Page 6 of Love Beyond Time
“Aye, tis very possible. This betrothal was arranged between my father and yers. I was informed of it as a young lad and was as helpless in the matter as ye. As for yer other demands . . .” he tightened his grip and leaned in even closer, his lips brushing her ear as he whispered huskily, “yer belongings are to be brought to the room directly across from mine, and upon our wedding night, yewillmove into my chambers immediately, that I can assure ye, Lady Blaire. This will be a real marriage in every sense o’ the word. Ye will bear my children, and ye will quickly see just how capable I am of wooing any lass of my choosing.”
“Ahem . . .” Arran cleared his throat as he walked into the room. “Well hello, Blaire. Had I known the two of ye were going to get along so quickly, I would have given ye some privacy and welcomed ye in the morning. I apologize for the intrusion.”
“Do not make the mistake of assuming this is how it appears, brother.” Eoin released Blaire’s wrists and faced his brother. “Please help me take Lady MacChristy’s belongings to the Lavender Room.”
“But I have not yet had the chance to properly greet yer fiancée.” Arran stepped to take Blaire’s hand, but she quickly jerked it away.
“Doona bother. I’m sure beneath yer welcoming façade ye are equally as lacking in manners as yer brute of a brother.” She snarled her upper lip. “I have often heard it said that ye were the fairer of the two Conall brothers, but I would have to disagree.” She quickly whirled to face Eoin once again, “Now. I have had enough of both of the legendary Conall brothers for one evening. If ye can simply point me in the direction of food, I can assure ye that I can find the way myself.”
Beyond stunned, both brothers pointed to the double doors to her right, staring wide-eyed as she stormed out of the entranceway and through the doors to which they’d pointed. Arran was the first to speak. “By all the saints, brother! I do believe ye were right about the lass. She is quite the beauty, but I’d be wary of taking her to my bed as well.”
“Aye. I told ye so.” Bending, Eoin began lifting Blaire’s belongings, leaving half for his brother, and nudged his head to the staircase so that Arran would follow.
“I know just what ye need, brother. Let us ride out in the morning and spend the fortnight before yer wedding enjoying yer last few days of freedom! It would do ye good to get drunk and tup a lass or two before ye’re strapped down with the wench now sleeping across the hall from ye. Mary would be more than happy to help with the wedding preparations, and if what I have seen of yer future bride tonight is any indication, she willna be wanting yer help even if ye are here.”
“Nothing sounds better, but I doubt that would do anything to improve the lass’ mood.” Before he could get another word out, the doors out of which Blaire had gone burst open once more as Blaire stepped back into the grand entranceway.
“If ye call that slop that was waiting in the dining hall ‘food,’ I shall starve to death during my imprisonment here! I refuse to eat one bite of it. I expect much better out of the morning’s meal. Now if ye don’t mind, I will follow the two of ye to my chambers, where I will spend the rest of my night.”
As they trudged up the staircase, balancing the loads of her belongings, Eoin leaned over to catch his brother’s ear. “Ye’re right. It’s just what I need. We will ride out at first light.”
* * *
Miles away Ramsay Kinnaird stood before his large stone fireplace, downing yet another goblet of whisky, when his personal messenger entered the room.
“I’m afraid tis true, sir. Blaire MacChristy moved into Conall castle this very evening, and they are to be married within a fortnight. It was arranged between the laird’s father and Donal MacChristy himself. From what I hear, neither Eoin nor Blaire are looking forward to the marriage.”
“I doona give a damn about their feelings toward their marriage!” roared Ramsay, slurring his words as he continued. “How dare Alasdair make such an arrangement? Donal MacChristy is laird over the smallest keep in all of Scotland, while my territory is by far the largest. With both Donal and myself having daughters of the same age, it is an insult of the deepest accord that Alasdair would pass over arranging a marriage with my daughter for Blaire MacChristy.”
“I . . . I believe, sir, that the arrangement was made so that Alasdair could ensure protection for his good friend. As ye know, the MacChristys have been facing difficult times for years. Their land is too scarce and their people too poor to provide adequate protection should their territory be in danger. I do not believe Alasdair meant any disrespect to ye, sir.”
“I know perfectly well what Alasdair’s intentions were when he made the arrangement, you damn fool!” He threw the metal goblet into the flames, sloshing the contents of his cup, forcing the flames to heighten and roar at the alcohol’s touch.
“I . . . my apologies, sir.” The man backed up a few steps, fearing that the laird’s temper was about to grow completely out of control. Far too many servants had disappeared simply because they had been in the wrong place at the wrong time when the laird flew into one of his violent rages.
“This will not stand, I can promise ye that. This marriage will provide no protection for the MacChristy clan, for I will wipe out all of the Conalls. Afterward, it will only be a matter of time before the MacChristys wither and die of their own accord. Once his precious Blaire is murdered before she is comfortably settled in her new home, the old laird will be so heartbroken, he will care for his territory even less than he does now.” Storming from the room, Ramsay paused briefly, grabbing his messenger by the throat. “If ye so much as breathe a word of my intentions to anyone, I will wipe ye and yer entire family from the face of this earth.”
Shoving the servant to the ground, Ramsay Kinnaird flew out of the room, his murderous plan taking shape as he went.
Chapter 5
Scotland – Present Day
As usual, everything took twice as long as planned. Despite the fact that our plane had landed early that morning, it was close to six PM. Dusk was beginning to set in as we loaded the documents from the museum into the small compact rental and headed out of the city.
Several hours later, hungry and exhausted, we finally spotted the small inn that Mom had remembered. I parked in front of the charming two-story home and flipped on the interior lights of the cramped car as I pulled out a map.
“What do you think? Are we close enough to the ruins to stop for the night?”
Yawning, Mom stretched and nodded.
“Yes. We’re only about thirty minutes away, and I’ve always wanted to try this place out. It looks great, doesn’t it?”
“Yes it does. Let’s go. I’m totally exhausted.”
We unloaded our suitcases and made our way to the inn’s entrance. Stepping inside the old wooden door, I smiled as the warmth of the fireplace to the left washed over me, melting away the icy feeling in my fingers and face.
I was loosening my scarf and unbuttoning my jacket when I heard a voice coming from the top of the stairs.
