My Daring Highlander (30 page)

“Already betrothed?” her father
thundered.

“Aye.”

“To who?”

“Lady Isobel MacKenzie.”

“You did not mention this in the
missive.”

He had a point and she knew not how to
counter it. “They married very soon after they arrived.”

That much was true. Though it was a
few weeks.

“Anyway, Dirk MacKay knew naught of
the contract before he arrived in Durness,” she added. She’d had to
tell the fib about Dirk and Isobel being betrothed; otherwise, her
father might grow enraged with Chief MacKay and attack. The last
thing she wanted was clan war. She wanted Isobel, Dirk and all the
MacKays to be safe. They were like family to her… more so than her
own clan. Nor did she want her father to take his wrath out on
Keegan, who was acting as Dirk’s representative.

But what if Aunt Patience
told her father a different story?
Saints!
Had she made a terrible
mistake with that white lie? It didn’t hurt anyone. In fact, it
kept everyone safe. Mayhap the warning she’d given her aunt about
exposing her affair with MacMillan would still hold in this case as
well. She needed to talk to her again.

“This whole story sounds far-fetched
to me,” her father grumbled. “The MacKays know not how to keep
their word.” He rose from his chair and moved toward the door.
After yanking it open, he told his personal bodyguard, standing
just outside the door, to fetch Lady Patience.

Mo creach!
Seona would be in trouble if her aunt told a
different story.

Aunt Patience entered and her father
closed the door.

“Sister, explain the MacKay situation.
It makes no sense to me,” her father said.

“I told Father how Dirk was already
betrothed to Lady Isobel and this is why I couldn’t marry him,”
Seona rushed to say, giving her aunt a meaningful look while her
father’s back was turned.

Her aunt sent her a narrow-eyed
glare.

“Let her explain it. I’ve already
heard your side,” her father ordered.

“Aye,” Patience said hesitantly, her
expression shifting from angry to pleasant. “I heard that some of
the clan thought they were already married when they arrived in
Durness. There were abundant rumors that they’d already been
intimate and a bairn might result.”

“Damned barbarians,” her father said
gruffly. His gaze shifted between Seona and her aunt for a long
tense moment. “That will be all, Seona.”

She headed toward the door, then
realized Patience hadn’t been dismissed. She let herself out,
praying her aunt didn’t reveal anything that would anger her
father. If he knew the truth of it, he would be enraged.

As Seona waited a few yards from the
door for her aunt to emerge from the private conference with her
father, she thought of her sister, glad she was still staying with
Cousin Genevieve. At least she hoped she was, but she would love to
see her. It had been many months.

When one of the kitchen servants
passed nearby, Seona asked, “Is my sister still with my
cousin?”

“Lady Seona.” The maid curtsied. “Nay,
Lady Talia is in her bedchamber.”

What?
Seona frowned. Why had she not joined them for
supper?

“I thank you for telling me.” Seona
rushed up the narrow spiral stair to the floor above and knocked at
Talia’s chamber door. They were so close that normally they didn’t
knock; they simply barged in. Impatient, she tried to open the door
but it didn’t budge.

Why had her sister locked the
door?

“Talia? Are you in there?” Seona tried
to keep her voice low.

“Who is it?” The mumbled response
sounded sleepy. Was her sister napping?

“’
Tis Seona.”

“Seona?” Talia’s tone was more excited
now. “You are home?”

“Aye. Unlock the door.”

“I cannot. Father locked me in
here.”

An icy shock went through Seona.
“Why?”

“I angered him,” she said in an uneven
voice.

“Are you crying? What
happened?”
Heavens!
How she wished she could get inside and see her sister. “Did
Father hurt you?”

“Aye,” she said low, very close to the
other side of the door. “He hit me and I fell.”

Seona clenched her teeth. Damn the
man. Though she might be breaking a commandment and dishonoring her
father, the man was the very devil.

She blew out a breath and tried to
sound calm. “How badly are you hurt?”

“The maid said it looks worse than it
is.”

Dear heavens, it had to be bad, then.
“How does it look?”

“I have a bruise on my face,” Talia
said.

“What else? Any cuts or broken
bones?”

“Nay, but I have another bruise on my
arm where it struck the bed frame.”

Saints!
Seona wished she could lash out at her father in
the same way, but he was strong and stocky. He had knocked her down
before. When she was a wee lass, she remembered him treating her
poor mother the same way. She had to get Talia away from
him.

“What was he trying to make you do?”
Seona asked.

“He wants me to marry Chief Comyn. He
is an old man, Seona,” Talia sobbed.

Not only that, but the man was
notorious for being ruthless and vile. What could she do to help
her sister? She well knew fathers in the Highlands chose husbands
for their daughters, but hers was determined to find the worst
possible husbands for them to ensure their lives would be hell on
earth.

“Since he received your missive months
ago, he has been hunting a husband for you as well,” Talia
said.

Dark dread slammed into Seona’s gut.
“Who has he mentioned?”

Chapter Twenty-Three

Seona stood outside her sister’s door,
waiting to hear the name of the man her father planned to marry her
off to. Although a title meant naught to her, at the moment she
wished Keegan had the grandest title in the land, simply so she’d
be allowed to marry him.

“Talia?” Seona asked, moisture burning
her eyes. “Tell me who.”

“Laird Wentworth from further south.
He is a baron.”

She didn’t know whether to be relieved
that he was none of the horrid chiefs she knew, or more terrified
of the unknown. “I have never heard of him. Have you seen
him?”

“Aye, he visited. He is not terribly
old. I would say thirty summers. But you would not like him. He is
pompous and arrogant.”

“Perfect,” Seona muttered, hating her
father more with each second that passed.

Footsteps clomped up the stairwell
behind her.’Twas Fleming, one of the guards who had worked here
forever. Although his hair was mostly gray, he was still a brawny
man. “What are you about? Oh. Lady Seona, welcome home.” He
bowed.

“I thank you, Fleming. I wish to go in
and speak to my sister. Have you the key?”

“Aye, but I must ask Chief
Murray.”

“Please do.”

Fleming disappeared down the
stairwell.

Seona turned back to the door. “How
long have you been locked in there?”

“Five days,” Talia said.

“Good Lord. Have the maids brought you
food?”

“Aye.”

“And are you eating?”

“Aye.”

Seona was glad for that at least, but
she needed to see if her sister had lost weight. When Talia was
upset, she would sometimes avoid meals. “Why did you not remain
with Cousin Genevieve?” She would’ve been safe and cared for there,
at least.

“I did for several months, but when
spring arrived, Father came to retrieve me.”

“I see.”

“So he could find me a husband.” Talia
started crying again. “I won’t marry the beast!”

Footsteps echoed on the stone
steps.

“Shh… the guard is returning. Move
away from the door.”

Fleming came into view. “Your father
said you could visit with your sister.” He unlocked the
door.

“I thank you,” Seona said, then
entered the room.

The lock clicked behind her, giving
her a cold chill.

Talia lit a candle from the hearth
fire and placed it on a nearby table. Seona hurried to her and,
when Talia faced her, Seona couldn’t believe the bruise covering
the left side of her face. Her cheek was purple with tinges of
green and yellow. At least it appeared to be healing.

“Oh, heavens, Talia.” Tears filling
her eyes, Seona stroked the uninjured side of her sister’s sweet
face. ’Twas almost as if they were wee girls again, huddling in a
chamber, hoping their father stayed far away.

Talia grabbed her in a hug and sobbed
against her shoulder. Seona embraced her tightly and stroked her
back. “Shh, tis all right.”

Never had their father given Seona
such a huge bruise, though he had slapped her hard four different
times. Seona had always tried to protect her younger sister. She
regretted that she hadn’t been here this time, but she’d had no
choice in the matter.

Talia pulled back and wiped her eyes
with a handkerchief. “I’ve decided, if I can get out of this room,
I’m going to run away.”

“What? Where would you go?”

“I know not. Anywhere.”

“Talia—”

“Nay. Do not try to talk me out of
it.”

Certainly Seona had dreamed of running
away, too, but she had never seriously considered it because she
had to stay and protect her sister. Plus, as women, they had no
means. No money, aside from what their father gave them. They had
no relatives in distant villages who might hide them. All their
relatives were close-by, and worst of all, they were loyal to her
father… or they feared him.

If only Seona could have married one
of the MacKays. Keegan, of course, was the man she wanted so
desperately to marry, but she feared her father would not even
consider it. If she could’ve married a decent man, she’d hoped to
bring her sister to live with her. But now she knew that might not
be possible, if her father was bent on arranging a marriage between
Talia and the Comyn chief.

Seona’s stomach pained her for she was
trapped just as she’d always been.

“We must think of a solution,” she
told Talia.

“I have. I’m running away.”

“Do you have a plan? How will you
support yourself? Where will you stay? How will you buy
food?”

Talia crumpled onto the bench near the
hearth. “I know not,” she sobbed.

Seona sat beside her and rubbed her
back. “Shh. We must think.”

Heavens!
If only Seona could marry Keegan, she could take
Talia with her to Durness and keep her safe. Away from old, beastly
chiefs who wanted to marry young girls. Talia would love staying
with the MacKays. They were a lively and considerate group. The man
Seona loved and her best friend were among them. To think of never
seeing them again broke her heart. They were her true
family.

Keegan had said he was going to ask
her father for her hand. Would he still do this after having met
her father? Keegan was a strong, brave man and Seona couldn’t see
him being intimidated by her father. Although perhaps he should be,
given her father’s ruthlessness.

If only Laird Rebbinglen could
convince her father to see Keegan’s merits. Tanist was no small
position within a clan. But more importantly, Keegan was an
honorable, protective, and responsible man. Unfortunately, these
admirable qualities were not of utmost importance to her
father.

Her stomach knotted when she imagined
Keegan standing before her father, asking for her hand. She feared
her father would fly into an instant rage and try to hurt
Keegan.

“I’m tired of thinking about all
this,” Talia said. “Tell me of your adventures in the north and why
you didn’t marry the MacKay chief.”

There was so much. How could Seona
possibly tell her sister of everything she’d seen and experienced
since last autumn? “You must promise not to tell
anyone.”

“Of course I won’t tell. I
promise.”

Seona told her of how beautiful
Durness was in the spring, but how harsh and cold in the winter,
and how she and their aunt had traveled from Tongue to Durness in
the bitter cold. She told her of the friendly, fun-loving MacKay
clan and how she envied Dirk and Isobel’s love match. She told her
of the battles they’d endured on their journey south again and how
Haldane MacKay wanted to kidnap her. Seona knew not how long she
talked. She could go on for hours about the MacKays and Isobel and
how she enjoyed spending time with them.

“What are you not telling me?” Talia
asked.

“What do you mean?”

“I can tell you’re keeping a
secret.”

Keegan was her secret. A few of the
men knew, of course. But dare she tell her sister? She had always
kept her secrets. Talia disliked Aunt Patience’s spying as much as
Seona did. And how could Seona not tell her sister the most amazing
thing that had happened to her—she’d fallen in love with a most
remarkable man.