Page 22 of Her Highland Prophecy
“Most people in the Castle have never met a Sassenach so it willnae matter much,” he finished.
“And your father? I can’t imagine he will be happy that you went behind his back.”
“Nay, he willnae care. As long as our marriage brings money to the Clan he wouldnae care if ye had three eyes and a peg leg,” he said, tapping her right knee as he spoke.
Diana burst out laughing at the image he had conjured.
“Well, I hope I am a step up from that,” she wryly as her giggles died down. “What about your betrothed?”
“We hadnae announce it yet. She willnae suffer if I change me mind.”
“That’s good. I wouldn’t want to have a vengeful woman coming after me for stealing her betrothed.”
His voice was suddenly much more serious than before.
“She willnae bother ye. Neither of us wants this marriage so ye are doing her a favor. She is more likely to thank ye than hurt ye.”
Diana was relieved. She had been a little worried that the other woman would feel resentment over being usurped, even if Gordain assured her that they did not get along.
“I have one last concern,” she said. “What happens if I can’t find a way back home?”
She did not want to think about it, but she knew that it was a very real possibility. And then she would be stuck in the Highlands of Scotland. In the seventeenth century. She shivered, even as her mind shied away from the idea of that possibility.
“We can say that we broke the betrothal and that ye returned to England. Ye’ll be free to do whatever ye like.”
That was fair. It was a decent plan with both of them getting what they wanted in the end. She got a place to stay and the protection of the Castle and Clan while she waited for the gypsies to return and he gained the extra time he needed to find the money to prevent someone from challenging his claim as Laird.
“Will ye do it then?” he asked when she didn’t respond.
She pondered on it for a few minutes. Could she do it? Could she pretend to be some wealthy English lady, betrothed to him, for a few weeks? Somehow, she thought that pretending to be in love with him would be the easiest part. He was easy to talk to and he was certainly easy on the eyes. Above all, she felt safe with him.
“Yes, I’ll do it.”
She could feel his frame relax from where he was sitting behind her and was happy that she helped him. It would be her turn to save him this time like he had done in the woods earlier.
And, after all, it was only for three weeks.
What could possibly go wrong?
8
It was late in the afternoon when they finally dismounted from the horse to allow for a small break. Diana’s legs immediately buckled under her as soon as she reached the ground.
“Diana!” Gordain cried as he caught her around the waist, lifting her up. Her legs shook from the effort of putting her weight on them and pain shot up her thighs and lower back as she attempted to straighten her body. She whimpered.
“Dinna fash, lass. Sit here,” he soothed her as he led her slowly to sit on a nearby rock. Each step took all of her willpower to complete and she didn’t know how she would force herself to get back onto Taranis after their short break.
They were sitting on the bank of a large lake – orlochas Gordain kept calling it – that they had been following north from Ballachulish. According to Gordain they would arrive in Inverness the next day, and Sutherford Castle was another day’s ride after that. She grimaced at the idea that she would have to be on a horse for two more days.
She gazed across the expanse of the calm loch, snow-capped mountains rising up from the shore across from her. It was peaceful. There was barely a ripple to be seen on the surface and the water was so clean that she could see straight through to the rust-colored pebbles that lined the bottom.
She had always thought that Scotland was beautiful, especially after touring it by automobile, but there was something different about it in this time, a savage beauty that hadn’t yet been tamed.
Gordain dropped down next to her, spreading his legs in front of him. She was amused to note that his extended nearly a foot past her own. She had always been considered tall for a woman, but he was entirely in a whole other category. He towered over her when they were standing.
“Will ye tell me more about the future?” he asked, breaking through her humor and instantly placing her a little bit on her guard.
There were several things in the future of Scotland that she would never dream of telling him. They were much too far to affect him anyway.
