Chapter 9
Madison stared at the laird with more than bewilderment, she was convince the man had completely lost his mind. Reality struck her harder than a typhoon against a skiff. What was his nickname again? Mad Dog. Terror gripped her, stealing the very warmth of her being.
“What?” The word clung to the roof of her mouth as she tried to let the laird’s words sink in. But no matter what she did, his words, his statement repelled off her as if it were oil in water.
“I understand this is sudden,” he stated in a rather matter-of-fact tone as he paced the room.
Madison's breath caught. How had she not noticed before?
He was massive—broad shoulders that seemed to span the width of the doorway, arms corded with muscle visible even beneath his shirt.
He moved with a predator's grace despite his size, but each step reminded her he could break her in half without effort.
Her pulse kicked up, though whether from fear or something else entirely, she couldn't say. Within a few paces, he reached one side of the small room and had to pivot, his presence seeming to swallow all the air.
Madison was barely paying any attention to the words that came rushing from him.
She was ensnared by his first statement.
How could he possible think that she would ever want to marry someone who just kidnapped her?
It was as if he wasn’t completely put together in the head.
Like he was a few pieces shy of a completed puzzle.
Madison wasn’t sure if that was a good thing or a bad one. She’d seen his rage in the grove as he defeated the other foe. But what would her fate have been had the other man stolen her away? Would he be doing the same thing, proposing marriage while she’s injured?
“So, what do ye say?” he finally stopped.
She blinked again realizing he hadn’t stopped going since he started.
Everything he had just said to her went through one ear and out the other.
She glanced at the small cup on the side table.
Had Edith put something in it to make her drowsy?
Or was it the events of her life finally catching up to her?
“What?” she managed to scrap off her tongue once again.
“Ye dinnae hear a word I said, did ye?” he asked.
Madison was shocked to discover there was no malice in his tone.
Nor did he give her the impression he was put out by her lack of focus.
When she looked at him, all she could find was compassion and grace.
“Ye’re tired and have had a very big day, that much we both can agree, aye? ”
She bobbed her head. So far, she could keep up with what was going on. He flashed her a smile that managed to lighten not only the room, but her mood. Still uncertain of what to make of everything, she found the best response was always silence.
“Here’s the situation,” he started again and went slower than before. “I need a wife. And ye need time to heal. Play the part of the dotin’ love interest to get the council off me back for a spell and I’ll do everythin’ in me power to see ye reunited with yer family again.”
Madison’s ears burned. Was what she heard the truth?
It had been far too long since she had heard such a thing.
Everything anyone ever told her since she’d been kidnapped was lies and deceit.
It’d been a constant game to figure out how she could out smart her opponents.
Yet, this time, Madison noticed she wasn’t facing off against an enemy, but an ally.
The laird had shown her nothing but kindness and while she was still very weary of it, she wasn’t about to let the opportunity pass her by.
“I want to go home,” she said as boldly as she could, hoping her tone matched the same fierceness as his did.
She held her hand up the moment she noticed the laird starting to answer.
On cue, he stopped and waited for her to continue.
“I understand I cannae do that right now. Ye have me on an island. Even if I wanted to flee, I wouldnae be able to.”
“Yer leg is broken,” he interjected.
“But why the facade? Why nae go and find a wife?” Madison asked as she noticed his gaze drifting to her forehead.
“I’ve nay interest in marriage or havin’ a wife. Tis as simple as that.”
“Is that really how ye view family?” Madison asked, finding it difficult to believe a word that came out of him.
The whole idea of marriage had to be just another ploy to get her to submit.
But she didn’t do it in the grove, or in the field, she wasn’t going to now, despite the change of venue for the game.
After all, that was exactly what this was.
Sure, her opponents may have changed, and the setting different, the it was the rules that remained constant.
“Aye,” he answered with a conviction that made Madison question her views of him.
“Daenae get me wrong. I’m sure there are men out there who would love nothin’ more than to have a family waitin’ for them when they get home,” he said as he leaned in.
There was something burning deep within his eyes, a yearning that seemed to speak to Madison in a new way she’d never heard before.
The laird’s lips were but a breath from hers as she finally found his eyes once more. He was staring at her, assessing her response no doubt to his proximity to her. For a moment, her breath hitched as she watched him brush back a loose strand from her face.
“I’m nae like that. A family isnae in me future,” he said.
His voice lowered as he slowly leaned back from her, taking the warmth along with him.
“But I can give ye one. Give me one month. Just tell me where yer family is, and I’ll send for them.
That way, ye daenae have to move or travel to them.
Plus, I willnae have Edith harpin’ down my neck that I took such poor care of a lass in trouble. ”
“So let me get this straight,” she said rubbing her temples as sleep started to creep in. “Ye want me to pretend to be yer betrothed.”
“Aye, just till the nineteen. On that very next day, I’ll have ye walkin’ out of the castle gate and on the first ferry with yer family goin' back to wherever it is ye came from.”
“It’s a small village just outside of Inverness,” Madison answered a bit fearful if maybe she might have given too much away. But if she was going to be reunited with her family, she was going to need help in finding them. “They had a bakery. Greig is the surname.”
She watched as the laird stopped his pacing.
He turned to face her directly. The soft glow of the fire exaggerated his chiseled chin.
But it was the softness in his eyes that held her.
Despite his size and presence, it was the tenderness and patience he demonstrated with her that caught her attention.
He moved to her side and knelt next to her bed. “I must say, ye have nay idea how much this helps me. The rules are very clear. I must be betrothed with a future date set to keep the title.”
“But why go through all this effort? It seems a bit silly if ye ask me,” Madison said she watched Theo reach for her hand. There was something soothing about the way he rubbed his thumb around the palm of her hand, massaging it as he spoke.
“I wouldnae want to lead anyone on. There are others in the realm that would love to be the wife of a laird. But they marry for title, takin’ all they can in the process.
I dinnae have time for that. If I marry, she’ll be a helper, nae a hindrance.
She’ll want to be there and nae think such things are a burden. ”
Madison’s body tingled as his words seeped into her. She found herself eager for the next word to spill out from him. It was the bass in his voice that soothed her and lulled her into a sense of security.
“Ye speak as if raisin’ a family is the worst thing one can do,” Madison said as her heart cracked from pity. She studied him a moment and realized there was nothing fake about the moment.
The man before him had told her something sacred, it was clear by the tension lingering like a dark cloud in the room.
She swallowed hard, uncertain what she should do with such information.
It wasn’t like she was going to make a happy wife, not anymore.
That dream had flown out the window the second she was taken.
Theodore glanced at her and lifted his chin up. “Suppose for some it might be. But I cannae afford such luxuries in life. There are far too many people who’d use that against me if they could.”
“Ye have many enemies?” Madison asked as Theo stopped rubbing her palm and moved to the tips of her fingers. She couldn’t help but feel her muscles relaxing with each passing moment. The laird had strong fingers that managed to kneed out knots from her muscles she didn’t know she had.
“Nay,” he answered. “Other than the fools runnin’ that horrid game. I swear, whomever thought of the hunt should be strung from the tallest tree and left there as an example for others never to do such vile things again.”
“Ye speak as if ye had been in them,” Madison whispered as she found Theo’s conviction to be so strong it nearly brought her to tears. She wanted to wipe the moisture from her cheeks, but dared not pull away. Theo’s massaging was warming her in ways she refused to stop.
“I’ve seen the aftermath,” he answered as his eyes bore into her.
There was a yearning brewing and boiling under the surface of her skin.
She could feel the heat rising to a crescendo.
Whatever the sensation was, she didn’t want it to end.
It was as if for the very first time in her life, someone finally saw her.
“But I’m sure it’s nothin’ compared to livin’ through it. ”
Madison let out a heavy sigh as Theo’s fingers moved up her forearm. His touch was like hot coals blazing a trail through the frigid wilderness. Little bumps rose over her arm as she found her body longing to be closer to the source of the heat.
“Ye’re safe here, ye ken that right?” Theodore asked as he slowly lifted a hand. His eyes locked on her, hunting for any sign from her that would have him stop. Madison held her breath as she felt the back of his fingers graze over her cheek.
Madison didn’t know what to believe. Her world had been flipped around so many times she was starting to get whiplash.
She watched Theo’s dark eyes shift to her lips for a moment.
She bit her lower lip, testing his response.
Her heart raced as Theo leaned closer, slipping his hand around the nap of her neck.
His lips crushed against hers, moving with a need that matched her own.
The world spun around her as she tried to keep her wits about her. But it was no use. Theo’s mouth moved as his tongue taunted hers to come out and play. Her lips parted, allowing him the access he so craved. The moment she curled her arms around his neck, he pulled back.
“I’ll see the arrangements are made right away,” he muttered just as Edith stepped back into the infirmary.
“Me Laird, did ye want me to leave and come back again?” Edith asked as she adverted her eyes to the ground.
“Nay,” Theodore answered as he rose from Madison’s bed side. His kiss still burned as she watched him move to the door. “Ye’re needed here. See that me betrothed is well taken care of. I cannae have the future Lady MacLeon suffer a limp.”
“What’s this now?” Edith asked in shock.
“Aye, perhaps now is the best time to mention to ye,” Theodore's jaw tightened as he glanced at Madison. "The council's given me a month to marry. So I asked Madison if she would do me the honor of becomin’ me wife and she agreed." He gestured toward her. "Meet the new Lady MacLeon."
Madison's mind went blank. None of this could be real. There was no way the laird would marry someone like her. This had to be a dream—any moment she'd wake, still hollow-eyed and starving in that cage, waiting for the hunt to begin.
“Well, I’m sure there will be those pleased with the news,” Edith answered as she glared at Madison as if questioning her sanity. “I for one am happy this day has finally come.”
Madison’s chest tightened. She hated lying. But if it meant she’d be reunited with her family, she’d do it.
“And what do ye have to say about this?” Edith asked Madison. Madison swallowed hard as she stole a glance at Theo. A pretend engagement. A month to heal. She gave a shrug and flashed Edith the biggest smile she could muster. If this was a dream, she was going to make the most of it.
“It’s like a dream come true.”