Chapter Fifteen #2
Taking her time, she climbed the stairs within the castle, then proceeded to her own bedchamber.
She placed the lovely little bouquet of bluebells in a pottery vase of water on the windowsill.
Her eyes misted because Keegan had been so thoughtful and romantic in picking them for her.
He was a treasure. She remembered the first time he’d told her that her eyes were the color of bluebells, during the gale when they’d taken shelter against the rocks.
She took a moment to savor how charming and sweet he was.
She truly believed he cared for her.
Unable to delay the inevitable any longer, she strode down the corridor and knocked at her aunt’s bedchamber door.
“Enter,” she called, though the word was more like a command.
Seona slowly opened the door, went in and closed it behind her. “How are you feeling?”
“Tired.” Still fully dressed except for her shoes, Aunt Patience reclined in bed, her swollen ankle elevated on two pillows.
Seona could not miss her aunt’s ominous glare or her lowered brows. Had Fraser told someone he’d discovered her and Keegan last night? Had gossip spread? She braced herself for the worst. “You wished to see me?”
“Indeed. I will tell it to you straight, lassie. Your father will beat you if you are carrying Keegan MacKay’s bastard.”
A slap could not have surprised Seona more. She gasped. “What? I am not!”
“You’d best hope not. I saw the two of you all cozy and romantic on that terrace.” She motioned toward her window.
Saints! Seona had not realized the window looked out over the terrace and gardens. Nor had she known her aunt was up here, spying. She’d left her at a table in the garden. MacMillan must have carried her up here while Seona was talking to Isobel and enjoying the views.
“I saw the flowers he brought you,” Patience said, her lip lifting as if in disgust.
How dare she think what Seona and Keegan shared was disgusting? To Seona, ’twas the most beautiful and deeply meaningful thing on earth. Mayhap her aunt was jealous because MacMillan hadn’t brought her flowers.
“If he hasn’t seduced you yet, I’m sure ’tis not for lack of trying. I told you he was a rogue.”
“He has not seduced me.” ’Twas the truth, and Seona had no problem saying it.
“Nor is he a rogue.” She had not seen Keegan so much as look at another woman during the months she had known him.
That realization riveted her. Every time she had seen him, his attention had been on her or on his duties.
Could he be that devoted to her? Her eyes burned.
“He is not good enough for you,” her aunt said. “What kind of life would you have?”
A happy one. Moisture welled in her eyes.
“The only home he could provide would be a small cottage,” Patience muttered.
That wouldn’t be so bad, if Seona could be with Keegan. And if she could bring her sister with her.
Seona blinked hard, fighting back the tears. “A fine castle isn’t always the most important thing.”
“Indeed?” Her aunt’s gaze grew sharper. “Do you not need warm shelter, food and drink? Do you not need the safety of a castle and walls in the event of an attack?”
“Of course.” Seona had not considered where they might live if she married Keegan. Dunnakeil was a huge castle. ’Haps Dirk and Isobel would not mind if they lived there, too. After all, Keegan and Dirk were close family, and Keegan was tanist.
“There is no way in hades your father will allow you to marry him, so don’t even imagine it.”
“I’m well aware.” Seona ground her teeth and stared at the ceiling, for none of this was news to her.
Besides, her aunt didn’t need to know Seona was imagining what it would be like to marry Keegan.
But he had not made it known whether he wished to marry her.
Mayhap he thought it just as impossible as she did.
“Stay away from him,” her aunt warned. “He is naught but a guard.”
Fury built within Seona’s chest, but she drew in a deep breath to dispel it. “He is Chief Dirk’s tanist.”
“Do you think that will matter to your father?”
Seona shrugged. Of course it wouldn’t. Her father was like a stone monolith when it came to sentiment. “What about the guard you have been spending so much time with?” Seona asked, her heart rate speeding up with her bold words.
Her aunt narrowed her eyes until they were like sharp blades. “My ankle is near broken and he is but helping me get about. Besides, how dare you question me and my actions?”
“You are a lady, just as I am,” Seona pointed out innocently. “What about your reputation?”
“I am a widow,” her aunt snapped. “Not a virgin. There is a vast difference.”
“I doubt my father would approve, either way.”
“Are you threatening me?” her aunt demanded through clenched teeth.
“Nay,” Seona said mildly, lifting her brows into what she hoped was a pleasant expression.
She was tired of obeying her grouchy, snobbish, hypocritical aunt and ready to give her a taste of her own bitter medicine.
Seona’s father provided financial support to her aunt.
That was why she’d agreed to be Seona’s companion and chaperone during this journey.
What would her father do if he knew his sister was interested in a guard, someone he would see as far beneath her? Would he cut off her funds?
“You’d best watch yourself, lassie.” Patience pointed a finger straight at Seona. “I will tell your father everything. You ken how he is when angered.”
Indeed, she did. She well remembered his red-faced tirades, his arms flying about, his big hands hurling objects.
And worst of all, those same meaty hands slapping her face so hard the imprint of his fingers left a red mark for two days.
Seona had to get her sister away from him.
Was Talia well? Had he abused her already?
Seona’s heart thudded with sudden concern.
“Are you listening to me?” Patience asked.
“Aye. You would enjoy watching him strike me again, would you not?”
“Of course not! I don’t enjoy it. But it would be nothing less than you deserve in this case. Dallying with a bodyguard.”
“I am not dallying.” At least she hoped that wasn’t what it was called.
’Twas true Keegan had touched her in scandalous ways, but he had not taken her virtue.
She was immensely grateful for that now.
Although at the time, she hadn’t been. She’d wanted something she couldn’t name.
She’d craved for Keegan to claim her in every way and make her a woman. His woman and his wife.
“The way he always watches you with lust in his eyes tells me loud and clear that he wishes to bed you,” Patience said.