Chapter 9
B rigid sat in her bed, a single candle lighting her room. The hills outside lay shrouded in darkness, and her small tower chamber was lined with shadows. With blankets piled over her legs, she tried to work out what to do.
Sandy’s proposal - if she could call it that - had taken her completely by surprise.
Was it even a proposal? It was hard to tell. His suggestion, perhaps.
She knew he meant to help her. His sincerity showed in his every gesture, his every expression. Highwayman he may be, but there was no doubt that Sandy MacLeod was a good man.
But she couldn’t stop feeling panicked.
She’d spent all day thinking about it, turning over all the options and possibilities in her mind. Somehow, she still felt no closer to making a decision than she had been that morning.
Should she marry him, or not?
No, she couldn’t marry him. He wasn’t Finn - he wasn’t the man she loved. Saying her wedding vows to an almost-stranger just seemed wrong. That feeling had been prickling at her all day, even as Mary helped her to choose a wedding dress, and Sandy promised to sort things out with the priest. All day, Brigid had just been drifting, letting other people get on with the practical tasks while she tried to make up her mind.
Brigid gazed into the darkness and hugged the blankets more tightly around her. If only she could see the beautiful hills. They never failed to reassure her.
Where was Finn right now? Was he locked up somewhere, thinking about her and hoping that she was free? He loved her, even if he rarely said it. He surely wouldn’t want her to risk even more by handing herself over to Edmondson. He would understand.
The more Brigid thought about it, the more she realised Sandy was right. Marrying him was the best way to protect herself from Edmondson - and, in the long run, the best way to get Finn free. She needed to seize every advantage she could find.
And, really, what did she have to lose? When she returned to the twenty-first century, she would be single and unmarried again. It would be like all of this never happened. Finn would understand her decision - if he ever found out.
Brigid was certain of one thing: she would do whatever it took to rescue Finn.