by Paula Quinn
Matthew Oliphant was an imposing man. His snow-white beard and hair dinna mean a bloody thing. He was as strong as a bull, a fearless fighter, and rightfully angry. Alex hoped their first meeting wouldna end with violence.
“That depends on what my daughter has to say. Keely, why are ye standing there, lass? Come down here at once!”
She eyed her sire, visibly shaken, then looked to Alex. If he forbade her from going to her da, it would hurt her in a way he couldna fix. It dinna matter, she rushed off the dais and into her sire’s arms. Laird Oliphant embraced her, then held her at arm’s length, studying her face.
“Lass,” he said gently. “Ye broke my heart.”
“I am sorry, Father.”
“Where have ye been?”
“That is a matter better discussed in my solar,” Alex interjected.
Not letting go of his daughter, Laird Oliphant threw Alex a dark look. “Truth is better told in the open. And if the rumors that reached my ears are true, I will have yer head, MacKay, and a good measure of yer blood, too.”
“Nay.” Keely took her father’s hand. “And Broc and Gavin,” she addressed two of her brothers, who were eager to pull their weapons. “Stand down, please.”
Mathe and several of the MacKay guards surged forward, forming a semicircle around Keely’s family.
“Violence willna change anything. I am legally wed to Laird Alex. The proof is hanging over the hearth.” She gestured at the very thing she despised, the blood-stained sheet.
“That means nothing,” her sire growled, the evidence of their wedding night only deepening his resentment. “It redeems ye, but not him.” He pointed at Alex. “She took vows with yer brother, John.”
Alex ignored the insult. Arguing with a man blinded by rage would accomplish nothing but getting one of them killed. There’d been enough bloodshed lately. And Alex owed his father-in-law a generous measure of tolerance. If Keely were his daughter, he would demand justice, too. “If ye will come with me, Laird Oliphant, my secretary will show ye the legal documents that will prove her union with John was invalid. I mean no disrespect to ye or yer sons.”
“Keely.” Her father gave her a gentle shake. “Tell me where ye’ve been all this time? The missives I received revealed little and were delivered by men unwilling to say a word. Did ye flee this place and go to the convent? What was the purpose of all the secrecy? Did John hurt ye?”
“No, Father. I will answer yer questions, but not here.”
Laird Oliphant nodded, letting her go. “Laird John died not a sennight ago and ye’re already remarried?”
“Matthew,” Alex gritted out. “There are things ye doona understand.” If the man only knew how close Alex was to losing his temper. “Will ye join us in my solar?”
“Broc will come, too.” Laird Oliphant waved at his eldest son. “The rest of ye, stay here.”
Breathing a sigh of relief, Alex led the way. Keely shared a worried look with him as he opened the door and invited her father to cross the threshold first. Thankfully, the chamber had high ceilings and plenty of room, for Alex needed some space. Petro rose from his chair behind the desk and bowed as Alex walked in and closed the door.
“This is my interpreter and secretary, Petro de’ Medici.”
Laird Oliphant bent his head in recognition. “Get on with it, Alexander.”
Keely and her brother sat down in the chairs along the back wall while her father and Alex claimed the padded seats at the desk.
“Laird Oliphant, Keely’s sire, wishes to know why I married his daughter,” Alex told Petro.
Petro immediately shuffled through the ledgers and papers on the desk. “If you will take the time to read these letters, I am sure you will find the information you seek.”
“Missives? From who?”
“From my father and brother,” Alex clarified. “And one from Father Michael.”
“I’m not interested in the words of dead men,” Matthew spat. “Speak plainly, Alex. There are no soldiers to keep us from shedding each other’s blood in here.”
“Nay, there are not,” he agreed. “Are ye prepared for the truth, sir?”
“I am prepared to listen.”
Alex stood and started to pace. He’d prefer to speak one-on-one with his father-in-law. But as he scanned the faces of his wife, Broc, and Petro, he agreed they all deserved to witness the conversation. The future hung in the balance. “Before ye commanded yer daughter to marry John, we were handfasted.”
Laird Oliphant stretched his long legs out and dinna speak.
“Something my father claimed ye were aware of.”
“If I may, Alex,” Petro said. “Consent was given in the form of sacred vows spoken between your daughter and Alex. According to canon law and the law in Scotland, consent supersedes any betrothal or marriage made thereafter.”
“Holy Christ!” Laird Oliphant fisted his hands. “This wasna supposed to happen.”
“Father,” Keely said. “I did as ye asked and married John.”
Her father twisted round in his chair, staring at her. “Yer virgin blood is on that sheet, Keely. How could ye have married Laird John?”
“We dinna consummate the marriage.”
“And why not, girl?”
Keely averted her gaze.
“She ran away,” Alex answered for her.
“Why?” her father pressed.
Broc took her by the hand. “Be brave, lass. Tell our sire whatever he wishes to know.”
“I-It’s not that easy, Broc.” She palmed tears from her eyes.
“Why the hell not?” her father blasted.
Keely’s lips quivered, and Alex wished he could help her, save her from this inquisition. But truth be told, she needed to learn to stand up to her sire the same way she challenged him and his captains. The lass had it inside her, she just needed to find the courage.
“I dinna love John.”
“Love?” her sire scoffed. “If love had anything to do with marriage, the Highlands would be long gone.”
“I doona understand, Father.”
“Matches are made to benefit the future of our clans, not to sate the passion in yer heart. Alex was but a whelp. It was John who held the future of Clan MacKay in his hands.”
“John is dead,” she observed.
“Aye—put in an early grave by ye and his only brother.”
“Enough!” Alex slammed his fist on the table, startling Keely and her father. “John was killed defending our lands from Sutherlands.”
“His death is convenient for ye, too, is it not?” Matthew accused. “For look at ye now, Laird MacKay.”
“Father…” Broc stood.
“Sit down, lad. I’ll have my say.”
“At what cost?” Alex asked.
“She is my child.”
“Keely is my wife.”
Silence swallowed the room.
“Does my happiness mean nothing to ye?” Keely asked.
“Where did ye run to, Keely?” Broc asked.
“Dunrobin Castle,” she said.
“Jesus Christ,” Broc growled. “Ye chose the Sutherlands over us? Over John? Over anyone else? I canna stand being in the same room with ye!”
Broc slapped Keely’s face hard enough for her to cry out. Not from pain, Alex knew, but from the shock of it. Broc wasna a violent man.
Alex kicked his chair aside and rushed Broc.
Keely shielded her brother, standing between Alex and him. “Nay, Alex. I willna let ye retaliate. I deserved it.”
“No one has the right to strike ye, Keely.”
“Nay? I’d rather be kicked in the gut than have ye all tugging me in different directions.” She covered her face with both hands, then let out a strangled sound. Squaring her shoulders, she looked between her husband and father. “I doona wish to witness any more hatred.” She stormed out of the solar and slammed the door.
Laird Oliphant was the first to speak. “She has always been a biddable lass.”
*
Keely ran down the stairs, then marched through the great hall. She’d meant every word she had said to Alex and her sire. When would they consider her feelings?
“Lady Keely,” Mathe called, following her outside.
“I doona wish to speak to ye, Mathe.”
“Ye’re not allowed to wander about without an escort.”
She clenched her hands. “Get behind me, devil,” she swore. “I have reached my limit, Captain. I will walk alone, and if ye send anyone after me, I will punch him in the nose.”
Mathe gaped at her for a brief moment, then bowed. “Aye, milady.”
Satisfied he had taken her seriously, Keely headed for the loch. She perched on one of the boulders, admiring the water. Happier times had been known there. She and Alex dinna have to worry about anything. And they’d fallen in love so easily.
Her solitude dinna last; she heard the crunch of grass and gravel beneath someone’s boots.
“Lady Keely?”
It was Petro.
“Did Alex send ye?” If he had, she’d send the scholar back to him.
“No. I excused myself and decided to find you.”
“I am glad,” she admitted. “Ye’re the only person I could tolerate right now.”
“And how did I win such favor?”
She gestured for him to sit on the rock next to her. “By not making any demands of me and by treating me as an equal.”
He sat down. “I’ve always found women more intelligent than men.”
“Aye?”
“Why else would God bless you with the ability to carry children and give birth?”
“I think most women have been taught it’s a curse, punishment for Eve’s sins.”
Petro chuckled. “Men wrote the holy book, Lady Keely. And men are the ones to teach it. How different it might be if women were entrusted with such things.”
She stared at him in shock. “Have ye shared these thoughts with anyone else?”
“Never.”
“Good,” she said. “I think ye better not. If Father Michael overheard ye, he might have ye burned at the stake.”
“Which only proves my point.”
“So it does,” she agreed.
“Do you mind if I ask you a question?”
“Nay.”
“Why did ye run to the Sutherlands?” he asked.
“I will not apologize for my choice.”
“I do not expect you to.”
“I couldna face my sire. By leaving John, I betrayed the MacKays and my family. I sought refuge in the one place I knew no one would look for me. Though I never intended to stay there for five years.”
“And Earl Sutherland was only too happy to oblige.”
“I was made welcome from the moment his men discovered me.”
“Alex has mentioned the earl’s youngest son, a bastard, I believe.”
“Struan.”
“You spent time with him?”
“Aye.”
“Did he ever make demands of you?”
Keely dinna understand. “Demands?”
“Did he show ye affection? Ask you to marry him?”
“Twas mentioned on occasion. Not only by Struan, but the earl, too. An impossibility, for at the time, I believed myself married to Laird John. Why do ye ask?”
Petro reached inside his tunic and produced a missive with a broken wax seal. Keely immediately recognized the Sutherland crest and her heart plummeted.
“I am able to act on Laird Alex’s behalf concerning all forms of business. I intercepted this missive yesterday. It is from the earl, expressing his displeasure of your marriage to Alex. He claims you for his youngest son.”
“I-I…” she stumbled on her words, rendered speechless by the news.
“Worry not,” he assured her. “Your marriage to Alex is binding. But convincing the earl will be another matter altogether. From what I hear of the man, he’s prideful and does not like to lose.”
“No Highlander likes to lose, Petro.”
“What about you, Keely. Have you lost anything by marrying Alexander?”
She considered her new friend, then shook her head. “If I were honest, I would say I’ve gained more than I lost. I know Alex doesna love me yet, Petro. But it is worth the effort to win back his heart.”
“You are very wrong, Lady Keely.”
“He used to love me.”
“Aye. And still does.”
She’d reserve judgment for a future time. “What of the earl?”
“He wishes to see you.”
“And Alex?”
“The request is to see you alone.”
“Why? I am a married woman, and Alex willna let me leave.”
“I suspect he requires the same as your sire – explanation for why you left so suddenly. I will make the necessary arrangements.”
His offer filled her with a determination to set things right. “Ye’d risk everything to do this?”
“If it gives Alex and you a chance at peace? Aye.”
“Thank ye.”
He patted her hand. “Do not thank me yet. If we are caught, Alex will never forgive me. But I would spare him this added burden when there is already so much for him to do.”
“When will we leave?”
“After your father and brothers go home.”
“That could take a while, Petro. My sire is slow to forgive.”
“I will dispatch a reply to the earl.”
Chapter Eighteen
“Arguing accomplishes nothing,” Alex said, growing weary of Laird Oliphant’s temper.
“Ye broke trust with me, Alex.”
“I could say the same of ye.”
The two men exchanged hard looks.
“The king willna approve of this unsanctioned marriage.”
Alex dinna care. “By the time he grants ye an audience, Keely will be heavy with child.”
“I am not leaving here without my daughter.”
“Then ye will not be leaving at all.”
Laird Oliphant grunted as he sat down in the closest chair and rubbed his temples. “The news of yer brother’s death saddened me.”
Alex took a deep breath. “The Sutherlands will pay dearly for it.”
“Ye are no match for the earl.”
“I willna wage open war on the man,” Alex said. “But my brother will be avenged.”
“Ye’d make my daughter twice a widow?”
“Does that mean ye accept our marriage?”
“I canna say yet. I am not a cold-hearted bastard—Keely’s feelings do matter to me. More than anything, I want to know why she ran to the Sutherlands instead of coming home. I dinna have a heavy hand with her as a child. If anything, I spoiled the lass.”
“Keely doesna need to be here to explain. The answer is simple. She tried to keep her word and married John out of obligation.”
“What else is there? Our fathers took wives chosen for them. Romantic entanglements are for the young who doona have titles and lands to secure,” Laird Oliphant said. “I commanded her to marry yer brother for strategic reasons.”
“Father,” Broc said. “If what the scholar told us is true, surely ye can appreciate Keely’s reason for not coming home. Would ye have let her stay? Though I will never understand why she chose the Sutherlands.”
“Of course not,” the laird said emphatically. “She would have been sent back to her husband.”
Alex knew there was no way to change the man’s mind yet. It would take time. So instead of deepening the resentment between them, he decided to invite him to stay. “Perhaps the best way to see that our marriage deserves yer blessing is to spend some time here.”
“Ply me with food and drink? Is that what ye plan to do?”
“I think it will help.”
Laird Oliphant rewarded Alex
with a toothy grin. “I like the way ye think, MacKay.”
“Then it is settled?”
“Temporarily. Who am I to refuse eating and drinking on someone else’s gold? My sons are gluttons, and so are my retainers.”
“There is plenty of meat and bread on my table every night, Laird Oliphant—Father.”
“Doona get too comfortable throwing that title about, lad.”
Alex would wear the old man down little by little, until he had no choice but to accept him as a son-in-law. They left the solar together and returned to the great hall in search of Keely. When Alex dinna find her there, he sought out Mathe.
“Where is my wife?”
“At the loch.”
“Is she all right?”
Mathe cracked a rare smile. “When I informed her that she wasna free to traipse about unescorted, she threatened to punch me in the nose.”
“Aye?”
Mathe nodded. “I couldna risk it, Laird Alex—yer wee bride might pack a good wallop.”
Alex gripped the captain’s shoulder. “Ye made the right choice.”
Things were far from settled between Alex and his bride, but while her father was in his house, he must be more lenient with Keely. He couldna fight all of Clan Oliphant and hope to win. He walked outside and headed for the loch.
He found her alone.
“I dinna expect to see ye alive again.”
“Have ye so little faith in yer husband?” he asked, standing next to her.
“Tis not a lack of belief in yer abilities, Alex. I know my father—he’s a temperamental sort, believes any worthy cause should be settled with fists or swords.”
“A family trait, I believe,” he said humorously.
“What do ye mean?”
“Ye threatened my captain with violence?”
“Aye. I dinna need him following me about.”
“Yer escort isna just to make sure ye doona run away, Keely. I wish to keep ye safe.”
“From who?”
“Sutherlands.”
“And why would the Sutherlands wish me any harm?”
“Because ye’re my wife.”
Her blue gaze stayed on him as she absorbed his words. “I doona like to think that the earl or his sons would hurt me to get to ye, Alex. And I know ye hate them and have every right to.”
“Desperate men strike without warning or purpose, Keely. Men of honor meet on the battlefield.”