Return of the Highlander (21 page)

“Of course.” She smiled and worked diligently to help the smile reach her eyes.

Noticing that her wineglass was empty, Gregory reached for the decanter and refilled her cup. “About your father,” he said as the dark wine gushed into the glass. “Did you have a pleasant visit with him?”

“As pleasant as can be expected when father and daughter are reunited in a prison cell.”

Gregory set the decanter down again. “Naturally, I understand how you must feel, but I am afraid there is not much to be done about that. He is a traitor to King George and the law is the law.”

Finding it difficult to continue her meal, she discreetly pushed her food around on her plate. “I was hoping to speak to you about that, actually. I was wondering if it might be possible to move my father to a more comfortable location for the long term. I understand that he cannot have his freedom, but since he will eventually be your father-in-law, perhaps he could be placed in the South Tower, in a room with a window. Perhaps even with a view of the loch.”

Gregory stared at her for a long moment, then he set down his utensils and sat back in the chair. “You must have misunderstood my father’s terms,” he said with a note of regret. “Surely you realize that it was an enormous concession for your father to be spared the noose at all, considering what he attempted to do. You must content yourself with the arrangements that have already been made, Larena. He will be sent to the Tolbooth at the end of the month.”

A scorching heat exploded in her belly. “
The Tolbooth
!”

She knew what sorts of inhumanities occurred in that notorious stone edifice. Prisoners were tortured and starved and displayed callously outside the prison walls in iron collars.

“Please, Gregory, surely you could intervene on his behalf. If you become laird here….” She paused, cleared her throat, and began again.
“When
you become laird, you will be my father’s keeper. His jailor, so to speak. Will that not suffice to ensure that no further uprisings ever occur at Leathan again?”

“But he attempted to incite a rebellion,” Gregory argued. “The fact that he will be allowed to live at all means he is getting off lightly.” His eyebrows pulled together in a frown. “Besides, what sort of example would it set for the people of Scotland if your father was permitted to live a life of luxury in his own home, simply because his daughter married an English colonel? We cannot be perceived to show favoritism. I daresay it would cause tremendous discontentment.”

Anxiety rose up inside Larena, but she swallowed hard to keep her emotions in check. “But he will be grandfather to your children.”

Gregory slowly nodded. “I realize that, and it is unfortunate, I agree. But have no doubt, our children will be raised as loyal subjects to King George. You and I will be Laird and Lady of Leathan Castle. I cannot risk having your father plant seeds of rebellion in anyone’s mind.”

“He wouldn’t.”

“I don’t think you are in a position to know what he might or might not do. You were kept in the dark about his Jacobite activities, were you not?”

“He was trying to protect me.”

“And thank God for that,” Gregory replied, picking up his glass and taking a drink.

Larena bit back the urge to argue further, for she suspected it might do more harm than good and cause Gregory to distrust her. She could not afford to let that happen. Not when she was already at his mercy in so many ways.

She thought of Darach in that moment and felt an excruciating stab of regret over her impetuous decision to send him away. Why had she acted so hastily?

Of course, she knew why—because she had allowed him to make love to her. She had not been able to resist him, which had made her feel powerless and out of control.

And he had made her want to break an important oath.

“I suppose I do see your point,” she said to Gregory, working hard to conceal her true thoughts and feelings. “Let us say no more about it.” She picked up her wine glass as well. “May I ask if you have given any thought to a wedding date?”

She needed to know all of his intentions. Every last one of them.

“As soon as a proper ceremony can be arranged,” he replied, “if that meets with your approval.” He reached across the table and covered her hand with his own. “I cannot tell you how eager I am to make you my wife. If you must know the truth, it’s why I requested this Scottish commission in the first place, in the hopes that our paths would cross. Speaking of planting seeds, I did suggest an arrangement like this to my father more than a year ago. So when you arrived at Fort William, pleading for your father’s life, he must have thought it was fate. What a wonderful blessing that turned out to be.”

The effect of his words was shattering to her soul. She could not imagine how any man who claimed to care for her could be so pleased that she had been forced to flee her home and plead for her father’s life—as if his imminent death was somehow a stroke of good luck.

“That is very romantic,” she said, masking her revulsion. “May I ask another question?”

“Of course, my darling.”

“Once we are married, how long will the English soldiers remain here?”

“I cannot say for sure,” he replied, sliding his hand from hers and returning to his meal, “though I predict they will remain for as long as there are rebels in Scotland determined to fight for the Stuart pretender.”

“But that could go on forever,” she mentioned, “for men are always at odds when it comes to politics and crowns.”

Gregory wagged his knife at her from across the table. “That is true. Which is why I have made it my purpose in the Highlands to do whatever I must to maintain peace and encourage loyalty to our one true King. I must ensure that there is no threat to the Hanover succession. We must continue to punish those who promote traitorous ideas.”

“Like my father,” she said, slicing into her meat rather violently.

“Yes, like your father,” he replied. “I am glad you understand my position, Larena, and that you do not share his opinions.”

“I was raised to support the Hanover succession,” she told him flatly, which was mostly true. “But I also understand that the clan has become divided in that regard.”

She wanted only to know how Gregory intended to govern over that particular issue.

“Only since your father took over as chief,” he agreed. “But I’ve been asking questions since I arrived, and I have come to the conclusion that most members of this clan never supported your father’s ideas. And there are rumors….”

Gregory’s eyes bored into hers.

“What rumors?” she asked uneasily as she picked up her glass and sipped the wine.

“That your father had a hand in the former chief’s death.”

“I beg your pardon?” Darach had mentioned such a thing, but it could not possibly be true.

“So that he could take his place as laird and push his traitorous ideas on the clan,” Gregory added.

Larena slammed down her glass. “Those are false rumors, Gregory. Ronald Campbell’s death was an accident. He fell from his horse during a hunt and there were witnesses. My father may have been disloyal to King George, but he is no murderer. He is the kindest and most loving man I’ve ever known.”

Gregory raised a hand, as if to calm the waters of disagreement between them. “Of course, of course. I did not mean to imply….”

By now her heart was pounding like a hammer in her chest and she wanted to leave the room immediately.

“I am afraid the wine has made me sleepy,” she said. “You were right before. I have been through a terrible ordeal. If you don’t mind….” She removed her napkin from her lap, folded it on the table, and began to rise from her chair. Gregory stood up as well. “I must retire for the night. I fear that once I reach my bed, I may sleep for three days straight.”

He smiled sympathetically and escorted her to the door. “Shall we dine again tomorrow evening?” he asked. “There are still so many things I wish to discuss with you and share with you. I want to know all about your life here at Leathan since I left. And I am sure you must want to know more about my life in England as well.”

“Yes, that would be lovely,” she replied, not wanting to arouse any suspicions that she might be having second thoughts about this marriage, among other things.

She waited for Gregory to open the door, but to her utter astonishment, his hand came up to rest on her cheek and he leaned in for a kiss.

Larena gasped slightly in shock as his lips connected with hers—a chaste kiss, thank the Lord, which only lasted a heartbeat or two. But what would come next, after that, she wondered, as the days and nights passed and their wedding feast drew near?

He smiled at her and drew away. “Good night, my dear. I will look forward to our dinner tomorrow evening. Perhaps we can talk more about our nuptials. We must decide upon a firm date.”

Her eyebrows lifted as she reached for the door latch. “Yes, we must.”

Gregory took hold of it first, however, and spoke to Lieutenant Roberts, who stood outside. “See that the lady is escorted back to her chamber.”

“Yes, sir.”

Larena thanked Gregory one last time, then followed the guard down the stairs.

As she moved through the arched castle corridors, then across the moonlit bailey to the South Tower where her rooms were located, her heartbeat escalated with every step, for she was secretly praying that Darach had not left the castle as she’d so foolishly asked him to do. She’d been so sure that following through with her pledge to marry Gregory was the right thing to do, but suddenly she was overcome with doubts about everything—her future happiness, her father’s survival at the Tolbooth, and the honor and integrity of her fiancé, whose words had struck more than a few bad chords in her heart as they spoke over dinner.

It was true. He was not the gentle, intellectual boy she remembered from her childhood. There was something about him that unnerved her. She suspected he was a changed man and she was not entirely certain he would be a good chief for her clan—or the sort of husband she could love.

Love….

What did she even know of that? In bed with Darach, she had felt a mad desire like no other. He was a handsome Scotsman she admired, respected, and trusted, despite everything in his past that should pit her against him. She had given herself to him. She had relinquished her precious virginity, for she wanted him—and only him—to be the one.

How could she have been so foolish as to send him away? She felt very alone now, unsure of her future and her father’s safety. She had no one on her side.

Unless Darach had chosen to stay….

Perhaps he knew she was making a mistake. He had tried to talk her out of it after all. Perhaps he had predicted she would come to her senses before the night was out, and he would still be there, waiting for her return.

When at last she arrived at her door, she thanked Lieutenant Roberts, sent him on his way, and ventured inside.

She shut the door and locked it behind her, then dashed to the bed where she crouched down to peer under it.

There was nothing there but a dust-covered floor.

Rising to her feet, she searched every corner of her room, including her dressing room and behind the drapes, whispering his name. “Darach, are you here?”

He was gone.

Not yet ready to give up—praying that he had not given up on
her—
she peered out into the corridor to make sure Roberts had departed, then hurried down the steps and ran outside across the bailey.

She discovered that Leathan was a changed place. Redcoats were everywhere—standing around in groups, patrolling the battlements. She felt their curious stares as she walked quickly and impatiently to the stables.

She found a groom who had fallen asleep on a pile of hay with his cap tugged low over his forehead. She shook him hard to wake him. “Have you been here all night, Alastair?”

“What’s that?” he asked, jerking upright.

“What happened to the MacDonald clansman who arrived with me earlier at dusk?” she asked. “Is his horse still here?”

“Nay, my lady. The MacDonald rode out of here in a hurry over an hour ago. He was a bit rude about it, too. Not a very friendly man.”

Her spirits sank. “An hour ago? Are you sure? Did you actually see him leave?”

“Aye. They raised the gate for him and lowered it afterward. He’s long gone.”

She turned away from the groom and covered her face with her hands. “Oh, Darach,” she whispered.

“What’s that, my lady?” Alastair asked, following her.

“Nothing,” she replied, lowering her hands to her sides and walking out.

But as she climbed the tower steps to her bedchamber, she had to fight hard against tears, for her heart trembled with remorse and fear for the future. She had never felt more alone or vulnerable in her life. Or so terribly heartbroken.

Chapter Twenty-three

At the approximate spot on the mountainside where Darach and Larena had met up with the Redcoats earlier that day—when Darach had been placed in irons and forced to walk the final distance at gunpoint—he reined in his horse to a skidding halt and turned to look back at Leathan Castle.

It was a mighty and spectacular sight under the star-speckled sky—a high-reaching bastion with windows that glowed like dozens of cats’ eyes staring back at him. Even from this distance he could hear the faint sounds of a fiddle playing from somewhere within the walls and the raucous singing of men. Miller pricked his ears and whinnied in the cool breezes rising up from the moonlit loch below.