Edinburgh, Scotland November 1795 Walter did not try to hide the fact that he watched the door with abject attention. Mina-his muse and his future-would be entering at any moment, and he was determined to be the first set of eyes she saw. Her family always came to Edinburgh for the winter and though she had been in the city for almost a week, Walter had not yet seen her. "She might not be comin'," William Clerk said from Walter's side. "And yer leg's gunna give oot if you stand here like an oak tree much longer." "See, this is why you have not formed an attachment of your own, William," Walter said, speaking with the tone of a tired teacher. "You have no mind for romance nor have you any understanding of the fairer sex." He sighed dramatically and added a bit more flower to his words for effect. "Mina has been away for nearly six months during which time she and I have only grown more attached to one another." He put a hand to his chest in a false display of humility. "With all that time apart-save for letters and poetry-she is apt to wonder at my devotion and be anxious about whether or not she can trust the mere words on a page that have sustained us for so long. When she walks in that door I want her to see the way she fills me with the pure sunshine we have not seen in the city for weeks. Then she will know that my heart beats only for her, that I have counted the days to this meeting since last we set sight of one another, and that the passion of my heart has been in no wise dimmed by the distance between us." William rolled his eyes. "I'm gunna get me another drink." Excerpted from The Lady of the Lakes: The True Love Story of Sir Walter Scott by Josi S. Kilpack All rights reserved by the original copyright owners. Excerpts are provided for display purposes only and may not be reproduced, reprinted or distributed without the written permission of the publisher.
