Page 17 of Highlander's Wild Lass
“Think about it, Cellie, ye’ve ken each other since ye were bairns. Ye get on well.”
“Get on well?” Celestia laughed. “All we do is—”
“Fight like ye’ve been together for years,” Brannan said. “Listen, I’ll be gone soon—”
“Please, daenae say that.”
“I ken ye to be realistic, Cellie. My days are numbered whether we like it or nae. I willnae have my family ruined by my debts. Let that man help ye.”
“I’ll be takin’ over the business soon.”
“Don’t be daft,” he said. “While most men are nae as terrible as Mr. Koll, they have a hard time respectin’ women in business, especially the makin’ and sellin’ whisky kind. If ye have the chief’s name behind ye, they’ll be forced to respect ye.”
“Da…”
“Nay, I willnae be able to rest peacefully if I see this family ruined. What if ye must get into whorin’ to keep food on the table after I’m gone? Yer maither would beat me into a second death when I finally got to see her again.”
“I’d never do somethin’ like that,” she told him seriously, but feeling less confidence than she had in days. “Nor would I let Auralia do that. We’ll be fine.”
* * *
She corralled the chickens in their small coop at the end of the day and shut away Clyde and the pigs in their pens. Next were the horses, and when she entered the stables, she saw Anthony feeding the horses.
“Yer not insane, then?” she said, startling him.
“Nay, lass,” he said, as he sat on a bale of hay near Castor and Pollux’s stall. “I still think it’s a good idea for us to get married.”
She stood awkwardly in the middle of the stable, clasping her hands in front of her, then behind her, until she finally settled on crossing her arms across her chest.
She exhaled loudly and took a few steps toward him.
“I cannae understand why ye want to marry me. We don’t get along. We’re constantly fightin’. Ye’ve always said ye hated that I was so opinionated.”
“I admit that yer an outspoken woman, Celestia, but there’s somethin’ about ye that I admire. Ye’ve got a good head on yer shoulders to be a strong wife for a chief. We would work well together.” He sounded earnest enough, but still. . .
Her father’s words from just moments ago came to mind.If I have the chief’s name and reputation behind me… I’ll be well respected.
* * *
“So,” she said, finding her confidence and stepping toward Anthony. “It’s nae love that we’re to base this marriage on?”
“Nay, well…”
“This is nae much more than a business transaction to ye, then?”
“Aye,” he said, matter-of-factly. He prided himself on being a good chief, taking rents, and protecting his people, and this seemed to be nothing more than that. “This marriage could work in both of our favors. Yer family will be well takin’ care of.”
“And what doyeget out of this?”
He shrugged and stood from the bale of hay. “A wife, so that my sister will finally quit harpin’ about settlin’ down.”
He did not want to say that he needed to continue the Moore line and produce an heir. And he did not dare mention the pang of need that squeezed his heart every time he saw her.
She looked solemn for a moment and then set her mouth in a firm line. “As kind and practical as yer offer is, I cannae accept,” she told him. “I dinnae need ye to protect us, and I daenae want ye to protect us.”
Her words punched him in the gut, he hadn’t expected rejection when he laid out the reasons for a smart marriage nor did he expect him to have such a reaction to her words. She was an intelligent woman. Why was she fighting so hard against this? It made perfect sense to him.
He kept his face expressionless. “Alrigh—”
