Chapter Twelve
CHAPTER TWELVE
“T his is bad,” Guthrie mumbled. “Very bad. What is Darien going tae do? He’s tae marry one sister, then his original bride returns.”
The brothers were leaning against the wall of an outbuilding near the stables, watching the activity in the ward. They’d watched Darien and Eventide leave the gates, and they’d watched them come back in again. The couple looked very upset—and with good reason. They watched the pair go their separate ways when they returned, but still, the mood lingered.
Everything seemed dark.
Calum shook his head to his brother’s question.
“I dunna know,” he said. “But there’s no doubt in my mind that Emelia is lying. She’s all for show, that one.”
Guthrie nodded in agreement. “Ye know her reputation,” he said. “Everyone around here knows. That’s why I was so surprised when I heard she was betrothed tae Darien. He’s a good man, and she… she’s like a bitch in heat.”
Calum knew what his brother was talking about. Everyone in this part of the Highlands had heard of Emelia Moriston’s reputation, whether or not they knew the family well.
“From what I heard, Lares made the betrothal and Darien had no choice,” he said. “One doesna go against the will of Lares dun Tarh.”
“But surely Lares knew the lass’s reputation?”
“Only Lares can answer that, and I’ll not ask him. Will ye?”
Guthrie shook his head. “Nay,” he said firmly. “But what do we do now? Do we return tae Moy? Do we return tae Foulis and tell Da about this?”
Calum thought on that a moment. “I think we stay,” he said. “Darien doesna have any of his family here tae help him should he need it, so we’ll stay for his sake. He may have need of us.”
“But what can we do?”
Calum’s gaze lingered on the keep. “I dunna know,” he said. “But if needs us, we’ll be here.”
Guthrie pushed himself off the wall, facing his brother. “What if he needs us tae get rid of Emelia?” he asked. “He’s in love with Evie and he’s going tae marry her, but Emelia’s return will ruin those plans. What if he wants us tae get rid of her?”
Calum looked at him. “He’d do it for us.”
That was very true. Darien and the dun Tarh brothers were loyal friends. Guthrie had to accept the fact that helping Darien might involve something unsavory, but he wasn’t opposed to it. As his brother said, Darien would do it for them.
They were here to help him, however they could.
“Very well,” Guthrie said after a moment. “Should we offer, then?”
Calum snorted. “Tae throw the lass in the sea?” he said, incredulous. “Nay, we dunna offer. But if he asks…”
“If he asks, we do.”
“We do.”
Now, all they had to do was wait.
*
Something was going on.
Emelia knew that right away. As she lay on her bed, staring up at the ceiling, she could hear her mother moving around in the adjoining chamber that belonged to Eventide.
Eventide.
Something was going on between her sister and Darien.
Emelia’s return to Blackrock had been mostly victorious. Her parents had been glad to see her and more than willing to listen to her story. She knew her mother believed her and was quite certain her father would soon believe her as well. She’d always been able to convince him of whatever she wanted, true or not. Emilia felt completely at home again, amongst people she could manipulate easily. Her parents had always been weak.
She had been counting on it.
The journey from Glasgow to Blackrock hadn’t been particularly full of peril. Fortunately, she’d managed to join up with a family that was traveling far to the north and allowed her to ride in the back of the wagon. She’d sat with the daughters of the family, two young girls who had been quite enamored with her, and told them stories as the caravan traveled north. Since she really didn’t want to spend money to compensate these people for allowing her to travel with them, she made herself useful by entertaining the children.
That seemed to be good enough.
They left her in Inverness, and from there, it was a half-day’s walk home. Blackrock hadn’t changed in the time she’d been away, and she found a good deal of comfort in that, but what she hadn’t expected was to see Darien the moment she came in through the gates. He was looking at her with astonishment, and for lack of a better reaction, she pretended to faint. She wanted the man’s sympathy, and that was a quick way to get it. She’d been concocting her story all the way home and thought it was a good one—she intended to tell her parents that Luke had kidnapped her, thereby pushing the blame off her and onto him. As she’d hoped, her parents believed her.
But Darien and Eventide didn’t.
That was what initially made her think there was something going on between them. They stood united in condemning her. But the confirmation of her suspicions was when Darien removed Eventide from the solar, putting his arm around her most comfortingly and taking her out of the keep.
That was something Emelia hadn’t anticipated.
In hindsight, she should have. They’d been the two left behind when she and Luke fled, so it was only natural that they found comfort in one another. Clearly, that comfort had turned into something stronger, and that concerned Emelia.
She hadn’t expected that obstacle.
But she should have.
Did she really think it was going to be so easy to simply come back into Darien’s life? She had assumed he would believe her story, so she had expected that he would be grateful enough for her return that the marriage would be back on. Especially if he thought Luke had abducted her. But he didn’t believe her at all and, in fact, mentioned something about razing Moy Castle. Clearly, things had gone on while she’d been away, and she intended to get to the bottom of it—but in questioning her mother, she realized that the woman didn’t know much. That wasn’t unusual, and often Emelia counted on that kind of thing, but in this case it was annoying.
She needed to know what was happening.
After the initial interrogation, her mother took her up to her chamber to rest, and that was where she found herself lying on her bed, staring up at the ceiling. She was physically weary but not sleepy. What she very much wanted to do was interrogate her mother again to see if she could get more out of the woman. She was thinking of doing precisely that when the chamber door opened and Eventide entered.
The claws came out.
“ Ye! ” Emelia said as she sat bolt upright in bed. “What have ye done tae my betrothed?”
Eventide remained cool in the face of a shouted accusation. They heard the door in the connecting chamber slam because Athole, hearing her daughter yelling, didn’t want to get involved in any fray. That was usual with her.
“Who was that?” Eventide asked.
“Mother,” Emelia said, knowing Eventide couldn’t see into the other chamber because of the angle of the room. “Answer me— what is happening? What have ye done with my betrothed?”
Eventide cast her sister a long look before going into her chamber and bolting that door. Then she came back into Emelia’s chamber and bolted that door, too. With both doors locked, she folded her arms across her chest and faced her sister.
“I’m sorry I slapped ye earlier,” she said. “How are ye feeling?”
That wasn’t what Emelia had been expecting. Given what happened in the solar, she’d expected more of Eventide’s rage. And flying palms. The fact that she couldn’t anticipate her sister left her feeling uneasy.
“Ye still haven’t answered me,” she said. “ What has happened between ye and Darien?”
“I’m more concerned about what happened between ye and Luke.”
Emelia wasn’t used to being denied her wants. In this case, she wanted an answer to a question, and when Eventide didn’t answer her, yet again, she flew out of the bed.
“I told ye what happened and ye called me a liar,” she snapped. “Ye had no right tae do that!”
Eventide sighed. “Emelia, I know ye better than anyone,” she said. “I know Luke dinna abduct ye. Ye’d been eyeing the man for weeks before ye ran off with him. There’s nothing ye can say that will change my mind, so ye may as well stop trying. Ye ran off with my betrothed and ye humiliated me and Darien and both of our families. What I want tae know is why ye returned—did Luke grow tired of ye and throw ye out?”
“Ha!” Emelia said. “That’s how much ye know. He would never—”
She stopped herself before she could say more, but Eventide latched on to it. “He would never… what ?” she said, coming closer. “Never throw ye over? Never tire of ye? Something happened, because if it hadn’t, ye wouldna be here. Did he meet someone prettier than ye? It wouldna be difficult.”
Emelia marched over to her and slapped her across the face. It was a weak slap, barely moving Eventide’s head. She grinned at her sister, in fact, before she answered with a devastating slap that sent Emelia sideways. Before Emelia could catch her balance, Eventide shoved her to the floor.
“That’s where ye belong, ye gutter rat,” she growled. “Luke never abducted ye. Ye convinced him tae run away with ye. When he got tired of looking at yer ugly face, ye came home and hoped Darien would be stupid enough tae believe yer story. Well, he doesna believe ye. He knows ye for what ye are. We all do.”
Emelia was furious. She was still on the floor, but she kicked out, trying to catch her sister in the shins. “He’s my betrothed,” she shouted. “Ye canna have him!”
“Ye took mine. I’m taking yers.”
Emelia struggled to her feet, quivering with rage. “Ye canna,” she said, wiping at her mouth and realizing Eventide’s slap had drawn a little blood when her tooth cut into her cheek. “He was mine first.”
Eventide was losing her temper, something she’d hoped not to do. She’d hoped to ease things between her and her sister, but Emelia’s instant rancor when she entered the chamber had changed that. Now she was becoming acrimonious, too, and if they kept going, there was going to be a brawl.
Eventide had to slow the situation down.
If she was to get the truth out of her sister, she had to at least pretend to be calm.
“Ye’re right,” she said, swallowing her rage. “I’m sorry we’ve been fighting since ye returned, Emmy, but we were so upset when ye left. We dinna know what tae think. And now ye’re back and everything is so confusing.”
She lowered her head and wiped at her eyes for effect, hoping Emelia would calm down and be more forthcoming if she thought Eventide was backing down.
But Emelia wasn’t ready to calm down yet.
“Aye, I’m back,” she said, still angry. “I want ye tae tell me what is happening between ye and Darien. How dare ye move in on him. He’s mine!”
So much for backing down. Eventide could see that Emelia wasn’t going to calm herself, so she had no choice but to continue butting heads—only she opted to not only butt heads, but put her foot to Emelia’s arse for good measure.
So much for sisterly love.
“I’ve decided something,” Eventide said after a moment. “I’ve decided that I’m going tae find every man ye’ve spread yer legs for, including the well-hung lad who beget ye with child, and I’m going tae bring them all here tae Blackrock so they can tell Darien what kind of woman ye are. Dunna forget that I know yer secrets, Emelia. All of them.”
Emelia turned red in the face. “He’ll not believe ye.”
Eventide laughed, without humor. “He’ll believe the dozens of men ye’ve satisfied,” she said. “Ye want tae know what’s happened between me and Darien? He’s met a woman who is worthy of him. He loves me and I love him, and Da has given us permission tae be wed. Ye lost the right tae have him when ye left, Emelia. He’s mine now.”
Emelia’s mouth popped open in outrage. “Ye stole him from me!” she said. “Da couldna have given his permission tae marry! Darien is my betrothed.”
“Not any longer.”
With a scream of rage, Emelia charged her sister, but Eventide was prepared. She dodged out of the way and gave Emelia a shove, pushing her off balance and into the door. It didn’t deter Emelia because she ran at her sister again, open palms flying, and Eventide was able to push the hands aside. As Emelia went off balance yet again, Eventide balled a fist and hit her squarely in the chin.
Down Emelia went.
“Now,” Eventide said, standing over her sister and shoving her when she tried to get up. “If ye’re finished trying tae fight with me, I want ye tae listen. Ye only have yerself tae blame for this. Darien doesna want ye. We’re going tae be married and live in Edinburgh so I never have tae see yer sorry hide again. Ye canna have what ye want this time, Emelia. Ye may as well accept it. Find another husband, because Darien belongs tae me.”
On the ground, Emelia kicked at her. Eventide slapped her on the side of the head and grabbed her hair for good measure, pulling hard. That had Emelia screaming again, but Eventide only pulled harder.
“Do ye understand me?” she said. “Tell me ye understand that this battle is over and I’ll let go.”
She pulled so hard that Emelia eventually had to concede. As Eventide left the chamber and went in search of Darien, Emelia sat on the floor and wept.
But not for long.
He was mine first!
That’s what she’d said to her sister, because it was true. Darien belonged to her, and in the eyes of the church, a betrothal was nearly as binding as a marriage. Even if Darien refused to marry her, and her father had given permission for Eventide and Darien to wed, Emelia refused to surrender. She’d taken one man from her sister.
She could take another.
This wasn’t over.
Not in the least.