Page 47 of The Highlander's Illicit Bride
“Please, help yerself,” Mairi said. “These arenae goin’ tae eat themselves.”
They shared a laugh, and both began piling their plates with treats. Isolde bit into one of the lemon cakes first and her eyes rolled back in her head as a groan that bordered on indecent drifted from her mouth as her mouth exploded with flavor. She’d always fancied sweets, filching them from the kitchens whenever she could.
Her father would have given her a verbal lashing just before tanning her hide for such impertinence. He would have told her a Lady didn’t indulge like a commoner and then make some cutting remark about Isolde letting herself get fat or some cruel observation about the growing size of her already ample backside. He would have made her feel small for having such basic desires and finding enjoyment in food.
But here, in Achnacarry, she did not feel the weight of judgment. Mairi indulged in the sweet treats, seeming to enjoy them every bit as much as she was. More than that, the pixie-like girl was encouraging her to eat more. So, Isolde did. She felt, by letting herself indulge a little more, she was further staking a claim to her own life.
“If I’m bein’ honest, I wasnae certain what sort of reception I’d receive. I was… scared,” she confided to Mairi. “But ye, as well as Thela and Isa, have made me feel more than welcome. Probably more welcome than I deserve, tae tell it true.”
Mairi arched one of her thin eyebrows. “Because ye’re Murdoch Mackintosh’s daughter?”
“Aye,” she replied softly. “I can see some of yer clansman dinnae appreciate havin’ me here because of that. I dinnae blame them. I ken me faither done some terrible things tae yer clan. And I’m sorry fer that.”
“’Tis nae fer ye tae apologize. Ye did naethin’ wrong.”
“Still… it feels as if I am tae blame as well.”
“Ye’re yer own person. Ye’re nae yer faither,” she said with a dismissive wave. “The people will see that eventually. Me braither certainly daes.”
The diminutive woman sat back in her seat and took a sip of her wine, her bright hazel eyes shining above the rim of her cup. Isolde shifted in her seat uncomfortably. There was something knowing in the woman’s gaze that set her heart thundering. It was as if she somehow knew what had taken place between Isolde and her brother.
Isolde’s lips warmed with the memory of the kisses they’d shared and that now familiar heat blossomed in her belly, rapidly spreading through the rest of her body, but seeming to center somewhere lower inside of her. Mairi’s smile widened, and her eyes glittered mischievously. If Isolde hadn’t given herself away before, her flushed cheeks certainly had.
“So, I take it ye and me braither had an eventful journey back tae Achnacarry?”
The tone in Mairi’s voice matched the mischievous glint in her eye, making Isolde’s cheeks burn all the hotter. She quickly picked up her cup and took a long swallow, trying to hide her face until she could get her blushing under control.
“Aye,” she finally said. “’Twas… eventful. Struan saved me life a couple of times.”
“He said ‘twas ye who saved his life.”
Isolde shrugged. “I dinnae see it that way. I didnae dae anythin’.”
“He’s nae a man who says somethin’ unless it’s true. So, if he says ye saved his life, I believe him,” Mairi said.
Mairi licked the sugary icing off her fingertips, her golden eyes sparkling dazzlingly in the light that slanted in through the windows. Isolde could see the question in her face though.
“Ye’re curious about yer other braither,” Isolde noted.
She nodded. “Aye. I am.”
“I cannae tell ye much. What I dae ken is that he’s bein’ held by Laird MacPherson at Cluny House,” Isolde said. “He was alive,last I kent. I think they’re plannin’ on tryin’ tae ransom him back tae yer clan fer somethin’ they want.”
“By they, ye mean yer faither and Laird MacPherson?”
Isolde nodded and spoke quietly. “Aye.”
“What dae they want?”
“I dinnae ken. Land, more than likely,” Isolde said with a sad shake of her head. “They believe they alone should rule these parts of Scotland and have been tryin’ tae divide up the whole of the country between them fer a long time now.”
Isolde saw a frown flicker across her full, heart-shaped lips and grief in her eyes. Isolde leaned across the table and took Mairi’s hand, giving it a reassuring squeeze.
“All will be well,” she said. “If there’s one thing I’ve learned about Struan, it’s that he is determined tae get Finlay back—and when he’s set on somethin’ he’ll move heaven and earth tae make it happen.”
Mairi let out a rueful laugh. “Aye. That is true. Struan can be a bit bull-headed.”
Isolde nodded. “Aye. So, I’ve learned.”
