Page 23 of When a Highlander Weds a Hellion
“Christ!” Brodee spat. “Is that how poorly ye think of me? What did I ever do to ye to make ye see me thusly?” Brodee’s livid gaze swung to Broch, and he pointed. “Was it because she tookhimfrom ye and nae me? I was the only one left, so ye settled all yer hate on me for yer own foolishness? That’s what took the wife ye loved,my mother, from me!”
“Shut yer mouth,” Blackswell bit out, and Broch heard the guilt there, as he was certain Brodee must have. He had apparently struck close to the truth.
“I did nae kill Mungo, nor Arabel, nor Lenora,” Brodee said, his voice trembling with anger.
Doubt skittered across Blackswell’s face. “Leave yer plaid with us and go back to the keep. Take a care to make certain ye are nae seen. Ye ken the whispers about ye already. It will only worsen if the others ken that ye were found here alone with Mungo with his blood on yer plaid.”
“I did nae kill him!” Brodee thundered again. “Ye stubborn old fool! I did nae kill him, or Lenora, or Arabel, butsomeonedid! Yet, instead of having the clan search for that murderer as I’ve told ye to for years, ye continue to order me to hide the murders ye place on my head. I’ll nae do it again. I’m going to find the murderer and remove the guilt from my head.”
Blackswell lunged at Brodee and grabbed him. Broch tensed, expecting Brodee to fight their father. Brodee did bring up his fist, but then he dropped his hand to his side, his shoulders sagging.
“Ye think I did nae question people?” Blackswell demanded, his tone harsh and his face going red. “Everyone I asked had seen ye with Arabel last, and then later when Lenora died, I got the same response. Ye’d been seen walking down the seagate stairs with her, for God’s sake!”
“I told ye,” Brodee said, shrugging away from his father, “when I left her there, she was alive. We agreed to still wed. She believed, unlike ye, that I had nae killed Arabel.”
“It matters little what I believe at this point, Brodee. We lost the Derthshire land because of ye, and we need access to that land to trade with more ease. Our clan grows weak because of the dangerous route we must travel to trade with other clans. We must gain half that land again.”
“I ken,” Brodee said through gritted teeth.
Blackswell nodded and yanked the man to him. “It will be fine, Son,” he said, affection coming through in his tone that made Broch’s throat tighten. These two had many problems, but they obviously both cared for the other as father and son. Broch’s own desire for such a relationship surfaced. Blackswell looked to Broch. “Katreine will surely offer less resistance to wedding Broch than ye, so the wedding can take place immediately. Then we will gain half of Derthshire.” Blackswell gave Broch an appealing look. “Ye will wed the lass, aye?”
Broch shifted uncomfortably. Devil take it. He hated having to tell them what he’d promised, but he had to keep his vow. He quickly told them of his pledge to Katreine and her family to question the Blackswell clan—his clan—and discover if they had been raiding the Kinntoch land. He also mentioned that if they had, the Blackswells would be forced to forfeit any claim to Derthshire, per the king’s dictate.
“If I find that yer clan is innocent, I’ll do my duty as yer eldest son.” He inhaled a long, deep breath, considering that soon he may be wedding Katreine, who undoubtedly would not like it, as he was now a Blackswell.
“Ye mean if ye findourclan innocent, aye?” Brodee clarified, smirking. “Surely the favored son, the eldest son”—Brodee’s gaze flicked to Blackswell—“would nae betray his own clan. I ken I’d die before doing so.”
Blackswell and Brodee stared at Broch. “I would nae ever wish to betray the clan, but I’d nae lie—”
“It dunnae matter,” Blackswell said, waving his hand. “We have nae raided the Kinntoch land, so ye will nae find a thing. Brodee will personally take ye to question clan members on the morrow. Now make haste away, Brodee. Broch and I will deal with Mungo.”
Later that night, Broch stood over Mungo’s grave, which he and Blackswell had dug together. Broch said a quick prayer for the man’s damned soul, for he did nae think a man who would abuse a woman had a place in Valhalla.
He turned to Blackswell who had been quiet since Brodee had departed. “Tomorrow, when I’m questioning the clan about the raids, I’ll also make inquiries regarding the murders.”
“I fear ye will receive the same answers I did when I made inquiries. Brodee was the last person seen with Arabel and with Lenora, and if ye tell all in the clan that Mungo was also murdered, word will travel to the Kinntochs and that will be one more reason the laird will nae wed his daughter to ye. It’s better ye are wed before we announce that Mungo was murdered. Mayhap ye could make yer inquiries about the raids quickly, and once ye are wed, we can hunt Mungo’s murderer?”
Broch frowned. “But that leaves the murderer running around, and—”
“For a day, at most,” Blackswell said. “Ye can spend all day tomorrow questioning everyone ye wish, and if ye hear enough to believe us innocent, ye can collect yer bride the next day and be wed that night. Once ye’re wed and she’s publicly bedded—”
“Nay,” Broch said, always having hated that practice. “My word will have to be sufficient.”
Blackswell inclined his head and cleared his throat. “Once the marriage is sealed, I’ll personally question everyone with ye. Think ye I want to believe Brodee a murderer?”
“Nay,” Broch said, seeing it in his pleading eyes.
“All will be well,” Blackswell pronounced. “Now that ye have been returned to me, all will be well.”
It felt as if a boulder had been placed on Broch’s shoulders. He wanted to secure a place in his new family, ease the tension he’d found here, and help them secure their half of Derthshire, but he could not do so at any price. He would complete a thorough investigation, albeit a quick one. That, he could do. And if he found they were innocent, which he prayed he would, he would go to collect Katreine and persuade her to do as the king had decreed. Guilt niggled at him knowing she would have no choice but to wed him or allow her family to suffer the king’s wrath, but he could not control what the king would do.
Besides, he and Katreine already desired each other, so surely, if they did end up wedding, she would accept him, and then he would have the family he had long ago wished for but had given up on.
A sennight after Broch had departed without so much as a farewell, Katreine was swimming in the loch, trying to enjoy the sunshine and put thoughts of the blue-eyed devil out of her mind. But no matter how hard she tried to stop her mind from roaming to Broch, it did so every single day. What was he doing? Had he finished his investigation? Surely, he’d discovered her family was correct about the Blackswells. Maybe, he’d sent word to the king already and would be returning here soon to tell her she did not have to marry into that dreadful family.
Hope flared at the thought. If she was free, the future was open before her. The ability to wed for love, a longing she had secretly harbored with the hundreds of recollections of watching her parents together and very much in love, would become a real possibility. Maybe Broch would even be the man she chose. The fact that it would beher choicewas very important to her.
She thought of the promise she had made her mother right before her mother had died…
