Page 26 of Only a Highlander Will Do

She drew a slow breath and there was a sudden slight shine to her eyes. Was she crying? “He seems as horrible as you said he was.”

He wished he could see into her mind to know her emotions. If he knew her fears or her desires for the future, he could make certain to keep her fears at bay and use her desires to find ways to make her happy. He would rather see a smile on her face than tears in her eyes. Tormod frowned at the thought. He’d never sought to ease another person’s way in this life before. And seeing her smile was a prize he’d never thought he’d want to attain. “I might have forced you into marriage, but I promise never to lie to you, Fiona.”

“That is comforting to know.”

A glimmer of a smile came to her lips and his heart contracted. “Come, let’s pick up the pace. We’ll collect Geordie and have him return to Dunvegan with us instead of waiting for him to draw up the documents in the village as originally planned.”

Her smile vanished. She turned her gaze to the road ahead and remained silent all the way to Glen Brittle.

When they finally reached Geordie’s aunt’s house, Tormod dismounted, leaving Graeme and the rest of the warriors to protect Fiona. It wasn’t long before they were on their way once more with Geordie joining their ranks. Fiona kept silent as they made their way back to safety.

*

Fiona bit down on the inside of her cheek to keep from crying out. Her father had betrayed her by sending her off to marry a man she didn’t know. But he’d eviscerated her by what he’d whispered into her ear at the Fairy Pools.

Now that you’ve wed the MacLeod, you’ll have to kill him or the MacDonalds will demolish Ulster Castle, the dower house, and kill me on the morrow. I owe them funds, Daughter. You were supposed to erase that debt with your marriage. All that is left to us is for you to kill the bastard you married so you can settle my accounts and save my life.

Her father didn’t enquire if she was safe. He didn’t show concern that she’d been kidnapped. All he cared about was her ability to pay back his debt.

Kill him or the MacDonalds will demolish Ulster Castle and kill me.

The words echoed in her head. Her own father would force her to kill her husband if she wanted to save her father and the castle she loved. This time when the tears came to her eyes, she didn’t hold them back. She turned her gaze away so that Tormod couldn’t see her or the pain that cut deep into her soul.

He wanted her to wait until Tormod was asleep and vulnerable and then do what the MacDonalds had failed to do last night. Take Tormod’s life so that she could be passed back to the MacDonalds like a bartered animal to nullify her father’s mistakes if the MacLeods didn’t get to her first. They would know it was she who had murdered him and they would throw her in the dungeon just as Tormod’s father had done to his wife.

Fiona closed her eyes and let the wind brush against her cheeks, carrying her tears away. Was she capable of such a heinous deed? Could she promise to love and cherish a man one day then slice his throat the next? If she did, would she be condemned to burn in Hell’s fires for all eternity? Or would she forfeit her own life and possibly become a spirit like Janet MacLeod?

She might be a MacLeod because of her marriage, but Ulster Castle and her father had been her entire world until yesterday. It was her duty as a daughter to protect her father’s life, wasn’t it, even though he had very little regard for her own?

Her heart pounded in her ears at the impossible situation her father had put her in. Tormod wasn’t a villain. At least the man who had revealed himself to her in the past two days had not proven to be so. He’d admitted that during times of war, he’d taken lives, but he’d switched sides when he’d recognised that the cause for which he fought was not as honourable as he had wanted it to be.

She toyed with the ring on her finger. Did such a man deserve to die at his wife’s own hand? Could she even do such a thing if the moment presented itself? Her life to this moment had been about nurturing the lives of her flowers and the servants who were her family.

The thought brought a fresh wave of tears. Higgins, Mrs Bagley, Ginny. What would happen to them if the castle were destroyed? Would the MacDonalds destroy them as well?

Fiona brought her hand up to cover her mouth, fearful that she might cry out in agony. The fate of so many lay in her hands.

Perhaps it would be better if she tried to escape, and presented herself to the MacDonald clan, even if she wasn’t truly free to remarry the heir. She could become his mistress. Would that be enough to satisfy her father’s debt and save his life?

The cost of such an action might be her own life. But that was preferable to having blood on her hands. Her father would live. Ulster Castle would survive. Her servants would as well. And eventually Tormod would forget all about her.

She straightened in the saddle. Her decision made, she cast one final look at Tormod, memorising his face. When they returned to Dunvegan Castle, she would ask the Grey Lady to help her leave as she’d offered before they were wed. It was the only way to protect the MacLeods, her castle, and her family.

*

Alex MacDonald seethed as he watched Tormod MacLeod and the girl ride away. The bastard had married Fiona. He’d stolen from Alex the thrill of conquering her, using her in any way he liked in order to satisfy her father’s debt to the MacDonalds.

Alex stood with his hands clenched into fists at his sides. He’d stopped listening to the man beside him rambling excuses for his daughter’s behaviour. The two of them couldn’t have married if Fiona hadn’t agreed. Which made her even more a target of his bloodlust than ever before.

The MacLeod and Fiona Fraser had to die. The man beside him would suffer too. No one crossed a MacDonald and got away with it.

No one.

Chapter Ten

An eerie stillness settled over the land as Tormod pushed his men towards home. Fiona had remained silent for the rest of the trip, most likely because they were maintaining a much faster pace than they had previously. He could see her white-knuckled grip on her saddle as they climbed over and wound their way around the high hillocks. When they finally reached the moorlands that would take them to Dunvegan’s gates, her grip eased, as did the tension in Tormod’s muscles.

While he couldn’t see the MacDonalds following them, he could feel their presence close by, and wanted more than anything to see Fiona safely inside the castle walls once more.