Page 18 of The Runaway Bride and the Highlander
“Well, ye have certainly nae told me the truth. What happened out there in the woods? What were ye doing with that young boy?”
“I… I was comforting him. He was clearly ill and needed help,” she stammered. It was evident that even now she was going to try and keep the truth from him.
“And ye always slip intae some blind trance when ye comfort another, do ye?” Maxwell bellowed. “I saw it with my own eyes, Skylar. It was like ye were possessed. Are ye a witch?”
“Indeed, I am nae a witch,” she defended.
“Then what?” Maxwell pressed. “In my life, I’ve never seen anything like it, and if ye cannae tell me what it was, ye’ll find yerself housed in the dungeons. I cannae take the risk of ye wandering around the people I care about if I cannae ken what it is ye are.”
Skylar dropped her head and sighed heavily. She twisted her fingers in front of her and seemed to be contemplating her situation. A moment later, she looked up at him with sadness in her eyes.
“I was only trying tae protect ye.”
Maxwell could not have expected those words and frowned deeply at their meaning. Her words and her soft expression disarmed him a little, and sighing deeply, he walked towards her and spoke with a little less aggression.
“What do ye mean by that, Skylar?”
She turned away from him and moved toward the fire. “I’ve only kept the truth from ye tae protect ye. Everyone who has ever been close to me has either been killed or lost. Ye ken my father was killed by Johnson’s men?”
“Aye,” he said, taking another step closer.
“Aye, well, what ye dinnae ken is that Johnson had my mother murdered. Right before my eyes, in fact. She died trying tae protect me and my sisters. It was after that when my father sent us away.”
Maxwell gawped at such a confession and struggled to contain the gasp of shock. What he knew of Skylar’s suffering had been bad enough, but he could not imagine her having to watch her own mother being murdered. He had witnessed such atrocities of loved ones himself. His pain was only ever just under the surface, controlled by his will to keep it contained.
Curiosity overcame his shock, and he wanted to know why Johnson had been so hostile to her family. But hestayed quiet. She'd now opened the floodgates. He only needed to remain silent and let her tell him everything.
“My mother and father were allies o’ the Jacobites. They had both done much tae assist in the rebellion. But like myself and my sisters, my mother had a gift that had been invaluable to the resistance. She had the ability to detect truth from lies with such clarity that when news came through o’ what the English had planned, Jenny Morgan could tell if it were true or a ruse tae trick the opposition. It saved the deaths o’ many men and women, for they didnae fall into the traps the English tried tae set.”
Skylar paused for a long moment. Maxwell could only imagine that her thoughts were on her mother, and understanding the greatness of her loss, he once more remained silent.
“Johnson was determined tae kill us all back then,” she continued eventually. “And so, my father sent us away tae different places all over Scotland. None o’ us kent where each one was being sent. Father thought it best that we didnae ken. If any o’ us were ever compromised, nae matter what they tried tae do tae us, we could never betray each other, even against our own will. It appears my father paid for that decision with his life.”
“What is yer gift, Skylar?” Maxwell asked, desperate to know and no longer patient enough to wait.
She turned to face him then and looked at him directly. “I can see the future,” she said plainly.
Maxwell could not hide his surprise then, and with his mouth dropping open, he gawped at her. She smiled kindly back.
“It isnae always clear and often doesnae make any sense tae me, but it’s the reason Laird Johnson wants me so badly.”
As though a veil had been lifted from his eyes, Maxwell could suddenly see everything with complete clarity, and the realization both frightened and concerned him.
“O’ course,” he breathed. “If Johnson had yer power, he could play with the future, manipulate it even. He could find a suitable exit from the rebellion or even warn the English o’ any traps or pitfalls.”
Maxwell paced back and forth as his mind whirred with the possibilities. It was only after a while that he noticed how sullen Skylar now looked. Walking toward her, he hooked his finger under her chin and lifted her face up to his.
“Ye’ve suffered so much, child,” he whispered.
“I’m sorry I lied tae ye,” she replied softly. “But… when Johnson discovers that ye ken my power, he’ll kill ye too. He’ll nae want anyone else tae use my powers for their own ends or try tae get their hands on his prize.” She clearly referred to herself. “Ye’re in danger now. Ye must be careful.”
Even after everything she had suffered, Maxwell could not help but feel a little astonished and moved by her concern for him. He had hardly treated her so very well, though he had concluded she was deeply grateful that he had saved her from Colum’s filthy hands.
He stood so close to her now that he could feel her warm breath dancing upon the skin of his cheek. The last two days of his resolve seemed to float away for with her lips parted once more, all Maxwell desired was taste her.
“Ye are far too beautiful tae have had so much taken from ye,” he breathed, his heart now pounding in his chest with the want of her. “I dinnae ken what the future holds, but I do ken, I’ll let nae more harm come tae ye while ye’re in my care.”
Her tongue slowly flicked out of her mouth, running along the plumpness of her lips to wet the dryness of them. Even now, she was not aware how her actions might affect a man, but Maxwell felt his manhood harden once more as her lips now glistened.
