Page 60 of Highlander Lord Of Vengeance

“You’re welcome,” Ryland said.

Dru softened. “I do owe you for recognizing and declaring Knox and my marriage valid. But tell me… was there any truth in what you said about my father telling Torrance that he was to find me a good husband, a safe one? Or was it an excuse you used to confirm my marriage?” She shook her finger at him. “And I will have the truth.”

“Are you sure of that, Dru?” Ryland asked with a quick glance at Knox.

“Aye, I’m sure,” Dru said, and Knox stepped close behind her.

“Your father cared only that your marriage benefitted the clan, and Torrance said the same to me.”

Dru tried not to show her disappointment, but Knox felt it and slipped his arm around her waist, and she leaned back against him.

“That’s not true,” Esme said to everyone’s surprise. “I heard Torrance’s father make his son promise to find a good man to beyour husband. A man who would treat you well. He didn’t want to fail you the way he failed your mother. Impending death has a way of making people realize their mistakes and giving them a chance to make amends. Your father wanted to see you kept safe. Torrance did not care about you or the promise he made to his father.”

Dur smiled and squeezed her husband’s arm coiled around her waist. “I am grateful to you for telling me that.”

“My condolences you got stuck with her, Knox,” Nug said with a laugh.

Dru chuckled. “Funny, Nug, but at least I have someone who loves me.” She stretched her neck to gaze about. “Where’s the woman who loves you?” She chuckled. “I forgot… she only exists in your dreams.”

The men around them laughed.

One called out, “She’s right about that.”

“There are plenty women who favor me,” Nug argued.

“So, you dream often then,” another called out.

Esme watched the humorous exchange, uncertain what to make of it all. These were people Ryland clearly trusted. People who spoke to him with ease, without fear. It was jarring, after endlessly being watched, judged, and commanded since marrying Torrance. They laughed and teased, as if no danger lingered nearby, no past haunted them.

Yet she couldn't shake the ache in her stomach. These people were strangers to her. Loyal to Ryland… but what did that mean for her?

Ryland stepped back beside her, sensing her unease. His hand gently brushed her arm. “Trust me. You are safe with me, with them.”

Trust. Safe. There had been moments she had felt safe with him, and she wanted to believe that she could continue to do so. But trust was another matter. She hadn’t trusted her husband,and she truly didn’t know if she could trust Ryland. And the reason for that? Why had he coupled with her when he wasn’t her husband?

“You’re Torrance’s wife?” Dru called out to her.

“Widow,” Esme corrected.

“I am happy for you. You’ve suffered worse than most. Torrance was a cruel bastard. Good riddance to him.”

Esme was caught off guard by her blunt compassion, but managed to say, “Thank you. It is a relief.”

Nug grew impatient. “It’s time we?—"

“Talk,” Ryland finished, “And for you all to return home before you’re spotted and my identity revealed. But we need a safer place where we can be sure no eyes can see us or ears can hear us. And we have little time. I have no doubt at least one of Torrance’s warriors will make it to Clan Glencairn. Brack will waste no time in coming to find me.”

“Unlike others,” Dru said with a grin at Nug. “I figured we might need a safe place to meet, and for Ryland to stay if necessary, so I found one.”

“No clan around here can be completely trusted,” Nug said. “Nor abbey as well, since Torrance pays a good yearly stipend to many.”

“And you think I don’t know that, Nug?” Dru asked, wrinkling her nose at him.

“I forget you know everything,” Nug shot back.

Dru grinned. “Finally, you admit it.”

Nug glared at her. “One of these days?—”

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