She stared at him coldly. “I was chained to a wall and brutalized for six months. I imagine that being the mistress of a keep will be far easier for me to manage in comparison.”
With a strange smile on his face, he bowed his head. “Forgive me, Lady Cora. Ye may be delicate looking, but ye have the spine of yer father. I believe that Alec has finally found himself the perfect wife.”
Before she could answer, shouts exploded from the great hall, and they had nothing to do with the festivities.
“We should return,” he said. “It seems as if the Campbells are here to offer their congratulations.”
11
Alec was furious that Innes had come unannounced with a dozen armed men, but he wasn’t surprised. It only served to prove what he’d already feared.
There was a traitor on his lands. Someone was feeding information to Innes.
After receiving word of his arrival, Alec allowed Innes and his men into the keep. If he decided to draw blood in the presence of the King, it would be on his head. Alec lost nothing by letting him in.
“Campbell,” he greeted softly. The music had died down as soon as Campbell stalked in, and when his men drew their weapons, his own stood, even in their drunken stupor, and armed themselves while they awaited orders. “Are ye here to congratulate me?”
“Ye bastard!” Innes hissed. “Ye dare take what is rightfully mine? I demand that ye drop this folly before ye sully my woman!”
Sully his woman. So Cora was a virgin. Remembering his own accusations, his gut tightened. Of course Cora wasn’t Innes’s lover. If Innes had known who Cora was, he simply would have married her. So why did he feel like there was something going on between Innes and Cora that he didn’t understand?
Before Alec could answer, the crowd parted as Edward and Cora entered the hall. With wide eyes and a pale pallor, she looked absolutely terrified, while Edward didn’t seem at all surprised.
“Gentlemen,” Edward said softly as Cora walked him back to his seat at the head of the table. “This is a day of celebration. Lay down yer arms.”
“Yer Majesty,” Innes all but spat, “I would like to contest this wedding. Lady Cora Isles was promised to me.”
“Aye, but for six months, she was a prisoner right beneath yer very nose, Innes. Ye turned a blind eye to too many things,” Edward said in a hard voice. “Alec rescued her, and they’ve declared their love for each other. Given the horrors that Lady Cora has faced, I will not deny her this.”
“A love match?” Innes scoffed. “And you believe them?”
The room went strangely quiet as everyone understood that Innes had challenged the King. Immediately, he stepped away from Alec and turned to Edward and bowed his head. “Please accept my apologies. I mean no disrespect, Yer Majesty.”
“Ye believe this wedding to be a farce,” Edward mused. “Let me put yer mind at ease. I am leaving on the morrow, but I will leave a man behind. If there is any indication that their love is not true, then I will dissolve the marriage and uphold my original decree. Will that satisfy ye, Innes? I will not have a feud break out over this.”
Innes looked like he was going to explode, but he nodded. “Aye.”
“As a sign of yer support, ye will stay and congratulate the couple.”
Alec crossed the room to his bride. She had a death grip on Edward’s chair and stared at him with the terror of a child coming out of a nightmare. “Cora,” he said softly. When she didn’t immediately release her hold, he pried her hands loose and took them. They were freezing. “Come take yer seat by my side so Innes can offer his congratulations on behalf of the Campbell clan.”
All eyes were on them as they took their seats by Edward, but all Alec could see was the stiffness of her back.
When Innes came forward and took her hand, he brushed his lips across her skin. It was an accepted action, but when his lips lingered a little too long, Alec frowned.
“‘Twill be my greatest regret that I did not learn of the truth sooner,” Innes managed. “I wish ye and Alec great joy in yer marriage.”
Cora jerked her head up and down and snatched her hand away. “Thank you,” she whispered.
Innes turned to Alec, and his eyes blazed with fury. “And to ye, Alec, I congratulate ye on behalf of the Campbell clan and offer ye our alliance. May it be as strong as when McKay blood ruled.”
It was a barb, but Alec let it pass. He nodded.
“Wonderful,” Edward declared. “Then let the festivities continue.” With a wave of his hand, the music started up again, but the atmosphere was hardly the same as Innes and his men took their seats.
For the rest of the celebrations, his wife remained glued to her seat, and although Alec came and went, he kept a close eye on her. Finally, as dusk neared, Innes approached them. “We will take our leave,” he said stiffly. “Thank ye for yer hospitality, and I offer my sincere apologies for arriving armed.”
It was an act for the benefit of the King, and although Alec nodded his head, he knew that he and Innes both had an unspoken understanding. Whatever Innes was planning was far from over.
“I will escort ye out,” he said as he stood. After he took a few steps, he realized that Innes hadn’t fallen in step with him. Turning, he watched as Innes withdrew from Cora’s side. He wore a wicked smile, and Cora just stared straight ahead and hadn’t reacted to whatever he had told her.
Outside and out of Edward’s earshot, Alec turned. “My wife and I will want some privacy. Send a messenger next time ye decide to cross my borders,” he said in a hard tone. “Next week, I will travel to see yer brother.”
“Do ye not wonder why naught but lies has fallen from the lips of yer wife?” Innes asked conversationally as he mounted his horse. “If I were ye, I would wonder what kind of woman I had married and whether I could trust her.”
Despite wondering the same, fury surged through Alec. “Ye would do well to think before ye speak of my wife again,” he hissed.
With a grin, Innes nodded his head. “I will give ye the privacy that ye ask, and I look forward to seeing ye next week.”
He and his men turned and rode off, and when Alec turned, he saw Cora watching from the doorway. “Care to tell me what he said to ye?” Alec asked.
“Just words to share his displeasure,” Cora said quietly, and Alec’s gut tightened. For as often as his wife lied, he would have expected her to do a better job.
“Thank yer King and make yer excuses,” he ordered roughly. “Ye may retire to yer room.”
Bowing her head, she turned, and he blew out his breath. “My chambers, Cora. Ye may retire to my chambers.”
She hesitated for a moment before she hurried inside. Alec took a few more minutes outside to order a few men who were still sober to follow Innes and make sure they crossed the border. In the morning, he would reinforce the guards to make sure Innes kept his word and didn’t return.
When he returned, Cora was gone. “Yer Majesty—” he started as he greeted Edward.
The King cut him short with a frigid look. “She is the daughter of a man that I respected, admired, and loved,” Edward reminded him quietly. “And she has experienced nothing but pain and fear since she arrived in the keep that should have been her home. Ye will do to remember I can be a very unpleasant man. My man will be keeping an eye on her, so make sure that yer endgame doesna eat away at her soul.”
His words cut Alec to the quick, not because of the threat, but because they were true. His own paranoia aside, she was a woman ripped from her home and imprisoned.
And now she was his wife. He’d pledged to protect her, and that meant more than just her body. He would protect her spirit.
He would open this home to her and hope that she didn’t destroy it.
12
She was caught in the nightmare. Back in the prison, she listened as the water trickled along the stone walls and inflamed her own desperate desire to slake her thirst. Pulling at the chains, she tried desperately to reach the source only to
stop when the doors opened and familiar voices reached her.
They were back. It was twice in one day. Surely they realized that she could not take much more. Her skin was parched and her body ached from when they last beat her.
Tears swam in her eyes as she moaned. No, no, no.
“Cora,” a new voice ordered. “Cora, wake up.”
Alec. She heard him even though she couldn’t see him. “Please, don’t let them do this. Don’t let them!”
“Cora! Cora!”
Wrenched from the nightmare, she came awake with a start and stared at the man whose arms were quickly enfolding her. “Doona fight me, lass,” he crooned as he pulled her into his embrace. “Breathe.”
Only then did she realize that her hands were digging into his shoulders, her nails almost drawing blood. Releasing her hold, she sucked in air and shuddered as the world righted itself.
It must have been late if she’d had enough time to fall asleep after the celebrations. She’d waited for Alec to return, to claim his marriage night, but he hadn’t.
“I fell asleep,” she said dully. “I did not mean to.”
“‘Tis alright. I just returned.” As she pushed against him, he released her. “What were ye dreaming?”
“I do not remember.” Another lie dropping from her lips. They weighed on her shoulders and threatened to bury her alive, but Innes’s last words had nearly unraveled her.
A reminder that all it took now for him to have her was Alec’s blood on his sword. He would threaten her family and her husband's life to keep her in line, and she had no idea how to protect them.
To distract him, she reached for the buttons of her shift. “I will require some help,” she said as she turned to him.
His hands settled on hers. “Sleep tonight,” he said quietly. “I will not take from ye what ye are not ready to give.”
Her heart skipped a beat. “What if I am never ready?”
“Ye will be.” His voice was dipped in arrogance. “Of that, I am sure. Tonight, ye will sleep, and tomorrow, we will discuss yer new role as mistress of the keep.”
She didn’t want to sleep. She didn’t want the nightmares to claim her again. “We can discuss it now.”
With a chuckle, he threw back the blankets of the bed and slipped under. After a moment of hesitation, she followed suit. Although she’d already shared his bed once, tonight seemed different. More intimate, and when he pulled her close, her body seemed to naturally curve around him.
“I will wake ye should the horrors take ye again,” he assured her. “Close yer eyes and sleep. ‘Tis been a long day.”
“Alec,” she whispered. “I do not know if I can do this.”
“Pretend to be in love with me?”
His voice was a little harsh, and she winced. “No, I mean be your wife.”
“‘Twill not be hard. Just stay out of my way and doona cause any trouble.”
Alarmed, she sat up and stared at him. “What is it that you think a wife does?” she demanded.
“Ye will be a good mother to my children,” Alec sighed. “I would not have gone through with this if I did not believe that. Until then, ye may do as ye wish as long as it does not harm my job here.”
Thinking of the Thistles, of the love that bonded them, of the partnership that they had created, she realized with great sorrow that she would never have that with Alec.
Opening his eyes, Alec grunted and pulled her back down. “Go to sleep,” he ordered. “I am tired, Wife, and I doona wish to try and untangle the thoughts ye never want to voice.”
Slowly, she settled back down again and closed her eyes.
This time, when she slept, the nightmares didn’t come.
The next morning, Alec was gone from her bed. His bed. Their bed. She would have to remind herself of that. Slipping quietly from the chambers, she headed to her own to get dressed. Not having anything suitable for a mistress to wear and wanting the previous anonymity of her old life, she dressed in one of her serving dresses.
When she was younger, her mother had taught her the importance of clothes. A king could move through the crowd without notice so long as he discarded the royal robes and dressed in rags. Although just yesterday she’d married the laird, no one looked twice at her as she headed to the kitchens.
Breakfast was finished for the crowd, so her friends were seated around the small table and eating the last of the oatmeal. They did recognize her, and the kitchen went quiet.
“Good morning,” she said quietly. “I did not have a chance to speak to you before the wedding. I owe you an explanation.”
“Claire,” Mary said as she stood before she wrinkled her nose. “Sorry, Cora.”
“Lady Cora,” someone reminded her snidely from the table.
Mary shot them a dirty look. “We knew ye had secrets, Cora. We didnae think it was anything like this, but we befriended ye, secrets and all. Now ye are our mistress…”
“Oh, please,” Cora interrupted as she hurried forward and took Mary’s hands. “I don’t want to be your mistress. Truly, I don’t. I would like us to be friends. Is that still possible?”
“We arena English, Cora,” Mary laughed and hugged her. “A Scot’s blood is a Scot’s blood. I served for Laird Duncan. He was a good man, and I will be pleased to serve ye and be yer friend.”
One look behind Mary told her that not everybody felt that way, but she would win them over. She may never have Alec’s love, but she would have her friends.
“If Laird Alec sees ye wearing this, he wilnae be pleased,” Mary said with a frown.
“Yesterday I was a servant and today I am a mistress. My wardrobe hasn’t quite caught up,” Cora said dryly as she walked to the counter and served herself a bowl of oatmeal. “Besides, things are moving a little too quickly for me. It’s nice to have a moment to embrace my old life.”
“Ye were not a servant for long,” Mary said disapprovingly.
Cora shot her a wry look. “I imagine Alec will very much have a problem if I chain myself back into the dungeon.”
“No, I meant that ye had a life in England. A family. Why did ye lie about that? Ye could have gone home. Does danger await ye there?”
Hating that she was lying to Mary, she studied her oatmeal. “I did not know the consequences of learning my true name, and I certainly did not want to wed Innes.”
“Laird Alec is most certainly the better choice,” Mary said with a wink and the table giggled. That immediately launched into a conversation about Alec’s attributes, and no one thought to censor their words around Cora. Soon, she was so bright red that the table couldn’t help but rib on her about the night that she couldn’t admit didn’t happen.
“Well, some of us need to get to work,” Mary said.
“I’ll help,” Cora said as she stood as well, and everyone stared at her. “What?”
“Cora, I said that we can be friends, but I didnae say that ye could still be a servant. Ye canna start scrubbing floors again.”
Her nightmares and fears about Innes still lingered with her, and she couldn’t just walk around the keep listlessly. She needed something to do. “As your mistress, I don’t believe you are allowed to tell me what I can and cannot do,” she said with a sly smile.
Mary rolled her eyes. “Alec is going to regret marrying you.”
13
“So. Ye think that because you married MacKay blood, that makes ye a MacKay?” Kane sneered as he brought his sword up.
Alec deflected it easy enough, but Kane and the rest of the MacKay men were learning. Stephen, Shane, and Jamie were obviously taking the time to teach them some skills, and it was showing.
“Would ye have Innes Campbell at the helm of this clan?” Alec asked as he thrusted. It was because he trusted his men that he could move like this against a man he knew could be a great asset. If Kane couldn’t go on the defensive, he would find himself with a nasty wound, but he whirled and avoided injury.
When Kane didn’t bring his sword ba
ck up again, Alec frowned and halted. Pressing his lips together, Kane shook his head. “Nay,” he growled. “Nay, I would not work with a man like Innes. Seth…there was something evil about him, but he came from Duncan and we wanted to believe that he would mature into the man his father was. But Innes? There’s a dark hatred in that man’s heart.”
So the MacKays were not loyal to Innes. That was something at least. “Ye have much improved,” he acknowledged.
“Yer men have skills. They have been willing to teach when they are not chasing after our women.”
The others laughed, and Alec put down his sword and reached out his hand. Kane clasped it, and he knew that because of Cora, he was getting the approval of the MacKay clan. He hoped to keep that respect by proving to be the laird he knew he was capable of being.
Dripping with sweat from the training fields, Alec returned to the keep and ordered a bath drawn. His muscles were aching. He’d pushed himself hard to try to drive the feel of Cora’s body against his from his mind, but the guards on duty would suffice to make sure that the Campbells didn’t cross the borders.
Alone in his chamber, he stripped and stepped into the tub. The warm water washed over him and felt relaxing, but his solace didn’t last long. After just a few moments, the door opened, and the sweet bars of a humming melody reached him before Cora walked in.
Her eyes widened in shock, and she froze as they stared at each other. Languidly, he smiled before he noticed what she was wearing. “Come closer,” he ordered.
“I…” A small tongue darted out as she wet her lips. “I don’t think I should.”
“Cora. Come here,” he said again as anger swelled inside of him. She took a few steps forward and averted her eyes. When she was close enough, he reached out and grabbed her hands. Just like he suspected, her hands were pruned and wrinkled. “Dressed in serving rags and still doing servants’ work. Ye are mistress of this keep!”
Highlands’ Forbidden Deeds Page 10
