Page 8 of The Icy Highlander's Bride
"I can speak with Alexander," Ciara, her older sister, offered. "Perhaps he will find a reason to deny his request."
"Ye dinnae see his face!" Lana cried. "This wedding is everything Alexander has hoped for. And I cannae deny this man without bringing shame to Clan Gunn."
The last hour of the wedding, after Daniel left without a second glance, had been torture for Lana, filled with forced smiles and stilted pleasantries. As she stood next to Alexander in the entryway to see the final guests out, he kept smiling over at her, full of pride.
Her brother was nearly bursting at the seams in excitement over her potential betrothal. Meanwhile, Lana had forced herself not to cry. Anytime she imagined Laird MacCrawford's face, with that imposing eyepatch covering the left side, she had to swallow past the lump that formed in her throat. She was glad most of the guests were drunk as they stumbled out the doors because they wouldn't be suspicious of the tears that pooled in her eyes.
"Tell us again what happened," Ciara cooed as Lana's sobs turned into hiccupping gasps. "Maybe it's nae as bad as ye think."
Lana sat up in bed and pulled herself up to lean against the headboard. She took in the comforting expression of her older sister and the eager hopefulness of Olivia, her sister-in-law and close friend.
"I daenae ken where to start," she croaked. Her nose was runny, and she sniffed before accepting a handkerchief from Ciara.
"Wherever ye like," Ciara offered gently.
"I was having such a good time," Lana began, before another sob escaped her lips. She took a deep breath and started again. "I was dancing. Well, we were all dancing."
She could still see the smiling faces of Ciara and Olivia on the dance floor with her. She could still feel the lightness in her feet and the laughter that made her stomach hurt as they enjoyed themselves.
"But then ye went to check on the children," Lana continued, "and all at once, there was a man at me elbow who told me Alexander had sent him to speak with me."
"I should have stayed with ye," Olivia sighed. She wrapped an arm around Lana's shoulders and pulled her in for a hug. "I'm sorry."
"It wasnae yer fault." Lana sniffed.
Olivia and Ciara were both married with three children between them. They were doting mothers, and it was always their custom to check on the children at least once during parties or celebrations of this kind.
"Was he awful?" Ciara asked. "We all ken Alexander is smart, but we have to admit his taste in men is often questionable."
"He was drunk," Lana said. She hated that she could so easily picture Laird Cullen's face. "He kept pulling me toward the dance floor, urging me to dance with him. I told him I was tired and begged his forgiveness. I dinnae wish to make him angry, but I dinnae like the way he was pulling at me. I tried to find someone nearby, perhaps a third person who could join the conversation, but all of a sudden, it felt like I was in a room full of strangers."
Ciara brought her hand back to Lana's hair and ran her fingers through it, a gesture she had made since Lana was a child. It always brought Lana comfort, but tonight it wasn't enough to ease the panic that ripped through her every time she tried to think about what had happened tonight.
"I just wanted to get away. I was starting to panic. I daenae ken why, I just felt that I needed to get out of there. I excused meself, but he was suddenly speaking about marriage and how I would love being the lady of his castle. And I just panicked. I told him I already had a betrothed, and when he asked me who it was, I found the scariest-looking man in the room. And then I pointed at him."
"Can ye tell me exactlywhyye needed to rush out of there?" Cameron asked, riding alongside Daniel on horseback. "Ye ken ye pulled me away from a very lovely woman, right?"
Daniel simply snorted, knowing very well what he had pulled Cameron away from when he insisted it was time to leave. But he wasn't in the mood for any explanations. He simply wanted to get home and come to terms with exactly what he had set in motion tonight.
"Perhaps if ye had stayed in the main hall, ye would ken why I needed to leave," Daniel scoffed.
It was too dark for him to feel comfortable traveling— his eye kept darting around the treeline and ahead of them. Thelanterns they held cast shallow beams of light, and Daniel was on edge, worrying about an ambush. He had intended to leave earlier, but a curvy lass had derailed his plans.
"So, somethingdidhappen?" Cameron asked. "I heard whisperings about some crazy man who threatened to cut someone's hand off."
He laughed, and it was clear to Daniel that his brother thought this was some wild story. Perhaps a simple incident had been blown up until it was an outrageous event that he thought would never happen.
It was only Daniel's silence that seemed to tell Cameron that it wasn't so outlandish, after all.
"Wait, ye tried to cut someone's hand off?" Cameron asked, swinging his lantern so the light illuminated Daniel's face.
Daniel squinted at the change of lighting. "I dinnaetry," he clarified. "If I wanted to do it, I would have succeeded. But it's nae kind to shed blood at someone else's wedding."
"And ye thoughtIwas up to mischief!" Cameron laughed. "What did ye do?"
"It's none of yer concern," Daniel said, forcing his gaze ahead.
He wanted nothing more than to walk back home in silence, and yet he knew his brother wouldn't let up until he had more information. Sure enough, Cameron pushed him.
