Chapter 20
By the roaring fire in his study, the fierce heat of the flames thawing the last of the chill from his bones, Hunter swirled a hearty measure of whiskey.
He had already had a smaller measure, in an attempt to calm himself, but it had not been close to enough. It didn’t matter that it was still morning; he would drink as much whiskey as it took to get the events of last night and the last hour untangled in his mind.
Curse ye, Elsie.
He knew with complete certainty that his cousin could have kept her mouth shut.
She was adored in this castle. If she had spread the word that it wasn’t what it had seemed to be, people would have believed her.
If she’d explained that there had been a near-drowning incident, no one would have argued.
The fact that the ‘betrothal’ didn’t have to end in marriage was neither here nor there, for how was he supposed to endure the time until Nancy departed?
He needed to put on a performance for his people, to soften the harsher opinions of him, but that meant staying close to her, letting his people see a fondness, a connection between them.
But it was that connection that was making him want to drink, to wash away all torturous thoughts of her before they overwhelmed him.
I cannae trust meself around her.
One reminder of her perfect breasts, the dip of her waist, the soft, trembling flesh of her inner thighs, the taste of her, the hungry pressure of her lips, and his loins ached afresh.
It would be torment, for if she was determined to leave, he couldn’t risk getting into that situation again. If he did, and she urged him on, no force in the world would’ve been able to stop him.
And I willnae have another bairn that I daenae ken about until after… or daenae ken about at all.
He groaned and knocked back a gulp of the strong, smoky whiskey.
“Why did ye have to go for a midnight swim, eh? Madwoman,” he mumbled, a smirk tugging at the corner of his mouth.
A knock at the study door wiped the amusement from his face.
He sat up straighter in his chair and set his whiskey down, wondering which member of the Council had come to tell him this was a terrible idea or, indeed, the perfect solution to the problem of his mixed popularity.
After all, everyone loved a celebration, especially after so many years of war.
“Come in,” he said gruffly.
It wasn’t a councilman who entered, but Beathan. And after the man’s ‘timely’ intrusion at Nancy’s bedchamber a couple of hours ago, Hunter didn’t know whether to be annoyed with him or grateful.
“Am I interruptin’?” Beathan asked, with a slight frown at the whiskey on the table beside Hunter.
“Nae any more than anyone else this morning,” Hunter replied.
Beathan nodded and stepped further into the room. “I just came to let ye ken that the scouts are back from the borders and fresh ones have been sent.”
In the midst of all the chaos, Hunter had almost forgotten about the attack on his men.
A sharp pinch of guilt nipped him between the ribs, for this was exactly why he couldn’t allow himself to get too close to Nancy. He was already neglecting what was important, and the more she invaded his mind with thoughts of what he wanted but couldn’t have, the worse it would get.
“Is all well?” he asked, somewhat grateful for the distraction.
Beathan looked toward the window. “It seems to be, me Laird. There have been enemy sentries spotted on the other side of the valley, but behind the agreed line. Nay one has tried to cross.”
“Thank ye, Cousin.” Hunter relaxed a little, only to sit up straighter a second later. “But why is Jack nae the one tellin’ me this?”
Reluctance flickered across Beathan’s face, his mouth twisting like he wasn’t sure if he should say. “It’s Elsie, me Laird. She dragged him away from his post, so they could tell everyone yer happy news and, I assume, to begin preparations.” He paused with a smile. “Congratulations, by the way.”
“Preparations?” Hunter bristled. “Preparations for what?”
Had he not warned Elsie to stay quiet until he had decided how to proceed? Perhaps she thought that no longer applied, now that the council was aware of the betrothal.
“Ye ken me sister, me Laird,” Beathan replied with an apologetic look.
“From what I managed to glean, she has notions of arranging a feast to celebrate the engagement. Would ye like me to tell her to cease? If I wait until she has eaten and had her noonday nap, she might nae scream or crumble to pieces.”
Hunter raked a restless hand through his hair, certain that even an entire barrel of whiskey wouldn’t be enough to temper this.
He shook his head. “I’ll contend with me cousin.” He puffed out a breath. “Ye can go.”
“Very good, me Laird.”
With a quick bow of his head, Beathan left Hunter to the growing pile of stress that he now had to navigate, all because he’d taken a walk last night to clear his head. The irony wasn’t lost on him.
Snatching the cup of whiskey, allowing himself a moment’s reprieve before he had to nip this engagement celebration thing in the bud, he sat back in his chair and heaved out a sigh.
That lass… What have ye done to me fragile peace, eh?
Of course, he knew the betrothal was just pretend, but as he brought the cup to his lips and sipped, he couldn’t help but think of the way Nancy had moaned his name last night, how readily she’d invited him to touch her, to taste her, to kiss her.
And that, he feared, was going to be more dangerous for him than any ambush on the borders.
Nancy guessed she should’ve known that she wouldn’t be alone with Freya for very long on such an auspicious day, with terrifying talk of engagements and betrothals drifting through the castle.
Gossip spread surprisingly fast in such a labyrinthine place, though there were no doubts as to who was the ringleader.
“We can have the cèilidh in yer honor, instead of for the solstice!” Elsie said giddily, her eyes shining as if the engagement was hers and not one that had been foisted on Nancy.
“It would be good for everyone, but good for alliances too. We can invite Laird and Lady Gibson, and Laird and Lady Culloch, too!”
Nancy, who’d been doing her best to concentrate on the baby and not on the enthusiasm that bounced back and forth between Elsie and Isla, perked up at the mention of Adeline.
“Laird Culloch’s braither and sister-in-law should be there, of course, and his maither. Laird Gibson’s maither and sister, too,” Elsie continued, nodding as if she had the deciding vote.
If I could go to Adeline, maybe I wouldn’t have to wait two weeks.
With a fake betrothal now weighing on her shoulders, Nancy was beginning to think that the sooner she left, the better it would be for everyone.
Now that she thought about it through a lens of increasing panic, she’d surely seen and experienced enough for Emily’s research. There wasn’t much else to stick around for, not unless she wanted to cause more trouble for herself.
“Isn’t Lady Gibson currently staying with her sister?” she asked, her voice pitched a little too high, not at all the casual voice she’d been aiming for.
Elsie grinned, apparently misunderstanding her interjection for delayed enthusiasm.
“Lady Culloch. Exactly.” She cupped a hand around her mouth and added in a stage whisper, “We used to call her husband ‘the Beast,’ though I daresay he’s been tamed by that charmin’ wife of his.
Then again, Clan Lochlann is an ally, so we have nay reason to see the beastly side of him. I wouldnae want to meet him in battle.”
“The Beast?” Nancy raised an eyebrow.
Does no one have any normal nicknames around here?
“Och, aye,” Isla interjected. “I wouldnae dare to call him tamed. There’s naught tame about him.
He just loves his wife and would likely burn down half of Scotland if anyone so much as looked at her the wrong way.
It’s just unfortunate we didnae have him and his army fighting for us in our war.
It would’ve been over in weeks, nae years. ”
Nancy rocked the baby gently, a thought coming to her. “How did the war start?”
Elsie and Isla exchanged a look, the latter clearing her throat before she replied, “Me eldest son took a liking to Laird MacLeach’s daughter.
An obsession, really, after a gathering.
A cèilidh to celebrate the solstice. He demanded her hand in marriage, but she refused, and her faither refused to make her.
” She glanced away, clearly ashamed. “So, me son started a war… and me nephew ended it.”
“The same woman Hunter married?” Nancy blinked, a funny feeling coiling in her chest. Just a remnant of last night’s activities, or so she told herself.
Isla nodded with a smile, though it didn’t quite reach her eyes. “But daenae ye worry about that. It isnae the same. I can see it between ye and me nephew; there’s a true affection that was never there with Rachel.”
I don’t know about that, Nancy wanted to say, but held her tongue. She was supposed to be playing the part of eager fiancée, and if she and Hunter were going to avoid suspicion, she had to play it well.
Besides, talk of war and death wasn’t good for a baby to hear, even if Freya was far too young to understand anything more than the pitch of a voice.
“So, the Hawk and the Beast are what, best buddies?” Nancy asked, forcing cheer into her voice. “Next, you’re going to tell me that he has a friend called the Wolf and he has a friend called the Bear.”
The shift in her tone surprised Elsie and Isla. For a moment, they sat staring at her, and her cheeks grew redder with every awkwardly passing second. Then, in perfect unison, both women burst into laughter.
All the tension melted from their faces as they threw their heads back, every inch a mother and daughter, the sound so sweet that Nancy wished she could bottle the feeling of hearing it and knowing she hadn’t just fallen flat on her face, comedically speaking.
“Oh… oh, I needed that!” Isla gasped through hearty chuckles.
In Nancy’s arms, Freya screeched in delight, her little face lighting up as she joined in the hilarity in her own adorable way.
“She’s laughin’!” Elsie exclaimed, her hand flying to her heart, her eyes wide and watery as if she might burst into tears again. Happy ones, this time. “Did ye hear that, Ma? Freya just laughed!”
“I did,” Isla cooed, both women rushing over to dote on the baby girl. “Oh, she’s goin’ to be such a cheerful bairn. I can feel it in me bones. Isnae that right, wee one? Are ye goin’ to be such a cheerful bairn?”
Freya wiggled, her tiny fists excitedly punching the air as she screeched again, and all three women sighed and chuckled at the cuteness of it all.
“And ye’re goin’ to be good friends with Sylvia when ye’re older, arenae ye?” Elsie said, holding out her finger for the baby to grab.
“Sylvia?” Nancy echoed.
Elsie glanced up at her. “That’s Lady Culloch’s daughter.” She paused, her eyes going wide. “Och, that’s perfect!”
“What is?” Isla asked.
“Well, Lady Culloch invited Hunter to Sylvia’s first birthday party.
He intended to refuse, but I snatched the letter before he could burn it,” Elsie explained, splitting her attention between her mother and Nancy.
“Nancy and me cousin could attend, so that everyone can be introduced to the soon-to-be Lady Lochlann. Then Nancy can give them the invitations to the engagement celebration. Me cousin doesnae like to plan anything unless it’s battle tactics, so I can make all the preparations while ye’re away at Castle Culloch. ”
Isla tilted her head to the side. “It’s nae a bad idea, actually. An opportunity to show this corner of the Highlands that me nephew is betrothed and settling down with a fine woman. Aye, it would do wonders for his reputation.”
Mother and daughter talked back and forth about the merits of Hunter’s attendance and how it might improve his popularity and the clan’s confidence in him.
“It would remind the dubious in our clan that he has forged strong alliances. Alliances that will keep our lands safe from Clan MacLeach, should they ever dare to strike us again,” Isla mused. “Aye, I like the notion very much.”
Nancy hadn’t said a word, too stunned by the idea of being paraded around in front of a bunch of strangers, one of whom bore the nickname ‘the Beast’ and had undoubtedly earned it.
Then again, this Beast’s wife just so happened to be Jane Clark, who lived in the same castle where Adeline was residing during her healing tour.
And Jane is the one who knows the way back to my time.
It would mean cutting out the middleman and also the lengthy wait until Adeline returned.
After all, no sister would miss her niece’s birthday party, would she?
Adeline would undoubtedly be there. They would both be there.
And if that wasn’t an opportunity to kill two birds with one stone—getting the last bits of information for the article she’d probably never write and discovering the mysteries of traveling forward in time—she didn’t know what was.
“But who’ll watch the baby if I’m not here?” she asked, not wanting to sound too eager.
Isla chuckled. “There are plenty of maids who can take care of her for such a short while. The same maids who took care of her before ye arrived, lassie.”
“And me. Jack, too,” Elsie chimed in. “We need the practice. Honestly, I would love to attend the gathering, but I dare nae travel when I’m so close to givin’ birth. Jack wouldnae be able to bear the worry.”
Nancy had already agreed in her mind and her heart, but there was one not-so-insignificant hurdle to overcome first.
“I wouldn’t mind a bit,” she said, grimacing, “but convincing Hunter is going to be another matter entirely.”