Page 41 of Captured By the Cruel Highlander
“And ye believe Lady Emily will do that too?” Doughall asked as they practiced some low blows.
“Nay. But she has a mouth on her.”
“Ye’ll suit each other then,” Doughall muttered and defended himself quickly as Adam struck more heavily in a wide arc.
“I cannae be seen ruled by a woman. Me faither lived at the whim of me maither, and look how that turned out.”
“Is Lady Emily makin’ ye go to war too?”
Adam scowled at him. “It isnae a joke.”
“Who said I’m laughin’? But ye are makin’ her out to be the same as Lady MacNiall, and ye have nay proof of it. She has come here, despite yer kidnappin’ her, and agreed to yer plan to beatStewart at his own game. She doesnae sound like she is tryin’ to control ye.”
“Ye were the one who said she was influencin’ me decisions.”
“And now she is influencin’ yer aim and yer sword arm.”
Doughall lowered his sword and approached him, clapping him roughly on the shoulder. “Listen to me for once, man. Women arenae the evil ye think they are. Yer faither wasnae lost to this world only for yer maither’s sake—he made his own choices. He could have returned whenever he wished, but he chose nae to do it.Yemake yer own choices, and nay one else.”
Doughall’s eyes softened as he looked at him, but Adam shook off his hand, his mind flooded with thoughts of his infuriating bride-to-be.
The worst thing about their argument had been her influence on him. That was the real issue. He hadn’t been able to keep his hands off her. Worse still, when any member of the council had dared disrespect her, he had immediately put a stop to it.
Emily seemed to want to help him, whereas his mother had always wanted to control him.
But what kind of a laird will I be if I defer to me wife on every issue?
15
Emily made her way to the library to find Freya.
She was too nervous to use the passages that Theo had shown her, worried that she would be lost forever in the bowels of the castle—but it was useful to know they were there.
The library was enormous. The ceilings arched above her head, with wood paneling covering every wall. A balcony with a metal rail ran along the top shelves, and there were hundreds of nooks and crannies where one could lose oneself in a book.
Emily frowned. She had discovered where Freya should be, but it might still take several hours to find her amongst this many shelves.
However, as the door closed behind her, a face appeared on the top balcony, and Freya smiled down at her.
“Dinnae ye look bonnie,” she said, walking down the spiral staircase, holding a few books under her arm.
Emily looked down at the midnight blue dress. It was by far the finest gown she had ever owned.
Freya walked toward her, pushing her unruly hair back and over her shoulder. It was incredibly thick, curling down to her waist. She looked particularly endearing with her spectacles perched on her nose as she grinned at Emily.
“Is that a new dress?” she asked.
“Aye. I think yer braither was sick of seein’ me trippin’ all over the castle.”
Freya looked surprised and ran her eyes over Emily again, looking thoughtful. “Adam bought it for ye?”
Emily nodded. “He probably thought I needed to look more like the Lady of the castle.”
Freya’s eyes met hers thoughtfully, but she didn’t say more on the subject. “How do ye like the library?” she asked, spinning in place with a grin.
“It’s beautiful!” Emily replied, looking up and around her at the books on display. There were so many different shapes and sizes that she could barely take it all in. “There must be thousands of books in here.”
“I am plannin’ to read them all by the time I die,” Freya said, spreading her arms out wide, looking wistfully about her as though she were in paradise.
