Page 52 of Married to the Highland Devil
“I dinnae understand…”
“My maither didnae die of any strange illness, Duncan. That was a lie they told to cover up what really happened. She was killed by Clifford Bay.”
“Laird McCabe?” Duncan murmured, trying to fully comprehend what his friend revealed to him.
“Laird McCabe wasnae truly an ally like they thought him to be, and he turned against them. My maither was murdered in our castle, and my faither blamed yer faither for it. He was livid, enraged, and he wanted his pound of flesh, so he made yer faither join in his war against McCabe first, and then they didnae stop there.”
“He got greedy; he wanted more,” Duncan said, and Arran nodded.
“When they fought against Cameron, my faither kenned they wouldnae win, so he made a deal with Laird Cameron to back down, but he didnae tell yer faither that. Turns out, he still hated and blamed yer faither for my maither’s death.”
“He sabotaged the war.”
“Yer faither spent years fightin’ a war he wasnae goin’ to win. He thought my faither was his ally, but he wasnae. The plan was to make him exhaust all his money, weapons, and everythin’ yer clan had so that when he was at his weakest, my faither could take over McLennan.
“Yer faither kept fightin’ for both of them because he thought he owed his friend. He eventually came to my faither to borrow more weaponry, gold, and money he couldnae repay. That is exactly what my faither wanted… With McLennan in his debt, he ken’s he owns yer clan.
“He will stop at naethin’ to get it, Duncan, even if it means killin’ ye. It’s why ye cannae ride out there. It might be what he wants ye to do, so he can be done with ye once and for all.”
23
The next time Amelia opened her eyes, she was not certain how much time had passed. The darkness of oblivion was bliss from the ache in her head.
Her throat was dry, and when she tried to speak, the words that came out were a light fumble.
She sighed and closed her eyes. She recalled the picnic with Duncan and then the arrow fired at her.
When she moved her hand on the bed, she touched someone and heard a gruff murmur.
“Duncan?” Amelia called in a shaky tone. “Is that you?”
“Aye, aye,” he answered with a rush then moved and took her hands in his. “Yer all right, thank heavens.”
He kissed her hand, and Amelia’s heart relaxed a little. She had feared she was alone in the chamber.
“How long was I unconscious?”
“Two days,” Duncan answered in a grave tone.
She felt him move closer to her, and he put his hands on her cheeks then kissed her forehead, the tip of her nose, and the corner of her lips.
“I am so sorry… I should have protected ye better. I shouldnae have let this happen.”
“This was not your fault,” she said to him and shook her head. She tried to sit up now, and he assisted her, not taking his hand away from hers the entire time. “It was not your fault,” she consoled.
“I am responsible for protectin’ ye and—”
“Duncan,” she cut him off, licking her lips nervously because she did not know how he would react to the words she was about to say to him. “I am just glad that you are here with me right now. That is all I ask for.”
He sighed, and as if he read her thoughts, he climbed into the bed with her, made her lie down again, then cuddled her close so that his warmth made her feel safer, and his strong arms made her feel protected.
“Did my father write to me?” Amelia asked after some time.
She had not heard a word from her father since she had sent that letter Yvaine had written. Amelia was hoping he could come for the wedding soon so that they could have the dowry and settle the debt Duncan owed to Laird MacGregor.
She wanted nothing else than for him to leave Duncan and his clan alone.
They have suffered enough at his hands already.
