Highlander's Sinful Desire (Steamy Scottish Historical Romance)

by Maddie MacKenna

  Taran and Auntie Lili strode over to Mother Philomena and Sister Prudence. The four of them embraced each other all at once. Tears of joy spilled forth, even Taran wiped his eyes.

  He said, “Come in, all of ye. I cannae believe this, both of me sisters have come back! I want to hear yer stories and what has finally brought ye back to us.”

  Sister Prudence then said, “But first, I want to introduce Sister Rowena to ye, Mother Philomena.” Rowena stepped forward and bowed respectfully to Mother Philomena, just as she had been taught by the sisters of St. Martha’s.

  “I’m honored to meet ye, Mother. Did you get my letter?”

  “Aye, Sister Rowena. And I brought ye this.” Mother Philomena pulled the clan Robertson ring out of her pocket and handed it to her. “Had ye nae sent me this, I do nae believe I would have been inclined to respond so quickly.” Rowena took the ring from her and handed it to Taran. He slipped it onto the ring finger of his right hand. It fit him perfectly. Everyone cooed, indicating their approval that the ring was back with its rightful owner.

  Mother Philomena then turned to Rowena and said, “To answer yer request to me, I would be delighted to take ye with me to St. Columba’s. Ye will be most welcome there.”

  Rowena kissed her hand solemnly and bowed. “Thank you, Mother Philomena. I am honored to know that.”

  Taran said, “We have much to talk about. Perhaps we should make ourselves comfortable in the drawing room where we can talk in privacy.” He escorted everyone into the drawing room where they spent the next two hours catching up. Sister Prudence and Mother Philomena told their stories.

  Mother Philomena started. “Neither Fiona nor I wanted to marry the men our faither had arranged for us. Me betrothed became a drunkard. He had a terrible temper. Even though he was a nobleman, the son of one of faither’s dearest friends, he was mean. Very mean. I dae nae ken if Faither was aware of it. If he was, he did nae care.”

  Taran said, “I dae nae remember him.”

  “Ye were too young then,” Mother Philomena said. “His name was Gerald MacEldowney. He was very close to Black Prince Edward and part of an important victory in the Battle of Poitiers. He helped the English capture the French king, John II and his son, Philip. The French government nearly collapsed.”

  Taran said, “I’m aware of that story. And ever since then, people have been arguin’ about whether Prince Edward's claim to the French crown was valid or if it was just a way to put pressure on the French government.”

  “Aye,” said Mother Philomena. “Yet me betrothed, Gerald, was a traitor to Scotland.”

  “Did Faither ken about that?” Taran asked.

  “I believe he did, though he would nae listen to me about it.”

  Auntie Lili then chimed in. “Yer faither . . . me brother . . . he did nae ken what to dae. He wanted the best for ye. He would dae anythin’ for ye. He tried to stay out of politics, but he was a successful business man. He could nae stay out of it. When he thought Scotland would lose the conflict with England, he wanted to be on the winnin’ side.”

  “And he approved of ye marryin’ this Gerald MacEldowney anyway?” Taran asked, finding this all so hard to believe.

  “Aye,” Mother Philomena said. “And Gerald to this day is still an outlaw in the eyes of King Robert. Aside from the king himself and some of his closest allies, I may be the only person left alive who kens what he did.” Then she looked at Taran and said, “That is why I have never contacted ye in all these years. Me own life may still be in danger, and so may be yers if ye ken where I am.”

  Taran gave a long sigh. “Aah. But Elsbeth, that seems unlikely now, dae ye think?”

  Sister Prudence then said, “There’s more to it.” She then talked about the man she was supposed to marry. “He was a magnate but he was twenty years older than me. Quite successful on the battlefield he was in his younger days. But he lost favor with the king and found himself at odds with the most powerful of the king’s allies. He considered a marriage to me as his route back to prosperity and nobility. An alliance with Faither combined with Faither’s dowry would mean his future was secure. He also was allied with Elsbeth’s Gerald MacEldowney and he, too, was workin’ against Scotland. Yer sister’s life and mine were both at risk.”“Why did ye nae demand to talk to Faither about it?” Taran asked.

  “We told nay one. We could nae. As much as we loved Faither, he wanted to us to be with men he thought could protect us financially but there was nay denyin’ it would also benefit him.”

  Sister Prudence added, “That is why I felt such sympathy for Sister Rowena when she told me of the marriage agreement her own faither made for her with Earl Strongbow. When she learned what her own faither had done to marry her off to a scoundrel like Earl Strongbow, she reacted just the way Elsbeth and me did. I had to help her.”

  Mother Philomena nodded in agreement, then continued with her story. “As I said, we told nay one what we were plannin’. Faither wanted us to marry on the same day. It was to be a double weddin’. He thought it would be easier for everyone to take care of it all at the same time.”

  “To us, the idea was horrible. We did nae want to go away and live with men we despised and who we thought were outlaws.”

  Taran asked, “Why did ye dae it on yer weddin’ day? Poor Faither was terribly distressed. And worried about yer safety.”

  “We were afraid, Taran,” Sister Prudence said.

  “Fiona here wanted to run away. It was her idea, actually, but she would only go if we went together. I was too scared to do it. I could nae decide if I could go through with it. But two days before the weddin’, me betrothed visited Frenich. He drank Faither’s wine. Too much of it. He took me walkin’ in the garden. He started yellin’ at one of the servants about his horse. About the war. I told him to calm down, and he punched me in me eye.” Mother Philomena had a distant look in her eyes as she recalled that painful event from long ago. She continued her story.

  “I ran inside to Fiona’s chamber. We decided then and there to run away. We even decided on our new names. Philomena and Prudence.”

  Sister Prudence then said, “We had to decide whether to run together or separately.”

  “Ye went separately? Why?” Taran asked. “Ye would have been safer together, would ye nae?”

  Mother Philomena explained that. “We thought we would be safer if we went separately. We figured Faither would have his men searching for two lassies, nae just one.”

  Taran said, “Ye were right. I recall him tellin’ everyone to look for two lasses. He thought ye’d be together, and he’d find ye soon enough.”

  “We left the night before our weddin’ day. We could nae be ready any sooner than that,” Sister Prudence said.

  Mother Philomena said, “We did nae ken where the other of us was goin’. We only ken one of us was goin’ to travel east and the other west. It turned out that Fiona went to St. Martha’s at Jarrow. I went to St. Columba’s at Iona.”

  Taran said, “Ye went in opposite directions and changed yer names. Nay wonder Faither could nae find ye.” He rubbed his face. “Ye must ken, Faither was distraught. He was never the same after ye disappeared.”

  Sister Prudence bowed her head. “I’m so sorry about what it did to him. And to ye, Taran.”

  Taran still did not understand why they felt they had to run away without telling anyone at all. “Ye had everyone worried for years. After a while, we all thought ye had died.”

  “I’m so sorry, laddie. It was nay doubt hard on all of ye,” Mother Philomena said. “But Taran, I daenae expect ye to understand why we felt we had to do it. Our faither, rest his soul, did nae understand it either.”

  “Now that ye ken about it,” Sister Prudence said, “ye must promise us that ye will nae discuss it with anyone. We believe there are still powerful men alive who would like to dae us harm.”

  Sister Prudence continued. “Ye must also understand that the life of a married woman is nae a nice one if yer husband treats y
e badly. He might treat ye like a slave, which is quite common. Could be far worse, though. Beatin’s are common. Terrible beatins, Taran. At St. Martha’s, we see it all the time. Many women come to us needin’ medical attention. Tis’ often because of what their husbands did to them. It’s a terrible sight to see sometimes. Sometimes they beat their children, too. We nuns . . . we pray for them. Tend to their injuries as best we can.”

  Mother Philomena added, “And we are thankful we dae nae have any man doin’ that to us.”

  Sister Prudence said to Taran, “Taran, if ye ever take a wife, promise us ye will treat her well. Though she is only a woman, she is a child of God. Just like ye are.”

  Taran nodded. “I ken that, Fiona. I dae nae believe I could ever hurt a woman or a child.”

  “Do ye think ye will marry soon?” Sister Prudence asked.

  Taran said, “As a matter of fact, Fiona, er, that is, Sister Prudence. I have been thinkin’ about that. He looked at Rowena and winked. “I’m still mullin’ it over.”Rowena looked at him with surprise. Is he planning to ask me to marry him? He couldn’t he referring to Lady Dierdre. Surely there is no one else!

  35

  Earl Strongbow lay on his bed, thinking about the duel that would happen two days from now. Their supper dishes were still on the table in their chambers waiting for the chamber man to remove them. He stood and lit an oil lamp to look at his wound and assess its readiness to stand up to a vicious duel.

  The pain from the infection had completely disappeared yesterday, along with his fever. The wound itself was healing over and Rowena’s medicines had done such a good job he may not even have a scar once it was completely healed. Earl Strongbow felt good now, nearly back to normal. He should be in tip top condition by the time of the duel.

  The thought of Taran, a lowly Highlander, stealing Rowena away from him, along with her dowry, infuriated him. All I have to do is kill Taran, and we’ll be done with this whole sorry mess. Rowena will be mine to do with what I want. Earl Strongbow felt his manhood stiffen with the thought of just what he would do with Lady Rowena on their wedding night.

  He lay back on the bed and rubbed some of the medicinal salve that Rowena had left for him into his wound. “Apply it liberally,” she had instructed. What would it feel like if I rubbed myself with it? No, leave that alone. Lord Kensley is right there. Good grief! Wait until I’m alone! Or better yet, wait until Rowena is beside me. He put the salve back on the stand beside the bed.

  Lord Kensley was lying on his bed across the room. He had been nursing a concoction of wine and herbs that Rowena had prepared for him to help with the pain in his ankle. He had been mumbling to himself for a while. Earl Strongbow was sick of the man. He said, “Lord Kensley, are you aware that you might never walk the same way again?”

  After a moment, Lord Kensley said, “Yes. That thought has occurred to me. But I’ll worry about that when and if I must. I feel as if I’m in good hands with my daughter tending to it.”

  “What a pity that would be. But, I suppose you’ll be able to depend on me if you become enfeebled.”

  “What do you mean by that, Lord Strongbow?”

  “I mean, I’ll be your son-in-law. Naturally, you’ll want to show me how to run your business for you. Manage your estate. Turn over your affairs generally to me.”

  Lord Kensley hesitated a moment before he answered. “Frankly, Lord Strongbow, I had not thought about all of that. Perhaps at some point that might make sense. If circumstances warrant, I suppose. I’ll give it some thought.” In fact, Earl Strongbow’s remarks were so astounding that they took Lord Kensley’s breath away. Why on earth would Earl Strongbow think I should turn my business and my financial matters over to him? It’s not as if I injured my brain! Does his ambition know no limit?

  Earl Strongbow smiled an eely smile. “When Rowena is my wife, I shall have my barrister draw up some papers for you. I will take care of everything, and you can relax and enjoy the rest of your life in peace. Let me handle it all.”

  Warning sounds went off in Lord Kensley’s head.

  36

  The sisters badgered Taran with questions about the woman he was thinking of marrying.

  “Tell us about her,” Elsbeth said.

  “Yes! Dae tell us all about her!” Fiona chimed in.

  Taran blushed. “The first thing I must say is she is the most beautiful woman I have ever seen. And one of the purest women I have ever known. One of the kindest, gentlest of women. The most talented. And certainly the bravest.”

  “My word!” Fiona said. “She must be very special, Taran.”

  “Oh, she is,” he said. “She saved me life, more than once.”

  “What do ye mean, brother?” Elsbeth asked.

  Taran took a deep breath and began to describe what happened the night Rowena set Malcolm and him free right under the noses of his English captors.

  “There we were, our hands bound and tied to trees in the Kielder Forest. The English soldiers thought we were part of a bandit gang that had just tried to rob them. Of course, they were badly mistaken about that.” Taran glanced at Rowena and winked. He was having fun telling his two older sisters this story about the night he met Rowena. “Malcolm and I thought we were finished. The next thing I ken, a woman whispered in me ear. I thought I was dreamin’! She sliced the ropes off our hands and we slipped out of their camp like a bunch of phantoms.”

  “My goodness!” Fiona exclaimed. Rowena had her hands over her mouth to stifle her giggling at Taran’s story.

  “Will we have the opportunity to meet this brave young woman?” Fiona asked.

  “Och, ye already ken her,” he said. He turned to Rowena and took both of her hands in his. “Me Lady Rowena.”

  She looked at him. “Yes?” She could barely contain her excitement. Is he about to propose? she wondered.

  “Me Lady, I ken I was nae in yer plans until recently. When we met, ye had intended to go finish yer trainin’ under me sister, Elsbeth, though ye didnae ken she was me sister. Then ye’d live out yer days as a nun. If ye still wish to dae that, I will respect yer decision. I will nae stand in yer way. Elsbeth . . .that is, Mother Philomena. . . will take good care of ye, I ken that.”

  Rowena nodded. “I know she would, Taran. But--” Fresh tears sprung to her eyes.She did not want to leave him. She had fallen for him. Hard. If he changed his mind about her, she would have to get to St. Columba’s or back to St. Martha’s – any place that let her resume the life of a nun.

  Taran held up a hand. “Wait, lassie, before ye speak, I’m nae finished sayin’ what I have to say to ye.”

  “Oh.Please continue.” Rowena stayed quiet, waiting for him to finish. She was trembling.

  He continued. “I want ye . . . nay, I need ye to consider somethin’ more.” He kissed the palm of her hand.

  “What is it?” She asked.

  Taran got down on one knee in front of her. He held one of her hands. “Lady Rowena,” he said, as she looked at him in confusion. “I have fallen in love with ye. I cannae bear the thought of ye leavin’ here. Ye goin’ to St. Columba’s, or anywhere else for that matter. What I’m sayin’ is, I want ye to stay here with me. Forever. To become me wife. . .Rowena, I’m askin’ ye . . . will ye marry me?”

  Rowena could no longer hold back the tears that had filled her eyes. She thought about all of her planning and thinking about becoming a nun, the time she had devoted to becoming the best nun she could be, the doubts, the self-examination she had put herself through in making the decision.

  With Taran’s proposal, however, she knew in an instant that becoming a nun was not the path God intended for her.

  In a flash she realized her desire to serve God would be fulfilled through her marriage to Taran. Not by becoming a nun.

  “Oh . . . yes. Yes, Taran,” she said with more certainty than she had ever known before. “I would be honored to be your wife! I love you., too.”

  Auntie Lili, Fiona, and Elsbeth gasped and clapped
their hands over their mouths. Feeling such joy in the moment, they watched the couple embrace and celebrate their betrothal.

  When Rowena accepted his proposal, Taran slowly got to his feet. He felt as if the world had slowed down, as if everything was happening in a slow, surreal motion. He pulled Rowena to her feet and into his arms. He kissed her with intense passion, not caring that his sisters and aging aunt looked on.

  The sisters and Auntie Lili broke into applause.

  Auntie Lili poured everyone a cup of wine. She raised her cup in a toast to the happy couple. Rowena could not recall ever being so happy. Only one thing still concerned her: The duel between Taran and Earl Strongbow. The thought of Taran being killed terrified her. Surely he is a better swordsman than the earl. It was a subject she longed to discuss with Taran, but now was not the time. She was very surprised to hear Taran bring it up instead.