Page 37 of Married to the Ruthless Highlander
Ye barked at that soldier yesterday mornin’ for the same thing ye’re guilty of now.
Doughall closed his eyes and gripped the reins tighter, cursing himself for lowering his guard. Heshouldhave heard Adam approaching long before the man got close enough to see what was happening, but he had been too lost inher, too overcome with want, giving in to the temptation that was Freya Kane at the cost of everything else.
“M’Laird!” a voice called in the dense silence of the moorland, where the fog slithered through the heather like misty serpents.
Doughall clenched his jaw.
Can a man nae have a moment’s peace to regret his actions?
He turned and watched the familiar gelding and rider charging at a breakneck pace toward him, rankled by the sight. He trusted Ersie like a sister, appreciated her strength and loyalty, but right now, he did not want to see her.
“I was searchin’ all over for ye,” Ersie said, breathless, as she drew to a halt beside him.
“And in that searchin’, did ye nae consider that I didnae want to be found?”
She furrowed her brow, scratching her head. “Honestly? Nay.”
“Return to the feast, Ersie,” he said, struggling to keep the frost out of his tone.
It was not Ersie’s fault that the night had almost turned into a duel to the death. One he would have won, too, if it had come to it.
She tilted her head to the side in a way that always meant she was deciding whether to be honest or whether to avoid a difficult conversation. Doughall waited for her to make her choice.
“What happened, M’Laird?” she said, at last.
He ran a hand through his hair, unwilling to relive the memory. For a brief moment, when he was kissing Freya, his mind had been clear of the ghosts that haunted him and the duties that plagued his every waking moment, some demanded by the clan, some demanded by himself. Adam’s interruption and threat had made everything rush back tenfold.
Marry her? Aye, I’d sooner wear one of me maither’s gowns to the next clan gatherin’.
“M’Laird?” Ersie prompted.
He realized he had not answered her, and, with a heavy breath, he told her most of the story. He skirted around certain parts, of course, though the images were vivid in his mind.
“Her braither wants us wed,” he concluded. “But that’s nae goin’ to happen, so he’s goin’ to be sorely disappointed.”
He turned his gaze out to the open moorland, where blurry shadows moved behind the mist, tricking the eye. He had seen them often enough, referring to them as the dark specters, but he rested his hand on the hilt of his sword anyway. With the threat against Freya still out there somewhere, he could not be too careful.
I shouldnae have brought her here.
A strange but not unfamiliar sensation coiled in his chest. A feeling he had not felt so keenly since he was a boy.
I shouldnae have dragged her into this foolhardy plan. It was never goin’ to work.
He had overstepped too many boundaries. He had blurred the lines of the arrangement. He had allowed himself to feel jealousy of all things and had almost spilled his friend’s blood. All because he could not control himself around that woman, her very presence unraveling years and years of discipline and restraint.
“With respect, M’Laird, why would her braither think ye were… involved in somethin’ improper?” Ersie asked, an odd note of amusement in her voice.
He shot her a glare. “Is this funny to ye?”
“Nae at all, M’Laird. I’m just tryin’ to understand.” She feigned innocence, but he had known her too long for her to be able to pull the wool over his eyes. She was up to something.
Doughall turned away from her to glare at the fog instead. “It doesnae matter what the circumstances were. Her braither misjudged the situation, flew into a rage, and made demands that willnae be met. On that, Freya and I are aligned.” He sat taller. “Now, return to the feast. I willnae ask ye again.”
“Where are ye goin’?” Ersie nodded toward the darkness.
“I’m goin’ to patrol the vicinity,” he said brusquely. “Yeshould be at Freya’s side—it’s yer duty.”
Ersie bowed her head. “As ye wish, M’Laird.” She paused. “Are ye sure ye dinnae want someone to patrol with ye?”
