Chapter 15
Gair arrived before Errol did and he arrived with only a few guards.
Lachlan received a message of his early arrival while he was looking over the report of his hunters.
They were unsuccessful in finding anything big enough to be plucking pigs from their stables.
He wanted the beast caught so his villagers could sleep easier, but at the same time, he was pleased that he would be able to join the hunt.
The clan seemed to be accepting Sloane and she was moving around without pain, so he didn’t feel guilty about leaving the keep for the day.
Lachlan narrowed his eyes and stared at the lad who had been sent to let him know that Gair was here.
He was an orphan named Reed that was being raised by one of the stable hands although he spent most of his time stealing food from the kitchen.
Because he had a habit of causing mischief, most people used him as a messenger to keep him busy.
“How long has Laird Brisbane been in the keep?” Lachlan demanded.
“He arrived an hour or two ago. I believe he asked first to speak to Freya.”
The boy smiled cheekily and Lachlan shook his head. Of course, Gair would want some alone time with his sister. Lachlan didn’t mind so much because he trusted Gair, but at the same time, he didn’t like that Gair was sneaking behind his back.
Narrowing his eyes, Lachlan rose from the table. “I suspect that I need to have a word with him. Back to work with ye, boy.”
“I heard ye are taking the hunting party out. May I come?” Reed asked eagerly.
“Maybe. We’ll see if you cause any mischief between now and then.
” Ruffling the boy’s hair affectionately, he strode from the room.
He knew all of Freya’s favorite spots when she wanted alone time, so it didn’t take him long to find her and Gair in the galley.
There was obvious tension between them as they argued in hushed tones.
“Gair,” Lachlan said lightly as he leaned against the doorframe and studied them. “I heard that ye were here. In fact, I heard that ye have been here for hours.”
The man shot Freya one last frustrated look before he turned toward Lachlan. “Hours is an exaggeration, Lachlan. I appreciate the invitation. Has Errol arrived yet?”
“Nay, but he has further to travel. Gair, I will remind ye that this is not a political visit. Errol claims he only wants to visit with his daughter. Ye are here to visit with Freya. Is that clear?”
Freya rolled her eyes. “Her father doesna care one whit about her and ye know it. If he is here, ’tis for some other reason.” Whatever anger she held about her conversation with Gair was bleeding over.
“Perhaps, but I trust Sloane. If he does anything to hurt her, she will tell me.” He jerked his head. “She is frantically trying to get the keep prepared to welcome her father. I doona want her to open her wound again, so I would appreciate it if ye would help her.”
Freya shot Gair an angry look and stomped out muttering something under her breath. When they were alone, he narrowed his eyes at Gair. “Is there something that I need to worry about?”
“No,” Gair sighed. “Yer sister is a difficult woman to figure out, that is all. Are ye concerned about Errol’s visit?”
“I am concerned that Freya is right. Sloane doesna speak much about her life with her father, but I have seen enough to believe that the man isna the warm and loving type. I doona know what Errol wants from this visit, but I doona think ’tis to speak to his daughter.”
“Did ye tell Sloane that?”
Lachlan took a deep breath. “No. Her father is obviously important to her and I doona want to upset her. Things have not been easy for her since I wed her.”
“Aye?” Gair raised his eyebrows. “Are ye making her days difficult? Or perhaps just her nights?”
As Gair chuckled, Lachlan grunted and balled his fists. He didn’t like the idea that anyone would joke about his nights with Sloane. “My clan has apparently decided that I shouldna have wed an outsider. They have been making her miserable.”
“Ye have not had a word with them about it?”
“She wouldna tell me and I was told that I needed to let her earn their respect. And she did so by risking her life to save a young lad.” Still proud of the courage and strength in his wife, Lachlan grinned. “She is quite a woman.”
“Why Lachlan, are ye falling in love with yer wife? I didna think that it was possible.”
“My feelings for my wife are none of yer concern.” Even as he defended himself, he felt his face redden.
His affections for his wife were growing in spades, but he wasn’t about to tell anyone else that until he knew what it meant.
Sloane cared for him and he cared for her, but love?
There was still so much that he didn’t know about his wife.
But Lachlan did know that he was not about to let his wife be hurt because of her father. That he could protect her from.
“Laird! Laird!” The errand boy rushed in without bothering to knock first. He was in such a hurry that he tripped over the rug and fell into a sprawl in front of Lachlan. Leaning down, Lachlan picked the boy up by his shoulder and set him back on his feet.
Clapping the boy on the back, Lachlan waited until he could breathe again. “No need to get so excited again. Just spit it out.”
“Sorry, Laird. The Fenton banner has been spotted. They are on MacFarlane lands.”
Gair scowled deeply and clenched his fists.
“Easy,” Lachlan said in a low voice. “Ye doona have to greet Errol with me, but ye will need to make yer presence known and I doona have to remind ye that the peace must be kept.”
“I will spend the morning on the training field with yer men. I have some aggression that I need to work out.”
Lachlan snorted. “I believe that women are only supposed to aggravate ye after marriage.”
“Yer sister is special.”
Aye, that she was.
He had some time before Errol would reach the keep, so Lachlan went in search of his wife to tell her that her father was here. He found her on her hands and knees scrubbing the floor in one of the chambers. Freya was hovering around her nervously.
“Sloane, the floor is clean! All ye are doing is wearing yerself thin. Lachlan will have my head if he catches ye like this.”
“Too late for that,” Lachlan growled.
Angry, he stomped across the floor and pulled Sloane to her feet. Immediately, he put a hand on her wound and felt his anger grow when she winced. “If this starts to bleed again, I will tie ye to the bed for a fortnight, do ye understand?”
“Lachlan, I am proud of my new home. I want to show it off for my father.”
“Freya, will ye see to our parents? Errol is nearly here and I want them ready.”
His sister nodded and hurried away. “Lachlan,” Sloane started, but before she could finish her sentence, he put his hands on her lips.
She quieted instantly and he leaned over and kissed her softly. “Wife,” he whispered softly. “If ye continue to work yerself to the bone over yer father then I will forbid him from our lands. Do ye understand?”
“But the alliance?”
“Will strain. That is how serious I am now. I wanted ye by my side when yer father arrived, but since ye have obviously not been resting, that willna happen now. Return to our chambers, Sloane. Rest. In a few hours, I will summon ye.”
Those beautiful lips frowned and she stiffened, but he was not swayed.
He wanted her to recover, but he also wanted to judge Errol for himself without Sloane dipping into those ridiculous curtsies.
He couldn’t stand the way they were together before the marriage and he felt even more protective of her now.
He would not let Errol hurt his daughter, especially if he was hurting her to get to him.
Her father was not nearly as large as her husband, but he was still a fearful and imposing figure as he turned from the window to gaze at her. Night had fallen over the Highlands and the moonlight surrounded him in a silver hue, but it did nothing to ease the tension in the room.
“Father. I am sorry that I couldna meet ye when ye got here,” she said nervously as she entered the guest chambers.
The first time that Lachlan would allow her out of her room was for dinner, he and Gair kept his attentions.
Her father didn’t even glance her way and she tried not to take offense to it.
He sent her a note to meet him after dinner. Not wanting to upset Lachlan further, she didn’t tell him that she was meeting her father. The pain from her wound had ceased and she knew all Lachlan wanted her to do was to take it easy.
Even if he was a little overbearing about it.
“Yer husband said that ye were recovering from a wound?”
“Aye. An unfortunate incident involving a goat and his large horns.”
Her father studied her with an inscrutable expression. “He claims that ye were a hero and saved a child’s life. He is verra proud of ye.”
“He is?” Unable to help herself, she blushed under the knowledge. “’Twas nothing. If anyone else was around, they would have done the same.”
With a smirk, Errol began to circle her slowly. “Winning yer husband over? I hope that is part of yer plan and that ye wouldn’t be falling in love with him. Ye had a mission here.”
Stiffening at the reminder that she was supposed to be working on some nefarious plan, Sloane swallowed hard and reminded herself that she was needed to make her father see that Freya wasn’t the light skirt he thought she was and that the alliance was not in jeopardy.
“Lachlan is not part of the problem, Father,” she said quietly. “He has been a good husband to me and he wants the alliance to work. Yer fears were about his sister.”
“We will get to her in a moment,” Errol said sharply. “First, I want to know why I have not heard from ye. Not one letter since yer marriage. Are ye too busy being wooed by yer husband to remember me?”
Anger surged through her. “Ye have not written me either, Father! I didna even know that ye were planning to visit so quickly. I had to learn it from Lachlan!”
“Ye dare to raise yer voice at me!” he hissed as he grabbed her shoulders. His fingers dug into her skin until she winced from the pain, but he still didn’t release her. “I have cared for and clothed ye yer entire life and this is how ye treat me?”
“Father, please,” she pleaded as tears pricked her eyes.
“I doona mean to upset ye, but I have a life here. I simply wanted to put ye at ease. Freya is in love with Gair. She has no other man in her life and she plans to marry him. I thought that might make ye happy. Everything is working out as planned. The peace and the alliance will hold.”
Releasing her, he stepped away and growled as his eyes darkened with rage. “And how do ye know these things, Sloane? Does Freya confide in ye? Do ye watch her every waking moment?”
“Well, no, but…”
“Of course not! Ye are the enemy, Sloane! Ye are the wife of the Laird and mistress of the keep. She is lying to ye so ye willna tattle on her to yer husband. I have eyes and ears in this clan and I know that she is slipping out of her room at night to tup with men.”
It wasn’t true. It couldn’t be true! Sloane couldn’t believe that Freya would lie to her and she couldn’t believe that Freya would do anything to upset the agreement, but she also knew that Freya was unhappy about the arranged marriage.
She feared that Gair would never love her like she loved him, but she wouldn’t do anything as dangerous as to give herself to another man.
“I cannae believe it,” she whispered hoarsely. “There must be a mistake.”
“There is no mistake, Sloane. Now, I cannae stay long. Lachlan would get suspicious, but tomorrow, I will summon ye when I am alone and we will discuss the plan.” His eyes sharpened as he stared at her.
“Ye want this to work out, aye? Ye doona want yer marriage to Lachlan to be for nothing, do ye? How he will come to hate ye if that is the case.”
“No, I doona want that,” she agreed miserably.
“Then ye must do exactly as I tell ye. Now, return to yer husband so he doesna realize that ye are gone.” He jerked his head. “Go, Sloane. I will speak to ye again tomorrow.”
That was it. There were no questions about if she was happy or settling in. He didn’t seem to care how she was faring as a wife or fitting in with the clan. Grief gripped her heart as she turned and fled from his room.
Even now, when she was wed to a man and vowed fealty to another clan, it still broke her heart that she didn’t have her father’s love. Perhaps she never would. Perhaps the only way to get his love would be to prove herself to him.
Sloane could prove herself useful by doing as he asked and keeping an eye on Freya.
Although she felt guilty about spying on the woman, she was sure that Freya would do no harm to her clan or the Brisbanes.
It wouldn’t hurt to send off a few letters now and then telling her father of Freya’s activities and assuring him that everything was fine.
It still didn’t feel right. Freya was becoming a friend, and even more importantly, she was part of her new family.
There had to be a better way than spying on her.
Maybe if she just spoke to her about her father’s fears, the dirty issues would be more transparent and they could all come to a peaceful conclusion.
Then again, if she spoke the truth, she could lose Freya’s trust and that would hurt.
Unsteady on her feet, Sloane felt like she was straddling two worlds and she didn’t understand why. It felt like her father cared more about this alliance than he did about her and while that didn’t surprise her, it did hurt.
She would have to choose soon before it was too late, but Sloane would not pick a side. She couldn’t. There would be a better way, and she was confident that she would find it.