It must be dinner time. Marion knew that she should eat, though she wasn’t feeling particularly hungry. Her headache was still there, pounding in the back of her head. She groaned silently and tried to sit up.
As soon as she did, the bedroom door flew open and Lady Beitris stormed in. The look in her eyes was full of fury, and Marion could instantly see that she was Laird Brun’s daughter. There was a similar, horrifying madness deep in her emerald eyes. Now, as mad as she looked, she wasn’t one bit beautiful. She reminded Marion of the sea, beautiful on a calm day, and terrifying on a stormy night.
“Ye… ruined… everythin’!” she yelled and slammed the door shut.
“Lady Beitris, calm down, please,” Marion said softly. Her yelling made Marion’s head ache so much that her vision went blurry.
“Ye were supposed to be gone! Ye were nae supposed to come back! And now ye have ruined me marriage and prosperity!” she spoke in a voice that dripped of hatred towards Marion.
Marion was astonished by her behavior and didn’t even know how to respond. The madness behind her eyes was flaming and she reminded Marion of Laird Brun even more.
“Now me faither is locked up in some dungeon and it is all because of ye. I didnae deserve this! I deserve to be the Lady of Gille Chriost and Brun,” she spoke, pacing around the room.
What she said next made Marion’s stomach drop.
“‘Tis yer fault… if ye were nae here, everythin’ would go back to normal. Faither would be free, there would be no evidence… I must dae it meself,” she was mumbling more to herself than to Marion.
Lady Beitris kept on pacing around and mumbling. Now, she wasn’t even looking at Marion anymore and Marion wasn’t sure if she even knew that she was in the room. Lady Beitris looked as if she had lost her mind.
“I must finish what me faither started… it will all go back to normal… they will forget about her,” she mumbled.
Marion bit her lip. Should she call for someone? Lady Beitris had clearly lost her mind. Something was wrong. She couldn’t possibly be talking about… harming her? Did she really think she would get away with it?
Marion straightened her shoulders and forced herself to sit up a little bit more. She wasn’t going to be afraid of this woman. After all, she was her sister. Half-sister, but still.
“Lady Beitris? Can I be of help to you in any way?” she asked diplomatically, though her heart was still pounding.
Lady Beitris turned to Marion, as if seeing her for the first time.
“Ah, I forgot ye were here,” she smiled a little bit and the smile was so horrifying Marion instantly regretted saying anything. There was no talking sense into her.
Lady Beitris quickly turned around and headed for the little desk in the corner. A letter opener laid on the table, and she grabbed it with a crazy glimmer in her eyes.
“Daenae worry, I will make it quick. And I will nae make a mistake, like that guard did.”
“Lady Beitris, what are you doing?” Marion asked, her voice shaking. She couldn’t be serious.
There was a knock on the door.
“Go away!” Lady Beitris yelled, not taking her eyes off Marion.
“Marion? Are ye all right?” she heard Fionnghall ask through the door.
Marion gulped. Her heart was racing.
“She’s fine! Now, go away!” Lady Beitris responded.
Fionnghall knocked again.
“Marion?”
For a second, no one moved. Then, Fionnghall opened the door, and Lady Beitris turned to look at him. Fionnghall saw the same madness in her emerald eyes that scared Marion.
Without hesitation, Fionnghall leaped towards Lady Beitris and grabbed her wrist.
“No! NO!! I must finish me faither’s work! Release me!” she screamed.
“Guards!” Fionnghall yelled.
25
Marriage?
Marion was watching, frozen and terrified, the scene in front of her. She saw Fionnghall twisting the letter opener out of Lady Beitris’ hand. Marion heard him order the guards to take Lady Beitris to the cell with her father.
Fionnghall straightened his shirt and sat next to Marion’s bed. Marion could still hear Lady Beitris’ screams from the hall.
“Marion! Are ye all right? What happened?” he asked as the last guard closed the door behind him.
Marion shook her head, still terrified of what had happened. Everything happened so fast she was having a hard time grasping reality.
“I… don’t know. She said I had ruined everything and that she would finish what her father had started,” Marion said slowly, trying to remember the exact events.
Fionnghall ran his fingers through Marion’s hair and smiled vaguely.
“Like father, like daughter, I guess,” he said.
“She looked as if she had lost her mind,” Marion said.
She knew that as per her upbringing, she should have felt pity for her. Somehow, she didn’t, though. Suddenly, something occurred to Marion.
“I am sorry you will have to marry her. A marriage as such will certainly be a difficult one. But,” Marion said, “the prosperity and peace between the clans is the most important thing, after all.”
Fionnghall started laughing. It made Marion jump, as this was the last reaction she was expecting of him. His laugh echoed in the room and Marion flinched—loud noises still made her head ache.
“What is so funny?” Marion asked and furrowed her eyebrows. She didn’t see anything funny in this situation.
Fionnghall stopped laughing and a wide smile spread across his face. He grabbed Marion’s hand and held it tight. The warm touch of his strong hand made her heart jump, just as it did every single time.
“I was goin’ to wait until yer parents got here. But, as the situations keep unraveling and I have already spoken with Lady Brun, I may as well dae it now,” he said.
“Would ye stop being so enigmatic and tell me what is going on?” Marion asked as she felt a teeny bit of annoyance bubbling underneath her loving feelings towards him. “My parents? My parents are coming here?”
“Deirdre wrote to them earlier,” Fionnghall said. “Even though I will nae get to go about this the right way, askin’ yer faither first, let me dae this anyway.”
Now Marion was completely puzzled. Ask her father what?
Fionnghall stood up from his chair, still holding onto Marion’s hand and kneeled down. Marion’s heart skipped a beat. He couldn’t be doing what she thought he was doing.
“Marion Bewforest, I have never felt this way about anyone else. Ye give me life purpose. I look forward to wakin’ up every morning, whereas before it was irrelevant. Ye are stubborn and ye annoy me, and yet I cannae help but love ye more than me own life.”
“If ye give me the honor, I will promise to make ye happy every day fer the rest of yer life.”
Marion’s mouth fell open and she forgot to breathe. Her heart was pounding and a wave of warmth washed over her. Her hand started to shake and a small exhale escaped her lips. Fionnghall continued.
“Marion, will ye marry me?”
Marion’s headache seemed to disappear in an instant and all of a sudden, she had never felt better in her life. She was filled with love and happiness. He did love her as much as she had thought. There was only one sliver of shadow over this question, preventing her from saying yes.
“What about Lady Beitris? I still don’t understand what is going on,” she said, confused.
Fionnghall’s expression didn’t waver one bit. Just a moment ago, they had witnessed the mental breakdown of Lady Beitris, but now, Fionnghall looked as if it wasn’t even important. Then he spoke.
“Marion, the promise of marriage was made between the late Laird of Brun and me parents. The agreement was that I marry the daughter of Laird Brun. Which is who ye are,” he explained, as if it was supposed to be clear as day.
Understanding lit up Marion’s face and her smile stretched across her face so wide that it hurt. She wanted
to pinch herself to make sure this all wasn’t a dream.
“So, Marion, will ye marry me?” he repeated his question.
Now, Marion didn’t hesitate for one second.
“Yes, yes I will!” she exclaimed and threw her arms around Fionnghall’s neck.
Embracing him like this, without a guilty conscience, was wonderful. Her happiness and joy were overflowing and she felt as though she couldn’t even handle this amount of love. She felt tears stinging her eyes and before she knew it, she was crying.
“What’s the matter? Aren’t ye happy?” Fionnghall asked, suddenly worried.
Marion shook her head and let out a heartfelt laugh.
“Of course I am!”
“Then why are ye cryin’?” Fionnghall asked, confused.
“Because I am so happy, silly,” Marion responded
As she locked eyes with him, it felt like she could see nothing and no one else. Her whole world was Fionnghall and his deep brown, beautiful eyes. And this time, she could look into them all she wanted without feeling guilty.
Marion threw caution to the wind and pulled his face closer to hers. She kissed his warm lips for the first time without feeling like she was doing something wrong. His lips were hers and she could kiss them all day.
The moment felt like it would last forever. She wasn’t breathing. The kiss and his lips were her oxygen. That was all she needed to live. His hands were on her face and she could think of nothing else.
Reluctantly, she finally pulled herself away and took a deep breath. For the last few minutes, she had forgotten all about the splitting pain in her head. Now it was back and she narrowed her eyes away from the candle light that made her head thump even more.
Fionnghall noticed this and he pulled away, letting Marion fall back on her pillow.
“I must apologize. Ye are not feelin’ well, ye should rest,” he said gently and smiled.
Marion wasn’t going to argue this point. She felt suddenly exhausted and chilly, and her head felt like it weighed a ton. She gladly laid back down.
Fionnghall turned away to leave the room, but Marion stopped him.
“Wait. When are my parents coming?” she asked sleepily.
“We are expectin’ them in a few days’ time,” he responded. “And the very first thing I am goin’ to dae is to ask yer faither fer yer hand.”
* * *
Fionnghall closed the door behind him quietly. Marion looked very tired and he was sure it was because of the fever and her headache. He was absentmindedly thinking that he should call the physician back to check on Marion the next day.
As of right now, nothing could shadow his happiness. Marion was back and a wonderful turn of events had ensured that he could ask for Marion to marry him without a guilty conscience.
Though he felt bad for Lady Beitris, she clearly wasn’t well. He was happy that no agreements had been broken between himself and the Brun’s. Now that Lady Brun was the leader of Brun, Fionnghall could be certain of the prosperity and well-being of his clan. And the Brun’s.
He stepped to the hall and out the doors. He was feeling so great he decided to pour himself a drink. But first, he would find Jack and share the great news.
“Jack!” he called out when he reached the barns. He was always at the barn with the horses, if he wasn’t out hunting.
“In here!” Fionnghall heard a muffled sound somewhere in the barn.
He opened the feed room door and saw Jack preparing grains for the horses. He was scooping oats into ten buckets and was immersed into his work.
“Ye look unusually happy,” Jack noted with a suspicious look on his face.
Fionnghall grinned and leaned towards the wall. Jack looked at him and straightened his back. He measured him with his eyes for a moment.
“What did ye dae?” he asked Fionnghall finally.
“What? Nothin’,” Fionnghall responded, still grinning.
“Ye have no idea what happened here today, dae ye?” Fionnghall asked.
“Should I have? I’ve been out in Ridgemoore all day with me men,” he replied, returning back to his work. “I take it that ye told Laird Brun about yer decision and it went well?”
“Close, but nae, I had nae need,” Fionnghall responded. He told Jack everything that had happened earlier in the day. Everything from Lady Brun recognizing Marion to locking up Laird Brun and even his daughter.
Jack shook his head and exhaled through his teeth.
“Is that why ye are so happy?” Jack asked.
“Sort of,” Fionnghall responded. “I asked Marion to marry me,” he continued.
Jack’s eyes spread wide.
“Good Lord” he managed to say after a brief moment of silence. “What about her parents? Daenae ye need to talk with her faither?” he asked.
This brought Fionnghall momentarily back to earth. What else was he going to expect from Jack? He had always been the reasonable man who thought of practical matters. Of course he was going to bring this up.
“Oh, Jack! Can ye nae be happy fer me fer a second?” Fionnghall asked, wrapping his arm around Jack’s broad shoulders. “Let us go have a drink! ‘Tis time to celebrate!”
Jack laughed.
“So I take that she agreed?”
“Aye, she sure did. I bet there is no happier man than me on Earth tonight,” Fionnghall said and lead Jack towards the castle. It was time to pour a good, generous drink and to celebrate with his best friend.
The practical matters, as well as telling others, might well wait until the morning.
* * *
Marion woke up in the middle of the night, sweating profusely. Her face and hands were clammy and her hair was sticking to the sides of her face. She was chilly, though the fire in the fireplace was burning hot and the windows were closed. Her bed and nightgown were soaked from the sweat.
Her head was aching more than before and she felt parched and weak. Not eating and drinking in the evening had taken its toll. Everything was hazy and she had a hard time figuring out what was reality and what was a dream.
She thought she saw shadows in the corners of her room. People. She even thought she heard talking and chattering coming from the corners of her room. But she could not be sure if it was real or not. Everything was so blurry that she wasn’t even sure if the proposal from Fionnghall was real or just a part of a feverish dream.
Marion felt panicked. Her body was aching everywhere and she wasn’t able to move. The fire from the fireplace was flickering and it made her dizzy and it was hard for her to focus her eyes on anything.
She tried to stretch her arm out to grab a pitcher of water from the tray on her nightstand, but her muscles were not moving. Her arms and legs felt as though they weighed a thousand pounds and she was shaking all over.
Even her breathing was labored. She had to focus on every breath she took and force her lungs to inhale and exhale. Her throat was scratchy and it felt swollen.
Through this vale of haziness, she knew that she was sick. Very, very sick. She had taken a turn for the worse.
This cannot be happening. Out in the field, when I was lost, I wanted to fall into a dream that I would never ever wake up from. I was in so much pain. And now, God is giving me what I wished for. He is punishing me for what I did to Lady Beitris. I knew it, it was wrong, I never should have come here. I’ve sinned and not even asked for forgiveness.
Please, God, I will do anything. Don’t let me end like this. I have only just found my happiness and reason for living. I have only just found my real mother. Please, God, forgive me and I will do anything.
The night was crawling by and minutes felt like hours. Marion didn’t even know how long she had been unmoving and on the border of unconsciousness and reality. It was dark outside, so she was sure it was in the middle of the night. No one would be checking up on her for a while. Morning seemed to be incredibly far away. The chills and trembling got worse.
In the back of her mind, she knew she had to stay awake.
She knew that something was really wrong.
26
Uncertainty
Deirdre was preparing a breakfast tray for Marion in the kitchen. After dinner, Marion had been asleep and the tray of food untouched on her tray. Deirdre was sure that she was hungry. Illness usually made the patient not want to eat, but she needed her strength.
She prepared a bowl of porridge and some fruits on the plate and poured some fresh and cool water in the pitcher. Deirdre was happy that Marion was back at Gille Chriost. Her brother’s plan to ask Marion to marry him was exhilarating to her.
Captivating A Highland Warrior (Steamy Scottish Historical Romance) Page 23