Chapter One
CHAPTER ONE
One week later
“I should have known.” An older man with a crown of fading red hair was seated in a hall used by his ancestors, littered with a century of dust, symbols of power, and memories. “Luke Cannich is a bold lad with a wandering eye, and it wandered tae Emelia. How could I not have seen it?”
He shook his head in disgust, downing a big swallow of ale made from fermented pears that packed quite a punch. But it was a punch he needed at the moment.
Better from the liquor than the man seated across from him.
Lares dun Tarh was that man. He’d arrived with his son for a wedding and ended up walking into a situation that happened to other people—never to his family and most especially not to the son who was perhaps the most important one of all.
Darien didn’t deserve this.
It was all Lares could do to keep from exploding.
“Tell me from the beginning, Fergus,” he said with more patience than he felt. “Tell me how ye discovered that my son’s betrothed has run off with her sister’s intended.”
He raised his voice ominously toward the end of his sentence, causing his eldest sons to look at him with concern. Aurelius, his heir, had come all the way from Northern England for the wedding of his brother, and he was eyeing Lares as if waiting for the man to leap from his chair and throttle Fergus. Estevan, or Stevan as he was known, was the third-eldest brother, a man who tended to fight first, ask questions later, and he was fully in support of his father tearing the hall apart, and Fergus with it.
And then there was the very groom himself.
Darien an geal , or Darien the White, he was called because of a big white streak of hair at the top of his forehead. He’d also been called Darien the Destroyer on occasion because he could be a firebrand. He was unafraid to speak his mind, which sometimes got him into trouble, but he had the skill with a sword to back up anything that came out of his mouth. He was big and fast and had fists like hammers.
Truth be told, Lares was very concerned about Darien’s reaction to all of this.
So was Fergus.
“You wouldna believe me if I told ye,” Fergus said, wiping a hand across his weary face. “I canna say that I entirely believe it, but the evidence is clear. It all started when my wife wanted special cheese for the wedding that a woman in Inverness makes, but she wanted it fresh. I sent some of my lads tae Inverness yesterday tae fetch it, and they saw Luke Cannich entering the city just as they were leaving with the cheese. But they saw a woman with him, one who ducked intae a shop when they saw her. It was a woman who looked like Emelia, but they dinna think anything of it until Emelia was nowhere tae be found this morning. We searched everywhere for her, including her chamber and the entire keep, but it was as if she had vanished. Then the lads returned with their tale. It doesna take a smart man tae put the pieces together and realize Emelia went with Luke. ’Tis not as if we dunna already know of the Cannich’s lusty reputation when it comes tae women.”
Lares sighed heavily, finally looking at Darien to see how the man was handling the news, but he was shockingly quiet about it. He certainly wasn’t acting like a jilted groom.
But that could change any second.
“And what have ye done about it?” Lares demanded. “Have ye sent men after her?”
“Of course I have,” Fergus said, irritated and emotional. “I had men riding tae Inverness as soon as we realized what had happened. They’re probably turning the city inside out looking for her even as we speak. They’ll burn the damn place down if they dunna find her.”
“Has anyone asked Cannich’s father?” Aurelius spoke up. Big and dark, like the rest of the dun Tarh brothers, he was a wise voice in the chaos. “Reelig Cannich should know where his son is.”
Fergus looked at him. “Reelig arrived before ye did,” he said. “He’s gone back home, but he said that he dinna think much of Luke’s absence until he came tae Blackrock and I told him what my men had seen. I must admit that it seemed as if Reelig wasna surprised.”
Lares frowned. “He knew Luke was going to run away with Emelia?”
Fergus shook his head. “I dunna think he knew, exactly,” he said. “But we all know that Luke has an eye for the ladies and likes tae spend money on them. Reelig said that Luke once spoke of the unfairness that he wasna betrothed tae Emelia because she’s my heiress. She’ll bring the wealth of Blackrock with her, as ye know.”
Lares’ frown deepened. “Was he in love with the lass, then?”
Fergus snorted. “Luke Cannich is only in love with himself,” he said. “’Twas with misgivings that I betrothed Evie tae him, but the bad outweighed the good. He’ll be clan chief someday. Moy Castle is a powerful stronghold, and it makes a good alliance.”
“So all the signs were there that the man had his eye on Emelia, yet no one did a thing about it.” Darien finally found his voice, his gaze riveted to Fergus. “I suppose if I think about it, I should have been suspicious, too, because every time I came tae Blackrock, he was here. He was probably here when I wasna here, too, and he was probably wooing Emelia even then. Am I speaking the truth?”
All eyes in the chamber were focusing suspiciously on Fergus, who could feel the weight of their gazes. It was an effort not to shrink away.
“What do ye want me tae say, Darien?” he said. “Moy is closer than the Hydra. Luke was here more frequently than ye were, but I’m trusting the man. I’m assuming he had honor. I thought he came tae see Evie.”
Darien’s square jaw flexed faintly. “It seems tae me that he never paid much attention tae his betrothed,” he said, that legendary rage building slowly in his veins. “I canna remember a time when he seemed tae pay more attention tae her than he needed tae, which is a shame considering Eventide is the more beauteous sister. Luke had the beauty and I had the heiress, only now he seems tae have wanted what belongs tae me.”
Fergus’ expression was tight with outrage. “Are ye saying ye think my Emelia is homely?”
“I am saying her sister is more beautiful,” Darien said in a statement designed to cut. He figured he’d already been grievously insulted by the entire situation and Fergus deserved what was coming to him. “Face the truth, Fergus. Emelia would flirt with a goat if she thought it would look in her direction. She flirted with me so heavily that I felt dirty. Dirty because everything out of her mouth was supposed tae seduce or flatter me. Never any words of wisdom or even kindness. In fact, in all the times I’ve been around Emelia and her sister, I never once saw Emelia show any kindness tae Evie, either. She was cruel and nasty, and Evie simply accepted it because she is not only the more beautiful sister, but she seems tae be the kinder one as well.”
“Darien,” Lares said quietly, warning in his tone. “Easy, lad.”
Darien glanced at his father. “Why?” he said, his anger building steam. “Fergus knows what he has in his two daughters. Ye know what he has in his two daughters, only ye pledged me tae the heiress because ye wanted me tae have Blackrock. Ye wanted me tae have the Moriston money. But I’ve heard the rumors about Emelia and I know her father has, too. Every man around knows that Emelia hasna kept herself pure.”
“That’s enough,” Fergus boomed, bolting to his feet. “Ye’ll not speak of my daughter that way.”
Darien looked at him, unintimidated. “Ye mean the daughter who was betrothed tae me but has run off with another man?” he said. Then his eyes narrowed. “She’s been gone since yesterday, meaning she has been with Luke throughout the night. Do ye think she’s still kept herself pure for her betrothed? I can tell ye that given Luke’s reputation, and Emelia’s, she’s warmed his bed and then some. And it’s probably not the first time.”
Lares was up, pulling Darien away from Fergus, who was balling his fists. The man’s face was positively red with rage. Aurelius grabbed his brother, pushing him at Estevan, who took hold of Darien and forcibly escorted him out of the chamber before the situation deteriorated into blows.
“Go,” Estevan said, pointing to the yard beyond the hall. “Go for a walk and cool yer blood.”
Darien shrugged. “No need,” he said. “I’ve said what I needed tae say.”
“Ye said enough tae start a war.”
Darien shook his head. “Nothing I said was untrue,” he said. Then he sighed heavily. “Mayhap Da willna be so quick tae force me intae a betrothal the next time. I told him what I thought of this one, but he was convinced Blackrock was a fine enough prize for the risk.”
“What risk?”
“The risk of marrying a woman I dinna want tae marry.”
Estevan shook his head with some regret. “Ye made that very clear, lad,” he said. He pointed to the yard again. “Go for a walk.”
“I think I’ll go home.”
“Ye’d better not,” Estevan warned. “Da will have yer hide if ye leave. ’Tis supposed tae be yer wedding in two days. I wouldna vacate so soon if I were ye.”
Darien glanced at him. “Why not?” he said. “If Fergus’ men find Emelia and bring her back tomorrow, do ye truly think I’d marry the woman after she’d run off with Cannich?”
“Are ye thinking of avenging yerself on Cannich?”
Darien shook his head. “Nay,” he muttered. “I probably should simply tae save my honor, but the truth is that the man did me a favor by taking Emelia with him. If I ever see him again, I’ll buy him a drink.”
Estevan snorted. “Ye truly dinna want tae marry the lass?”
Darien sighed heavily. He’d been fairly ambivalent about the betrothal since it was announced those months ago. He hadn’t shown any great excitement or great aversion, and given his reputation for speaking boldly, that was saying something. It was simply that he figured there was nothing he could do about the situation, so he’d kept his mouth shut. He hadn’t wanted to embarrass his father by appearing ungrateful, but now that Emelia was gone, there wasn’t any reason to hold back.
Nay… he didn’t want to marry her.
He never had.
“No fortune in the world could make me want tae marry her,” he said after a moment. “I was going tae go through with it because that’s what Da wanted. Not because it was what I wanted. She is petty and vain and shallow. Not someone I want for a wife. Let her be Cannich’s problem now, because she’s no longer mine.”
With that, he headed away from the hall, perhaps going for that walk that Estevan had recommended. It was abundantly clear that he wasn’t broken up over the situation in the least. If anything, he seemed relieved, which was surprising because Darien had never shown much enthusiasm one way or the other about the betrothal to Emelia Moriston. As he’d said, he was simply doing his duty.
But that duty had come with a complication.
A bride that had run off with another groom.
Thinking his brother had dodged what could have been a very bad situation, Estevan headed back into the hall where one father was trying to calm down another.
But the situation was only going to get worse.