Chapter 14
It seemed ridiculous that Helena was the one giving Skye a tour of Keep Bryden when Skye was supposed to be Lady Bryden.
Lady Bryden.
The title weighed heavily on her shoulders.
Of course, she’d known that she would become a laird’s wife one day. Her brother was a laird, and her father had been one. It was not as if she could just marry whoever she liked.
Still, hadn’t there always been a niggle of hope that maybe, just maybe, a marriage of convenience could also be something else? Something that mattered?
Apparently, I decided to choose plain good sense above me careless desires, she thought, chewing on the inside of her cheek. Evander and I are just friends. Even if… even if he did kiss me in such an intense way.
Her cheeks heated at the memory. She could still feel the warmth of his palm against her hip, his hand pressed against her thigh, seeking the heat of skin on skin. She shivered.
Just as well that it went no further. Our marriage isnae like that. It’s what we both want.
He’d kissed her, yes, but that was probably just because he was confused. He had thought she was dead, and then she was back, and yet the clans were still all on the brink of war.
Me fault, she thought with a stab of fear. I have to fix this. And me first task is to find out why I was taken. Then, if I ken the why, I’ll ken the who.
“It’s true, then,” Helena remarked, breaking the silence. “Ye remember nothing.”
The two of them had chosen the gardens to roam in. Skye couldn’t help but wonder if her mother had picked it so that they wouldn’t be overheard.
“I’m nae feigning it,” Skye murmured. “Me memory loss, I mean. I imagine that some people might think that.”
“Nae me,” Helena answered firmly. “I ken that ye arenae feigning anything. But there are serious questions to answer. First, did Laird Bryden have anything to do with yer disappearance?”
“I daenae believe that he did.”
Helena shot her a long look. “Can ye be sure of that, with yer memories gone?”
Skye hesitated, but only for a moment. “Aye, I can.”
“Well then, I shall take yer word for it. But ye have been in danger since ye set foot on Bryden land, by me reckoning. Because of yer disappearance, the peace treaty was violated.”
Skye flinched. “What?”
“Well, the terms of the agreement were that both brides wouldnae be harmed. Creighton kept Nora safe, but ye disappeared on the day of yer wedding. The treaty, then, was void. It would have been void even if ye had consummated the marriage, just because ye werenae safe.”
Skye’s cheeks reddened. The consummation, of course. That was the final step to cement a marriage, and she had disappeared before she and Evander could share a bed.
Whether anything would have happened in that bed was another matter, but it would be acceptable in the eyes of their clans.
She thought of herself and Evander lying side by side, just like they had before, only with him under the covers this time.
She imagined his hand, warm and searching, sliding between the sheets, looking for her—
Enough.
She swallowed. “There is no need to break the peace treaty,” she said. “I’m safe, as ye can see.”
“Safe? Lass, ye were missing for a twelvemonth, or near enough. Ye have no idea where ye were, how ye were treated, or what had been done to ye. Nay, this has gone too far. I am here to speak yer braither’s mind.
He thinks that it would be best for ye to come back with me.
Now, today, or as soon as we can manage.
The wedding can be annulled. Hunter is waiting for yer call, lassie. It’ll be as easy as—”
“Nay!” Skye blurted out, much more loudly than she’d intended.
Helena shot her a surprised look, and silence fell between them.
“Well,” Helena said, eventually. “Ye are very emphatic about that.” Her eyes narrowed. “Any particular reason why ye daenae wish to leave him?”
I made a mistake, Skye thought, swallowing hard. She should have known better than to try to deceive her mother.
“Could it be that ye have grown closer to him than ye had anticipated?” Helena mused aloud, biting back a smile.
Blackberry thundered out of a patch of undergrowth, immediately disappearing under a flower patch.
“Ye want to stay here, then?” Helena prompted.
“Aye. I mean, nay, I daenae. Nae permanently. Although… Ach, I daenae ken, Maither. I ken that Evander wouldnae hurt me.”
“Evander? Nae Laird Bryden?”
They walked on in silence for a moment or two, their steps slow and careful. Helena couldn’t walk fast, and even with her stick, she could not walk very far. Besides, cold air or sharp wind would knock the breath out of her, emphasizing her frailness.
Still, she never missed a trick. Skye knew that from experience.
When Blackberry shot out from under the flowers like a whirlwind, Skye stepped forward automatically to collect the cat. Helena stopped her, placing a hand on her arm.
“Just a minute, lass. What is it ye arenae telling me?”
Skye hesitated. She considered lying or evading the question, but then where would that get her?
“He has one month,” she confessed. “One month to convince me to stay and remain as his wife. If at the end of the month I wish to go, he’ll let me go. I… I want to see if he can convince me to stay.”
Helena’s face remained neutral. “I see.”
“More than that, I’m sure that this place holds the secret to me disappearance. After all, I was taken from here. He wants to get to the bottom of it too, mostly because he is being blamed. Did… Did he really burn down villages searching for me?”
Helena quirked an eyebrow. “Oh, aye. The whole of the Highlands thought that he’d lost his mind and finally turned traitor like his faither. We thought he would be worse than his faither. Even now—”
“He’s nothing like that man,” Skye burst out, her face reddening. “That man killed Faither. Evander is nae like him.”
Silence followed.
Helena’s expression flickered momentarily.
“Well, well, well,” she murmured thoughtfully. “Ye defend him with such fire.”
“I—”
“But ye are right. We shouldnae judge his character based on his faither’s deeds. We ought to judge him for his own deeds.”
Why did that sound ominous?
Before Skye could respond, her mother continued speaking.
“Now, I would like to freshen up before supper. Ye should, too. We’ll be dining with yer husband, after all. Oh, and visit the healer, lass, just to confirm that ye arenae hurt, aye?”
With a wink and a smile, Helena patted Skye’s hand and turned, limping back to the keep.
Skye watched her go, unable to shake a sense of unease.
What am I missing here?
Her mother clearly suspected that she had feelings for Evander.
Which is ridiculous because I daenae.
With a sigh, she glanced down to find Blackberry sitting at her feet, tail flicking. The cat let out a long, thoughtful miaow, reaching up and delicately clawing at the air.
Skye broke into a smile. “Want to dance?”
She leaned down and took the cat’s paws.
After a few rounds, she was giggling like nothing was wrong in the world.
“Ye are an excellent dancer.”
“I trust ye arenae speaking to me, lass.”
Skye yelped in alarm, letting Blackberry go, and spinning around.
A man stepped out of the bushes, lifting thin hands in apology. He had deep-sunken eyes, and she estimated that he was around fifty. A flicker of familiarity sparked at the back of her mind, but nothing more came of it.
“Forgive me, I shouldnae have called ye lass.” He grimaced. “Ye are Lady Bryden. And I daresay ye daenae remember me.”
Her shoulders sagged a little. “I’m afraid nae, sir.”
“Well, daenae worry about it. The name is Andrew. Andrew Kane.”
“Oh. Ye are a councilman?”
He nodded, his thin lips curling into a smile. “I am thrilled to see ye back, Lady Bryden. I’ll confess, I gave ye up for dead, but I’m pleased to be proved wrong.”
“Well,” she managed, smoothing down her skirts, “I plan on staying nae dead.”
He threw back his head and gave a throaty laugh, surprisingly deep for such a small man. “That’s the spirit! Ye always did bring fire to the keep, and some much-needed fresh ideas.”
Skye offered a smile. “I hope to get right back into the running of the keep. I have so many ideas.”
“Of course ye do. But ye must rest up and heal first, me Lady. We daenae wish to lose ye again. Here—” He extended a bony elbow. “Let me escort ye home.”
She glanced around the undergrowth. Where was Blackberry?
“I planned to walk a wee bit longer.”
He clicked his tongue. “It’s nae safe, me Lady. We cannae risk losing ye again.”
Skye opened her mouth to argue, only to realize that she hadn’t got the strength to argue.
“Very well,” she sighed, placing her hand on his arm. “I suppose I ought to get back.”
“A good choice, me Lady,” Andrew said equably. “A very good choice.”
Of course, she was dancing with the bloody cat.
Evander pulled back from the window, biting back a smile. Below, Skye was jumping about like a lunatic, clutching the cat’s paws. Blackberry’s hind legs remained planted on the ground, as if they really were dancing.
If anybody else tried to dance with that wee monster, she would shred them into pieces, he thought, amused.
A memory stirred: the first time he’d seen her dance with Blackberry. The cat had been much smaller then, a tiny, fluffy kitten, all eyes and fur and those wretched claws.
She was gathering her courage to confront me about me rules.
The thought brought a stabbing ache with it, the memory of all the ridiculous rules he’d insisted on if they were to marry.
“I’m nae yer man-at-arms,” Skye had said brusquely, her chin lifted. “Daenae order me about as if I am yers.”
Oh, but I want ye to be mine, he’d thought, the words a breathy echo in his head. I’d give half the world to make ye mine.
A knock on the door made him flinch.
He hastily put distance between himself and the window, not wanting someone to come in and see what he had been looking at. Who he had been looking at.
“Come in,” he ordered.
The door creaked open, and a tall, slim redhead stepped inside.
“Ah, Fergus,” Evander greeted, giving a wry smile. “Good to see that ye made it home safe.”