She sprinkled a few dried herbs into her cup and plunged the red hot iron into the brew to mull. A sweet aroma filled the air and for a moment the smell reminded her of when her mother would perform this small act for her father. ’Twas almost as if she could feel her parents’ calming presence in the room.
    Closing her eyes for a brief respite from the hell her life had become, she envisioned her parents and Aiden standing afore her. She and her twin had been inseparable as youths and could be counted on to finish each other’s sentences, to the irritation of Sabina. Of course, her poor younger sister had suffered terribly from their pranks. Amiria had to admit she had been prone, just as badly as her twin, to put a squiggly worm or two down her sister’s dress or slimy toads into her shoes. They had never had the heart to do such to Lynet, and perchance this was the cause of Sabina’s growing abhorrence of her youngest sister. Thinking of her twin, she knew in her heart, if he were in truth gone from this world and in heaven with their parents, she would