Page 67 of Her Highland Prophecy
“I didnae say he wasnae a pretentious bastard, but ye ken that he may raise the Clan against ye like he tried to do last time.”
Gordain remembered the incident well, though he tried to ignore it most of the time so that he could retain the civility within the Clan. Jaimie had a small number of clansmen who agreed with his view against the English, but for the most part everyone was tolerant of their neighbors — as long as the arrangement was to the benefit of the Clan.
He was also the most likely person to have sent the threatening letter that he had received, even if he and Tamas had not been able to gather any evidence to that effect.
“There isnae another option this time,” Gordain said. “If we refuse to trade with the Sassenach Duke we will lose some of our land when we have to pay taxes to the Crown.”
“I ken it as well as ye do, but I dinnae think he will be so reasonable.”
“He will have to abide by it,” Gordain said. “As long as the Clansmen remain fed and protected, we give no cause for someone to challenge us.”
“I hope ye’re right,” Bhaltair said, and with a nod disappeared in the direction that he had been heading before Gordain interrupted him.
He shook his head. His cousin had managed to put a slight damper on his good mood, but he hoped it would not last for long. He walked to the main stairwell, his long strides taking him through the Castle quickly.
He found Diana waiting for him in his chambers. She was sitting on his bed, her legs dangling several inches off the floor as she swung them back and forth.
He smiled, the image of her as a young girl doing the same was both endearing and amusing. A sudden thought of her daughter acting similarly invaded his brain and he pushed it away stubbornly. It was not the time for such thoughts, no matter how pleasantly heartbreaking they were.
He crossed the room and brought her lips to his in a short but very thorough kiss.
“Good morning,” he said when he pulled back. Diana looked daze.
“Good morning. What was that for?” she asked, her eyes still slightly unfocused. He pushed her hair behind her ear gently and pressed a brief kiss to her lips.
“Today is a guid day,” he said.
“How so?” she asked, her hands on his chest.
“I found the money to save the Clan,” he said, quickly explaining the deal with the merchant in Inverness.
“And you met with him while you were buying my dress and things?”
“Aye, I did,” he confirmed, a little surprised at her lack of enthusiasm at his news.
“I’m happy for you,” she said in a tone that he had never heard before. “Now you won’t have to get married to someone else after I leave.”
In his joy that they had found a way to save the Clan he hadn’t even thought of that. It was true though. Without need of a wealthy bride to save the Clan therewasn’ta need for him to marry immediately, which was honestly a relief because the only person he could see himself marrying was the woman sitting in front of him, the fact he knew that it was impossible.
“Ye are right,” he said after a beat. There was no way he could express his thoughts to her. The last thing that he wanted to do was to place that guilt on her. He loved her enough to allow her to return to her own time, heedless of what it would cost him.
“I don’t think that I will be looking for another lassie to wed for a while,” he said, finally. “It is more important to make sure that everything goes well with the Clan and that the gold isnae spent too quickly.”
He could see in her eyes that she could see what he wasn’t saying. If there was one thing that had marred his happiness in the last few days, it was the lack of admission of her feelings. He had told her he loved her that day by the loch, but she had yet to say it back to him.
He had also not said it again, but it was right there in the air between them like a ghost. Sometimes he thought that he could almost see her thinking it, but she never said anything.
“We should go find Mabel and Joan,” she said. “They will be happy to hear the news as well.”
Gordain grimaced. “Diana, the lasses dinnae ken anything about the problems Faither is having.”
She rolled her eyes at him.
“Gordain if you don’t think that those girls have figured out everything that is going on then you don’t know them as well as you think they do. I bet you anything that Mabel at least, is fully aware of the situation and has very strong opinions on how it should be handled.”
That sounded like his sister.
“They’re smart girls, Gordain,” Diana finished. “And they are definitely old enough to know what is going on within their own home. You shouldn’t keep things like this from them.”
