A Rogue at the Highland Court: An Arranged Marriage Highlander Romance

by Barclay, Celeste

  “Ye’re the most beautiful woman I’ve ever seen, and a Gordon plaid has never looked better, mo aingeal. Ye look like one.”

  “I don’t feel like one, unless it’s an avenging angel.” The trio turned to watch Lady Margaret approach. Ewan wrapped his arm around Allyson’s waist after she adjusted the arisaid to display the kirtle she wore beneath. She steeled herself for whatever her mother had to say, knowing it would likely humiliate her in front of Ewan. She felt his arm tense around her and realized he was preparing for the inevitable too.

  “Where have you been?” While Margaret kept her tone low, there was no missing the demand in her words. “Ewan, why is my daughter wearing your plaid? Has something transpired while I’ve been busy?”

  “A great deal has trans—” Ewan didn’t finish before Mary cut him off.

  “Why’re you wearing my gown?” Mary demanded.

  Allyson didn’t flinch as she answered. “When Eoin requested a maid deliver dry clothes to Ewan in their chamber, the maid assumed it must have been for you. Your reputation made your clothes seem like an obvious choice. It’s not as though I could walk around naked once I left the chamber, so I had no choice but to put on your gown once we finished my bath. I wanted to wear Ewan’s plaid.”

  Ewan waited for her mother to sound the alarm after she left little to anyone’s imagination.

  “For hours? Unlikely. I can imagine what you’ve been up to.” Margaret’s sneer set Ewan’s nerves on edge. “I shall send Berta to see you this very night,” Margaret’s lip curled in disgust.

  “Do as you must. But does it matter? Either I’m just as I was when I arrived, and there is naught to fash over, or I’m not and I must marry Ewan. One way or another, he and I will stand before the kirk in a few sennights.”

  Ewan pushed Allyson behind him and put his hands on his hips.

  “Are you questioning my honor, Lady Elliot?” Ewan’s ominous tone had Allyson pulling on his arm, but he didn’t budge.

  “Not yours. My daughter’s. She seduced you.”

  “You have the wrong lass. That was Mary who tried not Allyson. We talked. That’s all.” Eoin was the only person he would admit to that he’d done far more with Allyson than talk.

  “Mary? Very well, Laird Elliot will amend the documents when they arrive from court,” Margaret gloated.

  “I said tried. She offered herself to me more than once and even accosted Eoin, thinking he was me. Not very discriminating in her tastes.” Ewan leaned forward, his own sneer clear on his face. “I wouldn’t have any of your other daughters even if the king paid me. That you’d so gladly put Allyson aside only drives me to remove her from this keep and your family as soon as possible. The documents have already been signed. You can’t undo what the king decreed.”

  “You’d rather take a fourth daughter of questionable morals than the oldest daughter who was married to a laird.”

  “What is questionable about Allyson? She has a pristine reputation at court. Unlike two of your other daughters, she doesn’t offer herself to strangers. What if I prefer a virgin? Allyson’s the only one in the family who would pass.” Ewan didn’t wait for Margaret’s response.

  He spun on his heels and practically dragged Allyson back outside. As though Mother Nature understood his need to get away, the rain ceased and the sun appeared. He stormed across the bailey to the stables with her in tow. Once they were inside, he came to a stop so abruptly that Allyson crashed into his side, and he had to catch her before she fell. “Wait a moment.”

  Ewan offered no other explanation before striding to his horse’s stall and rapidly saddling his mount. He led the animal to Allyson and lifted her into the saddle once they were outside. He swung up behind her and spurred the steed toward the gate. Neither of them spoke until they were once more outside the keep’s wall. Ewan wrapped his arm around Allyson’s middle, holding her tightly against him as he spurred the horse into a gallop. He wasn’t sure where he would take them, but he headed west. After ten minutes of hard riding, he considered taking them to the Hermitage and Robert Bruce, the king’s son. He’d seen a priest there, and it tempted him to elope. He seethed at Margaret’s vulgar accusation. He might have been tempted to couple with Allyson, and she might have been a flirt at court, but he’d never questioned her virtue. That her mother would do so once again, and in front of anyone, let alone her daughter’s potential groom, was so outrageous that Ewan had to leave before he struck something or someone. He refused to leave Allyson behind to face her mother’s wrath, of which she would undoubtedly be the recipient. He’d caused the situation by keeping her in the tower for so long, and he’d only made it worse by losing his temper. After a wonderful afternoon with Allyson, her mother’s viperous tongue was more than he could overlook. He shifted Allyson’s hand that held a hank of mane, and placed it against her belly, then covered it with his own. He wove his fingers between hers as they continued to ride.

  Allyson remained silent for as long as she could, but as the minutes dragged on, she feared Ewan might ride away with her for good. “Are you taking me all the way back to court?” She tried to infuse humor into her voice, but she suspected she failed.

  “Nay, but I am considering the priest at the Hermitage.”

  “What? Nay!”

  “Have you decided then? You won’t marry me?”

  “I won’t marry you without your brother there.”

  “What does Eoin have to do with aught? Why do you want him there? Hoping the wrong one of us will await you at the kirk’s steps?” Ewan was aware his comments were uncalled for, but he had bile to spew, and he was being an arse for doing it at Allyson. She pushed his hand away before pulling on the reins, bringing the horse to a halt. She swung her leg over the saddle and turned to look at Ewan. She had a fleeting urge to slap him, but she refrained.

  “No, I don’t want Eoin. And it angers me as much as my mother’s words angered you that you would even suggest such a thing. I was thinking of you. I’m positive you’d regret it for the rest of time if he wasn’t there. I don’t want you to live with regret for marrying me.” She glared at Ewan as she ground her teeth. “You do more than just insult me. I expect this from my mother. I don’t expect it from you.”

  “Ally—”

  “Don’t call me that.”

  “Don’t you like it?”

  “Not when I’m this angry with you. It’s patronizing.”

  “I didn’t mean it to be. It was supposed to be apologetic. I have no idea what came over me to say something so hateful.”

  “Is that how you usually react when you’re angry? Do you always lash out?”

  “No. Never.” His mother had done that and said things she could never take back. She’d done it a few times to the twins, but both brothers had heard their mother’s acerbic comments to their father. “I was furious, and to hear you mention my brother at the same time as considering a marriage, it pushed me too far. It was illogical and jealous, and I don’t know why I said it. The words seemed to tumble out before I could stop them. I’m no better than your mother. I’m sorry, Allyson.”

  “Ally. I prefer it when you call me Ally.” She relented when she heard the anguish in Ewan’s voice. “And I understand. She has a tendency to push me too far, too. But I don’t want her to come between us. I feel like we made such progress in the past fortnight. I don’t want that ruined.”

  “Me neither, mo aingeal. I should be thanking you for once again being so thoughtful rather than me being so hateful. You often put consideration into what you do for me. First my favorite food on the picnic the other day, and then my favorite brother.”

  “He’s your only brother,” Allyson chuckled.

  “That’s why he’s my favorite even when I’m miffed with him.”

  The horse shifted restlessly beneath them, so Ewan dismounted, then lifted Allyson down. With the reins in one hand and Allyson’s in the other, he led them further along the path to where the river ran alongside it. Allyson guided them
to the river bank where the horse drank while Ewan wrapped his arm around Allyson, and she rested her head against his shoulder.

  “We can’t go to the Hermitage unchaperoned. There is little chance my parents won’t balk at the king’s illegitimate son being our host. We won’t marry there without Eoin, so that means sending one of Lord Robert’s men back to Redheugh. That’ll inform my mother of where we’ve gone, and she’s likely to send my father after us. I’m certain he hasn’t forgiven me for having to chase me the first time. He might throttle me if I do it a second time.”

  “I didn’t give you much choice. I kidnapped you.”

  “It’s hardly a kidnapping when I put up no fight.”

  “Ally, let’s return to court. If I can’t take you home to Huntley yet, and I don’t want you to remain here, that’s the only place for us to go.”

  “I know. I’d rather be there than here any day of the week and twice on Sundays. But we can’t wed for another three sennights. Even if you’d found the priest at the Hermitage, he wouldn’t have married us. Not until Easter.” Allyson bit her bottom lip as she wrestled with nervousness and jealousy. “I don’t know if I want to spend nearly a moon at court with you.”

  “Why not?”

  “I’d rather move on with life than treading water, which is what we would do at court.”

  “There’s more to it than that. I can tell. What’s eating at you, aingeal?”

  “I want to believe everything you’ve promised since we arrived here, especially all that passed between us today. All those sennights at court where temptation is at every table and in every chamber, well, it scares me.”

  “Afraid you’ll find a mon more handsome than me?” Ewan wrapped his other arm around Allyson and lifted her off the ground, so they looked at each other eye-to-eye. “I should be the one who’s worried, Ally. I’ve pledged myself to you, and I will keep it. But you’ve made no promises to me. I won’t pressure you either. I told you, you have until Easter to decide what you want to do. I haven’t changed my mind, but you might find someone you prefer in that time.”

  “But I’m not likely to bed them,” Allyson snapped before her eyes opened wide. Being at eye level with Ewan made her uncomfortable after her comment. She hadn’t intended to reveal her fears in so many words.

  “I understand why you’re worried, and you have every right to be with what you know about my past. All I can do is prove to you that I won’t disappoint you.”

  “Ewan, you said that with the papers signed, even without the betrothal ceremony, we are betrothed before the eyes of the law.”

  “Aye. We must state before witnesses our pledge to marry in the future, but a priest doesn’t have to oversee it.”

  “Could we exchange our pledges tonight with Eoin as our witness?”

  “We could, but why tonight?”

  “I would have the betrothal completed. Then no one can force an end to it.”

  “I will speak to Eoin as soon as I can, but I still intend for us to return to court as soon as we can.”

  Allyson was slow to nod, but finally she relented and agreed that they should return to court before they mounted and turned back to Allyson’s home. A place Ewan swore would no longer be her home within a sennight.

  Chapter Twenty-Eight

  Ewan and Allyson returned to Redheugh in time to see her brothers and fathers ride out for a three-day sortie. Ewan scowled. After what happened with Margaret and Mary, he’d planned to reveal the truth of Allyson’s parentage that evening. But now he knew he would have to keep the paintings in his chamber until the men returned. He wouldn’t reveal his discovery until all of Allyson’s family could be present. He also knew they wouldn’t be able to leave for court until after Kenneth’s return. His face remained grim until he glanced down and saw Allyson staring up at him, a question in her eyes. He relaxed his face and wound her arm through his.

  They entered the keep together for a second time, but the atmosphere was palpably different. Five angry faces turned toward them. Allyson’s mother, sisters, and her brother-by-marriage glared at them as they approached. If it had been up to Ewan, he would have found them seats at a lower table, but that was impossible with so many watching. Ewan could only imagine what Margaret told her daughters and son-by-marriage, but whatever it was, it wasn’t enough to discourage Mary’s and Alice’s looks of interest as they neared the dais. Ewan guided Allyson to a seat that placed her between Eoin and him. His brother gave him a rueful glance, telling Ewan that his twin was aware of what transpired and more than likely had heard whatever garbage Margaret spewed. Except he knew it might not be entirely garbage since he’d been rude to his hostess and elder, but he felt no remorse for defending Allyson. It was time someone did.

  Eoin looked over Allyson’s head and shook his before leaning back and canting his head to whisper to Ewan. “Rinn thu dìnnear cù ceart a-mach às an fhear seo. Bha am boireannach a ’hopadh às a rian agus a’ cagnadh mo asail a-mach a ’smaoineachadh gur e mise a bh’ annad. Dh ’fhaodadh tu a bhith air leum ann am meall de chonnadh agus a thighinn a-mach nas glaine.” You made a right dog’s dinner out of this one. The woman’s hopping mad and chewed my arse out thinking I was you. You could’ve jumped in a pile of shite and come out cleaner.

  “Chaill mi an temper agam nuair a thuirt i gun do mheall Allyson mi agus thuirt i nach robh Allyson na maighdeann às deidh a bhith sa chùirt. Tha mi tinn gu bàs a ’cluinntinn sin.” I lost my temper when she said Allyson seduced me and claimed Allyson wasn’t a virgin after being at court. I’m sick unto death of hearing that.

  Allyson went rigid as she listened to the two men discuss her as though she weren’t there. They assumed that in the Lowlands no one spoke Gaelic. They weren’t entirely wrong. No one in her clan did because they spoke Scots, and her family spoke both Scots and French. But they were wrong to assume that she didn’t speak Gaelic. She’d learned from the former cook who’d grown up in the Highlands. The old woman, Morgana, had been one of the few to take pity on the lonely child. She welcomed Allyson into the kitchens and not only taught her Gaelic but also to cook and bake. That was why a croft on her own, if Ewan or any other man left her a widow, wasn’t intimidating. She knew she could keep herself from starving. She listened as the brothers continued to speak.

  "Bha i a ’bruidhinn mu dheidhinn gum biodh sinn a’ cadal anns na stàballan leis na h-eich. Ged nach biodh sin mòran na bu mhiosa na an tùr fuilteach sin. Ghluais i air adhart agus air adhart mu mar a dh ’fheumas tu a bhith a’ sniff suas a sgiortaichean gus a togail thairis air a peathraichean. Chan eil i a ’tuigsinn carson nach biodh tu ag iarraidh boireannach nas fheàrr ri do thaobh agus anns an leabaidh agad.” She was talking about having us sleep in the stables with the horses. Though that wouldn’t be much worse than that bluidy tower. She raved on and on about how you must be sniffing up her skirts to pick her over her sisters. She doesn’t understand why you wouldn’t want a prettier woman at your side and in your bed.

  "Chan eil boireannach nas fheàrr na Allyson.” There is no woman prettier than Allyson.

  Allyson couldn’t bear to listen to them speak around her any longer, and she felt guilty, as though she eavesdropped on a private conversation. "Gabhaidh i fois ach cha toir i mathanas dhut Eòghann. Chan ann mura h-aontaich thu Alice no Màiri a phòsadh. Bhiodh e na b ’fheàrr nam fàgadh an dithis agaibh.” She’ll calm down, but she won’t forgive you, Ewan. Not unless you agree to marry Alice or Mary. It would be best if you both left.

  The twins froze as realization set in that not only did Allyson understand their conversation, her advice was for them to leave her behind. Ewan glanced down at her before glancing at Eoin then settling his gaze on her. He shook his head before leaning close to Allyson. “The only way I’m leaving is with ye. If ye are convinced that Eoin and I must depart, then ye’re coming with us. I dinna care that yer da is away, and I dinna care that we havenae received the betrothal documents. I’m bluidy well nae leaving ye here.” Ewan did nothin
g to hide his brogue; he saw little point if Allyson understood their conversation, and he was too angry. “If she willna let ye leave as ma betrothed, then we’ll handfast. We dinna need a priest for that. Ye’ll be ma wife, and God help anyone who tries to keep me from ye.”

  Allyson sat stunned as the talk spiraled beyond her control. She’d expected to sit down to pottage and idle chatter. Instead, she was listening to her future being planned without her once more. She stared at Ewan, but no words formed in her mind, or rather plenty formed, but she couldn’t make sense of them enough to speak. She shook her head as her hands gripped the edge of the table. She feared she might be ill.

  “Ewan, we can’t do that. The king would be irate if he thought you stole me away. He could invalidate the handfast and dissolve the betrothal. Then where would I be? Unmarried and ruined. You’d go on with your life, and I’d be left with naught. I wouldn’t be allowed at court. I wouldn’t be welcome here. I wouldn’t have a widow’s portion or dower lands.”

  “Ye have so little faith in me that ye assumed I would allow any of that to happen?”

  “How would you stop it if the king has you locked in the pit? There isn’t much you can do withering away in a dungeon.”

  “The king willna put me in any dungeon.”

  “How can you be so certain? He sent his own godson, Magnus Sinclair, to the Stirling dungeon.”

  “Nay. Magnus was supposed to be under lock and key, but nae in the dungeon. Besides, after that debacle, none of the Highland lairds would stand for the king locking away another one of their lads, especially a laird’s heir. The king relies too much on our clans to fight on his behalf to alienate us all.”

  “You have far too much confidence in your position. No one should underestimate King Robert. He didn’t find himself on that throne without a fight. Do you want to start a war with the crown? Do you think your father wouldn’t defend you? Do you want your clan dragged into this?”