The door to Colen’s bedchamber was indeed locked, and Jamie grinned as he pulled the wooden peg from the latch and pushed the door open. It was dark. Torch light from the corridor fell only a few feet into the room.
Jamie squinted. “Where are you, lass?”
“Here.” There was spirit in her voice.
He followed the voice, but he still couldn’t see her. “We’ve candles aplenty in this castle.” Jamie scowled. “Are you so ugly Colen must keep you in the dark?”
“There’s a candle on the table.”
“Then why do you no’ use it?”
“For what?” the girl asked tonelessly. “There’s naught for me to do in this room that I’d be needing a candle for.”
Jamie chuckled. Colen had found himself a rare female, one willing to await his beck and call.
Jamie saw the bed and moved toward it, his eyes now able to make out the girl sitting on the edge of it. He put the tray of food on the table.
“You’re no’ the girl who was supposed to bring this,” she mentioned warily.
Jamie didn’t reply. He found the candle and, after several seconds, had a fair light illuminating the room.
“Now then, lass, who. . .”
The words died as Jamie turned and faced the girl. He caught his breath. The vision before him was not real, it couldn’t be. The delicate oval face, the large eyes of a remarkable bright blue, the mass of red hair so dark as to be magenta. Now when had he dreamed of this before?
She was staring at him with open curiosity. Under her perusal, Jamie stood tall. He could not speak. If he spoke, she might disappear. With a sudden jolt he realized why he felt that way. It was the vision! The water sprite from the pool in the glen! Her image had dimmed with the passing of time, but his vivid feelings had not.
She smiled as the silence lengthened, and Jamie thought his heart would stop at the brilliance of that smile. Then she giggled, a bubbling sound.
“I’ve been known to turn the heads of men,” she said in amusement, a mischievous gleam in her eyes. “But I’ve never struck one speechless ‘afore. I think I like it.”
Jamie would have taken offense if anyone but this vision had teased him so. He delighted in her laughter and didn’t mind at all.
“I . . . I’ve never lost my tongue so completely ‘afore. But now I’ve found it, you’ll be telling me who you are.”
“I dinna think I will,” she said.
“Why?”
She shrugged prettily and looked away. “I’ve no’ told Colen, so why should I be telling you?” she answered pertly, reaching for the tray and picking up a sugar roll.
“You’re no’ a MacKinnion?” he asked.
“Heaven forbid.”
Jamie frowned. “From where do you come then?”
“The lad found me in Aberdeen” was Sheena’s evasive reply.
“Your home is there?”
Her gaze narrowed. “I’ve no home to speak of, not anymore. But who are you to be asking me so many questions?”
“Colen didna tell you of me?”
“He told me of a brother, nobody else.”
“I am his brother,” Jamie replied simply.
Then it was her turn to stammer. “Then . . . you’re ... I’ll
Jamie watched in amazement as she scrambled across the bed and backed up against the wall beside it. She cowered, as if trying to disappear into the stone wall.
“What nonsense is this?” Jamie demanded.
There was terror in her eyes.
“Will you answer me?” he said sternly.
“What are you doing here?” said a voice behind him.
Jamie turned to see Colen enter the chamber, and then the girl dashed across the room and flew into Colen’s arms.
An unexpected jealousy took hold of Jamie. Here was a vision he had searched for, had dreamed of countless times. And she was in his brother’s arms. Colen had found her before Jamie did.
“Tell me what you’ve done to the lass,” Colen said angrily.
“Done!” Jamie exploded. “I’ve done naught but stand here and talk with her. But the moment she learned who I was, she acted as if I were the devil himself. I want to know why.”
Colen’s brows knit in confusion. “Sheena?” he tried to question her, but she clung to him and wouldn’t speak.
“Well?” Jamie demanded.
“Stop it, Jamie,” Colen replied. “Can you no’ see she’s upset?”
“I’m no’ too happy myself,” Jamie growled. «I want to know who she is and why you felt the need to lock her in your room.”
“She’s just a poor lass, Jamie, with no home or family to speak of. She was staying at the poorhouse in Aberdeen.”
“A beggar. I see. And the rest of it?”
“This is no’ the time‑ouch!”
Sheena pinched Colen and shoved him away. “You’ll tell him all of it, Colen. Now.”
“So the lass has found her tongue.”
Sheena swung around to face Jamie but then backed away. She still couldn’t bring herself to speak to James MacKinnion, not after all she had heard about him.
If she had not been so frightened, she would have seen his resemblance to his brother, though Colen’s hair was reddish‑orange and Jamie’s was yellowgold. But The MacKinnion was so young looking and so handsome. There was not a mean line in his facet Was this really her dreaded enemy? He was certainly not what she’d imagined the savage MacKinnion looked like.
Jamie sighed and sat down on the bed. “Colen, lad, I’m close to losing my patience with the both of you. I’m asking you for the last time to tell me what goes on here.”
Colen swallowed hard, then blurted, “I want to marry her.”
“Marry?” Jamie laughed. “You’ve already got her, so why bother?”
Sheena flushed bright red at the assumption being made. It was so typically arrogant, exactly what she could have expected of a Highlander‑this one in particular.
Colen frowned darkly. “You’re no’ to insult her, Jamie. ‘Tis no’ what you think.”
“Marriage was her idea, no doubt?”
“She’s no’ made up her mind yet. It is I who want to wed.”
“Colen!” Sheena warned.
“All right!” Colen snapped, furious. “She says she willna marry me.”
“But she came here with you?”
Colen lowered his gaze. “I . . . I took her.”
Jamie fell back on the bed and laughed heartily. “Och, Colen, what am I to do with you? Have you no’ learned there are enough girls for the asking? You dinna have to take one who’s no’ willing.”
“There’s no other like Sheena.”
Jamie sobered at that. Indeed, there wasn’t another like this lass. That she did not want to marry Colen brought Jamie a great measure of relief.
“ ‘Tis a fine mess we have here, and no mistake,” Jamie said thoughtfully. “ ‘Tis plain you’re serious, Colen, but I canna consider only your wishes. You’ve kidnapped the lass.”
“But if she were willing, would you give your blessing on the match?” Colen persisted.
Jamie stared hard at the girl. How could he bear to see this particular girl wed to his brother? She was his vision made flesh. Yet how could he put his own desires above theirs?
With the greatest reluctance, Jamie was forced to say, “You would have my blessing on the match if she desired it. But I’ll hear what the lass has to say. Sheena is it?” She nodded, and he asked, “Do you want to marry my brother?”
Sheena shook her head adamantly. She knew her silence angered him, but she couldn’t help it. She just couldn’t bring herself to talk to the man.
“I know you’ve a voice, lass,” Jamie said, surprising himself with his own degree of patience. “If you dinna want to marry my brother, you’ll have to be telling me what it is you do want. I canna help you otherwise.”
There was no way out of it now. Sheena cleared her throat, but her voice came out in a mere whis
per. “I . . . I want to leave here.”
“To go where?”
“Back to Aberdeen.”
“Dinna listen to her, Jamie.” Colen spoke up quickly. “She has no one there. She’d only have to fend for herself again, to beg.”
“So what are you suggesting, brother? You canna force the lass t o marry you.”
“Och, I know. But she can live here. She’ll be better off.”
“Mayhap,” Jamie replied carefully.
Sheena gasped. So Colen’s plan was to keep her so that he would have time to win her. But could they really keep her when she was determined to leave?
Sheena’s fear made her bold. “Tell him why you really want me to stay, Colen. And tell him the truth.”
Colen turned around to face her. “I canna bear the thought of you alone in that crowded place, with no one to protect you. There’s no telling what would happen to you in Aberdeen.”
“What becomes of me is my afair, no’ yours,” she reminded him. Jamie’s direct gaze flustered her, and she stammered, “He is sure I’ll change my mind about him if I stay. That’s the real reason he wants me here.”
“That is possible,” Jamie said.
“Nay, ‘twill no’ happen,” Sheena insisted firmly. “I’ll no’ wed a lad younger than me, and I’ll certainly no’ marry a Highlander.”
Too late Sheena realized she had insulted them both.
But Jamie laughed. “ ‘Tis a Lowlander you’ve brought here, Colen, lad.” He grinned.
“That doesna matter,” Colen replied.
“It does to her.” Jamie chuckled. “They’re no’ like us, lad. Did you not know we’re all savages to them?”
“She’ll find out differently if she stays here.”
“Aye. She will.”
Sheena bristled. “I’ll no’ stay here, and you canna make me,” she said, hands going to her hips in a rebellious stance.
Jamie didn’t like being told what lie could or couldn’t do, even by this girl who fascinated him so.
“I’ll no’ argue with you, lass’!’ he said sharply. He watched with irritation as she backed away from him with wide, frightened eyes. He turned on his brother angrily. “I’ve no patience for this, Colen. When she’s ready to talk to me without shrinking, I’ll settle the matter.”
Jamie stalked from the room. Sheena collapsed into a chair and asked, “What did he mean?”
Colen grinned, for he had got what he wanted. “You’ll be staying, lass.”
“I’ll be doing no such thing!”
“Aye, you will. There’ll be no one taking you back until he says so. And he’ll no’ be doing that until you give him a good reason why he should.”
“I’ll leave by myself then.”
Colen shook his head, still grinning. “I’ll only bring you back, lass, and that’s a promise.’’ And he chuckled at the withering look she gave him. “Och, Sheena, you brought this on yourself. Why were you so afeared of him? He didna like that one bit.”
“You heard him shout at me.”
“Aye, and no wonder he did,” he replied. “You dinna tell Jamie what he can or canna do, Sheena. He’s laird here. He can do as he pleases.”
“No’ where I am concerned,” she said.
“You’re welcome to tell him that . . . if you dare. But I’ll no’ be able to help you when he turns his fury on you.”
She had to get away from there. But she would have to face The MacKinnion again in order to do so. To face the devil in order to escape the devil. Och, God, give her the courage, she prayed.
“I’ll see your brother again‑now.”
He hesitated, then lowered his gaze. “ ‘Tis only fair I tell‑you. Jamie wouldna have left the matter unsettled if he wasna so angered that he couldna trust himself to give a fair decision. That’s the way he is. For some reason, your fear of him has raised his ire. If you force the matter now, you’ll no’ be happy with his decision.”
“You mean he would keep me here for spite? Or out of anger?”
“ ‘Tis more than likely. But if you want to try your luck anyway, I’ll no’ be stopping you.”
“You’d like that!” she snapped. “Och, what am I to do then?”
“Dinna take it so hard, Sheena. No harm will come to you here. And now I’ve no need to hide you anymore, so tomorrow I’ll be showing you your new home.”
Chapter 13
ThE morning was passing quickly, but still Jamie tarried in the hall. Most of his retainers had come and gone about their business. The few remaining were those who would ride with Jamie when he left the castle. They lounged, waiting for Jamie, jesting with the servants eating their breakfasts at the lower tables. The unexpected lull was welcome, and they did not question their laird’s delay in leaving.
Jamie questioned himself, however. It was unusual for him to be found in the hall so late, even when he had no pressing demands. The day was wasting away, but there he sat, waiting. He should have been out on his land. Though the rents had all been collected by his tacksmen, it was Jamie’s custom to visit all his crofters, cotters, and grassmen at that time of year to ascertain if anyone had been unduly pressed to meet the rents. But he was doing none of what he ought to be doing.
On the chance of seeing the lovely Sheena this morning, Jamie sat at his table and waited. He admitted the truth to himself but would never tell anyone else why he was sitting there. Luckily, Jessie wasn’t there. She did not make an appearance until midday.
Jamie gave Jessie little thought, anyway. The other lass occupied his mind and had done so since he’d left her the previous evening. Because of her, he had had no desire for Jessie the night before. Because of her, he had lain awake many hours, feeling utterly alone, wondering what the devil he had done to frighten the lass so badly. He couldn’t stand her fear of him.
He wanted the exact thing his brother wanted‑for the girl to stay with them. How to make her stay was the problem. It would be easy to force her. He had that power. But she would hate him for it, and he was surprised to find that he valued her good opinion.
Just then, all he wanted was to see her. He kept his eyes riveted to the far end of the hall and the arched entrance. What could be delaying her? He had thought surely the girl would want to speak to him, to find out what he wanted to do about her. He sighed. She had every right, after what Colen had done, to demand to be returned to Aberdeen.
Jamie was beginning to feel quite ridiculous, sitting there knowing his men and servants were wondering what he was doing. At last, his vigil paid off. Colen appeared at the end of the hall. Behind him there was a swish of green skirt, and then the lovely Sheena came into view. Jamie’s pulse picked up at the sight of her. Colen was holding her hand and seemed to be dragging her forward, though gently. She was looking all around her, and Jamie was suddenly proud of the richness of his hall, seeing it through a stranger’s eyes. The wainscot‑paneled walls, the painted deal ceilings were the luxuries of a tower house, not a castle. The lower tables had padded benches. The laird’s table had English chairs covered in damask, plates of silver and pewter, and Dutch linen to cover the rough wood. There was even a thick Persian rug, and there were several chairs before the great hearth, where Jamie liked to spend evenings. All in all the place was impressive, and that pleased him very much.
But his pleasure quickly turned sour when Sheena spotted him, stopped dead in her tracks, jerked her hand away from Colen, and ran back the way she had come. Colen was after her instantly, stopping her. He swung her back around, and they argued, though in hushed voices. Colen tried to catch her hand again, but she pushed him away and cried “Nay” loud enough for everyone to hear.
Jamie could well imagine his brother’s embarrassment, for he and the girl had suddenly gained everyone’s attention, and the silence that followed was complete. Jamie knew the reason for the long silence. Sheena’s extraordinary beauty was spellbinding.
But she seemed not to notice the attention. She took advantage of Colen’
s discomfort and left him, moving to the far end of the nearest trestle table. She sat down, ignoring one and all, and began to partake of the food left there.
Colen stomped angrily up to the raised dais and the laird’s table. Jamie said nothing for several moments after his brother had sat down next to him, glowering across the room. There was ample food left on the table, but Colen didn’t move to help himself.
Conversations slowly began to resume below, but Colen fumed silently.
Finally, Jamie sighed. “Will you be telling me what that was all about, lad?”
“She thinks I lied to her,” Colen answered, his words sharp.
He wouldn’t meet Jamie’s eyes, so Jamie followed Colen’s gaze to what he preferred looking at anyway. “Did you?”
“Nay.”
“But she didna believe you?”
“How could she when here you are?”
Jamie turned his attention back to his brother. “And what have I to do with it?”
Colen squirmed. He still wouldn’t meet Jamie’s gaze. Jamie’s curiosity grew.
“Well?”
“Och, Jamie, she wouldna come down here until I convinced her you wouldna be around. She had locked herself in the south tower and wouldna open the door to me until‑“
Jamie was frowning. “You put her in the south tower?”
“Aye.”
`”Thy?”
Colen finally turned to his brother, and his eyes, so like Jamie’s, darkened. “I dinna like the drift of your thoughts, Jamie. I’ve told you I’ve no’ touched the lass. Nor will I till she’s my wife. I dinna know if she’s a maiden. I didna ask. But it doesna matter to me if she is or no’.”
Jamie didn’t apologize. He was simply relieved. “What else was I to think, lad, when you kept her locked in your room?”
“But I slept elsewhere.”
“Very well. Why did you move her?”
“She didna like staying in my room. She felt ‘twas no’ proper, and she was right.”
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