Page 11 of Highlander's Wild Lass
Anthony eyed the man carefully. “She will make a fine wife in about ten years’ time.”
“What can ye mean, man?”
“Yer daughter has just turned eleven. Surely, she could nae have even had her first courses yet. Why are ye so keen to marry her off?”
McDunn stood, leaving the chair wobbling as he did. “We can hold the weddin’ off by a year if yer that bothered by her age.”
“I willnae be marryin’ yer daughter today or ten years from now.”
The chief’s face grew redder and more agitated. “Ye daenae want to marry my daughter because she’s too young.” He pointed an accusing finger at Anthony. “Ye have decided to marry someone else, havenae ye? Tell me, is it that bastard Armstrong? What did he offer ye in exchange for his daughter?”
“McDunn!” Anthony stood from his chair, glaring at him. “I have made nay declaration of marriage to any chief’s daughter.”
McDunn sneered. “Do ye nae want to continue yer faither’s legacy?”
“In my own time,” he said in a tone more measured than the rage that was boiling inside.
McDunn rubbed his beard harshly. “Ye are seven and twenty years old. Ye’ve got at least three toes in the grave, Moore! Now is as good a time as ever to get married.”
* * *
Celestia woke up early after a fitful night’s sleep, she kept having horrible, bloody nightmares of Ryder Koll and Anthony dueling to the death. It was still dark when she got dressed in a pair of riding trews, boots, and one of her father’s woolen coats.
She rode hard once she felt Grannus was ready, and they found their way to Celestia’s favorite spot near a rocky beach. Her family used to come here a lot; the boys and her father loved fishing here, and just under the young eared willow tree Auralia would sit reading a book. She tied Grannus to one of the willow’s low-hanging limbs.
She found a spot on a large boulder. From here, she could see the outline of Castle Ferguson. Only the servant quarters were lit up at this hour, smoke beginning to billow out of the kitchen’s chimneys.
The sun was just beginning to crest over the eastern mountains when she heard a horse approaching. Turning, she saw a huge stallion stopping next to her horse. The darkened shape of a tall, well-built man dismounted, patted the horse on its snout, and reached for the reins of her horse.
“If ye ken what’s good for ye, ye’ll leave that horse be!” she shouted as she quickly stood up, her voice echoing off the water.
The man’s head snapped to look in her direction. “Celestia?”
Anthony.
Her cheeks burned with shame at how she lost control of herself in front of him yesterday, crying and complaining about her life. But there was also an unexpected feeling of comfort that rushed through her; she knew she was at least safe with him. His boots crunched underneath the rocks as he came near.
“What are ye doin’ down here by yerself? It’s nae safe.”
“We’re still on clan lands. I can see the castle just there.” She thrust her hand towards the large dark outline of the castle with the sky pinking just behind it. “Ye should ken that it’s safe enough,” she said, waving away his concern.
They were silent for a while, him standing on the rocky beach with the water lazily lapping around his boots and her sitting on the boulder. She felt this overwhelming need for him to be close, maybe it was because he made her feel safe when Ryder Koll showed up threatening to ruin her father’s whisky business.
“Come and watch the sunrise,” she said, patting the empty space beside her on the wide boulder.
She watched his eyebrows raise in surprise, and honestly, she had surprised herself. There was more silence as he settled himself beside her, his leather-clad hip and leg bumping up next to hers so that she could feel the warmth coming from him.
“I, uhm, I want to thank ye for yesterday.”
“There’s nay need for that.”
“Nay,” she said, placing a hand on his forearm to stop him from speaking. “Let me say it proper without cryin’ this time. Ye’ve got a lot of responsibility bein’ chief, and there’s nay need to come and spend yer day with us. But thank ye for bringin’ the healer and attemptin’ to clean the stables before Mr. Koll made an unwanted appearance.”
She wouldn’t make eye contact with him then, feeling rather bashful about how she handled herself yesterday.
“I ken you had fire in ye, but I did not think ye’d be willin’ to take on a man as big as he was,” Anthony said, almost laughing as he hugged one knee to his chest.
“He really is the worst man. He’s been tryin’ to undercut my da for years. He was always comin’ to our home or the storehouses to harass him.”
