Page 15 of Eloping with the Laird
Garrick shook it, smiling in return. ‘You weren’t far behind, McKenna. I thought you had me beat.’
‘Seems today was to be yours,’ Rory answered.
Garrick’s voice dropped. ‘In the end, I think it is you that has won.’ He gestured behind Rory and then left.
Rory turned. Moira had left the crowd of spectators and seemed headed his way. Determination lanced her furrowed brow as if she had decided something. Rory was intrigued to find out what.
‘Congratulations,’ she offered. Her turquoise eyes shone as clear as a cloudless summer sky.
‘Thank you. Second best, it seems, but I gave my all.’ He rolled his shoulder. ‘I know well that I will feel my efforts on the morrow.’
‘You shall never be second best to me, my laird. As I’ve said before, you have always been my first choice. That shall not change.’ She pressed a kiss to his cheek and left.
He stood gobsmacked. A blush warmed his cheeks. Her outward affection had caught him, and everyone else, it seemed, quite off guard. Even her father seemed at a loss. He merely stared blankly at him and then after Moira as she walked away.
But she lifted her skirts and climbed the hillside with ease as she held her head high and met every gaze.
By God, he had never seen a woman more determined or more brazen. And to risk all for him. And in a moment of panic, he wondered if he had the ability to be the man she needed, the man she deserved for him to be, at all.
Chapter Seven
‘Sister! Sister!’ Brenna called.
Moira hastened her steps through the grass, ignoring her sister’s shouts from behind her as well as the desperation in her voice. A hand clamped around her arm jerking her to a stop.
‘What?’ Moira demanded, attempting to wrench free of her sister’s hold.
Brenna released her and then balked, crinkling her face. ‘Whatareyou doing? What wasthat?’ She lowered her voice, but the judgment in it could not be disguised. ‘Kissing a man in public whom you are not betrothed to? No one will wish to marry you now, and you can’t possibly wish to marryhim.’
Moira groaned in frustration and crossed her arms against her chest. ‘But Idowish to marry him. That was the entire point, sister.’ She huffed. ‘And we are already engaged. It is Father who stands in my way.’
Brenna froze, her face a pale blank palate.
‘Why are you looking at me like that?’
Her sister shook her head. ‘Ewan and Father are right. Youhavelost all reason. You are...’ She faltered.
‘I am what?’ Moira demanded, stepping closer. Her heart thundered in her chest. Aye, she’d been impulsive. Aye, she’d done something some might view as reckless, but she’d never felt more alive in her life.
Because she had made a decision and acted on it without fear of the consequences, namely her father.
Brenna’s eyes softened and filled with unshed tears. ‘You are...unwell. Otherwise, why would you openly choose such misery by marrying a man knowing full well he will die.’ A tear fell down her cheek. ‘Has losing one husband not been enough?’
Moira’s throat tightened. Her flighty sister who never had a care in the world was in tears. Brenna’s emotions made Moira shift on her feet. Did they truly think she was unwell? That she could no longer make her own decisions? There was nothing wrong with her. She merely didn’t wish the future they chose for themselves. She didn’t want a lifelong husband, a family and all of the trappings they desired. All she wanted was to choose her own path, for once.
And she wanted peace. Quiet. Safety. Why could they not understand?
‘He is my choice. You, Ewan and Father need to let me make it.’ She started from the harsh sound of her own voice and all the desperation and frustration that burst forth from her words.
Brenna stepped back, and Moira continued on through the meadow. She’d not be chastised by anyone, least of all her sister, who knew nothing of the ways of the world, nor of the shackles of marriage.
She reached the steps of Glenhaven quickly, her pace and anger driving her on, and she entered the quiet halls of the castle. She smiled at the fact that only servants remained roaming about since all the guests were out of doors enjoying the fine weather and final hours of the tournament. Her feet carried her to the peace and tranquillity of the one place in the castle where she was never found, never interrupted and, above all, never judged. And before she knew it, she stood at the threshold of the library on the western wing of Glenhaven, where only books, cobwebs and her wee plants resided. She stole a deep breath, revelling in the earthy, musky smell of books and undisturbed air. She willed her heart to slow. Here, she could settle her mind for a few hours before finding Laird McKenna to make plans for their future.
She slung her cloak over the top of a high-backed chair before she sat and curled up in the oversized, sunken worn leather chair she preferred. It was closest to her three wee seedlings that sat perched on the windowsill. Her fingers skimmed their bright green waxy leaves, and she sighed.
‘You look as if you have grown even since I saw you last eve, my darlings.’ She smiled at each of them and then rested her head on her arms that cradled the top of the large cushions. Would there soon be a day where she could while away a morning in her own garden and a luxurious afternoon of reading all of the books on plants she could find?
A girl could dream. She sighed aloud. Bliss filled her heart with the mere thought of it.
