Page 55 of Highlander’s Mercenary Lass

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Andrew's cries echoed down the castle walls long after the guards had disappeared with him.

As they went, Grace rounded on Paton, her eyes blazing.

"Just who do ye think ye are!" she yelled.

As ever, Paton was smug. "I'd say I was yer laird, an' ye are compelled tae obey me in all things!"

Just the sight of him there, sneering down his nose at her, was enough to turn Grace's stomach. Instinctively, she knew this was wrong. She did not want this marriage, but as Paton had announced, she was in a tricky position.

None of that stopped Grace from trying, though. There was no way she was going to let him get away with this. Paton turned to move back down the corridor but was still glaring at her with his dishwater eyes.

"Ye are nae a laird!" she retorted, as he smirked in the half-light. "An' I am nae married tae ye!"

"Yet!" snapped Paton. He stopped on his way out of the corridor and swerved back around, filling her face with his venom. "It's only a matter o' time afore ye are."

"I wilnae!" hissed Grace, arching her back like a cat. She knew he had the upper hand, but she was damned if she was going to show it.

"Yes, ye will," Paton replied. His dark-gray eyes twinkled menacingly under the candelabra in the hall. "Ye promised tae, remember?"

"The betrothal means nothing!" Grace practically spat. She was shaking with rage at this point. "It wasnae official, an' it doesnae count for anything."

"It counts if I say it does, sweetheart!" Paton said. Now not only had he stopped in the corridor, but he began pushing his way back inside the chamber.

From the middle of the dank corridor, Paton's two remaining lackeys stood watchfully. Seeing them, Paton dismissed them with the flick of a hand.

"Go on," he gestured, angrily bringing his attention back to Grace. The pair looked at each other, unsurely, before shrugging and disappearing back along the narrow hall.

Although Grace was not sorry to see them go, she was uneasy about being left alone with Paton. The second they were gone, she bolted to the opposite end of the chamber, putting the four-poster bed between her and Paton.

For good measure, she picked up a large candlestick from the bedside dresser and held it aloft. Seeing her baring her teeth, Paton laughed.

"Och, my dear, what on earth do ye think I'm going tae do tae ye?" he asked, a sly smile spreading across his gnarled face. Grace didn't have any reply. She didn't really want to have to think about the reality of being trapped in a bedchamber with Paton for one second longer than she had to.

In annoyance, she looked around the long corridor beyond the door. Servants, who were usually all too present, had disappeared en masse, leaving her and Paton face-to-face.

"Come, my dear," said Paton, making himself comfortable on the four-poster bed. He patted down a space beside him, indicating Grace to join him.

She did not.

Paton rolled his eyes. "Well, leave it until oor wedding night !" he snarked.

Grace did not answer him. Her stomach was still in ructions at the mention of wedding night.

"Alright, play it like that. As long as ye ken ye are marrying me. The clan elders are arranging it as we speak." He cast his eyes tentatively at Grace.

He's enjoying this, she thought.

But Grace was more than a match for him. Reminding herself Paton was nothing but a feeble old man, Grace turned toward him sharply.

"I am nae, an' if ye try an' make me, I will go tae Laird Ferguson!" she said. Grace kept her voice as flat as she could, but she still could not stop a little tremble from coming out.

Instinctively, she pushed herself to the back of the room until her back was against the window, looking out to the front of the castle. But she couldn't help sparing a glance outside, hoping to see Andrew.

Seeing her look, Paton sat up, snarling. "I told ye, yer beloved isnae there. He's being taken downstairs tae new accommodations."

Now, he pushed himself nearer, moving to the other side of the room until he was next to her again. With nowhere to go, Grace squared up to him.