Page 4 of The Highlander's Auctioned Virgin
We cannae leave the castle unattended.
We need to elect a new leader as soon as possible.
I am certain we can afford the breathing space for at least a few months.
She should be gone by now. She had the opportunity. She should have packed her bags the night Laird MacAdair died, grabbed her things—most of which she had bought after she had arrived at MacAdair Castle—and left. She would have returned to her family by now. Sheshouldhave returned.
But no matter how hard she tried to think otherwise, her home was here now. She had been living here for the past three years, and despite her late husband’s cruel treatment, she had made quite a few friends around the castle. Thomas and Katherine, for instance.
While the other servants thought she was cold and rather strict and distant, she still saw them as family. One she was not ready to leave any time soon.
There are still a lot of matters that need our urgent attention.
Like what?
She cleared her throat, and the murmurs stopped. Then, she lifted her forearms off the table and lowered her hands to the edges, which she gripped as hard as she could.
“I am certain we are all thinking the same thing. Now that the former Laird is dead…” she started.
“Such a great man,” a man whispered.
“A rare and true warrior.”
Elinor turned to the men. “Be quiet, William. Same goes for ye, too, Jack. We all ken that Murdock was a bastard.”
Silence descended on them, and before she could continue, she could swear she heard muffled laughter from the far end of the table.
“I ken that the way forward is the main concern now. One that requires me to find a husband as soon as possible.”
“Thank ye for bringing it up yerself, M’Lady,” Jack muttered.
“I shall find a husband,” she declared. “But if I am going to do that, I will do it on me own terms. I have been forced to marry once; I daenae plan to go through that again.”
A heavier silence fell over the table, but it was quickly broken by Jack.
“What do ye propose, M’Lady?” he asked.
All eyes swiveled to her, like they expected her to drop a random piece of wisdom.
Elinor cleared her throat again. “Ye ken that me sister, Anna, had an auction for her hand. Ye helped me go to her wedding.”
She swallowed, reveling in the anticipation that ensued. Then, she made her announcement, her voice more assertive than she had intended it to be.
“We shall do the same for me.”
