Page 1 of A Highland Bride Taken
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“The Beastly Laird,” Astrid Dunlop, Lady of Clan MacLennan, whispered with a cautious glance around the room, as if saying his name loud enough would be enough to summon him here.
Mabel frowned at her mother, wondering at the strange moniker. She and her sisters, Skylar and Scarlett, had been discussing the success of Scarlett’s wedding banquet as well as her new status as Lady of Clan Crawford when their mother suddenly uttered the name.
It was almost too cruel to imagine calling someone beastly, but it was better to hear the full extent of what he did before she jumped into defending him.
“Who is he, Maither?” she asked.
“The Laird of Clan Muir,” her mother whispered, still nervous. “He is the only one who isnae here, even though yer faitherinvited him. Laird Crawford is his closest friend, yet he didnae come. I dinnae care much for his presence, but ‘tis rude to nae honor an invitation.”
“Perhaps he has good reason,” Mabel suggested, earning a glare from her mother and a warning look from her sisters.
It was never a good thing to argue with their mother, but there were times it was necessary.
Her mother sniffed in disapproval. “What could be more important than his friend’s wedding?” she retorted. “Yer faither is the laird of one of the most powerful clans in the Highlands. Laird Crawford as well.”
Mabel had a number of things she could have listed, but she said nothing. What she had learned from past experience was that one could never win an argument against her mother, especially when she had her mind set as it was now.
“He chooses to stay in his clan except when it comes to war over land and property. That is how he earned the name. War is all he has ever kenned—a power-hungry man, he is. I heard that he is a fright to behold on the battlefield and off it, that he is riddled with scars so frightening that maidens faint with one look at him,” her mother added. “I am glad that he stayed away from us, or he might set his greedy sights on our clan.”
Mabel tried to deny it, but her mother’s words set a chill down her spine, even if she found it hard to believe that one manwould garner so much negative attention from her mother, who was usually averse to gory gossip.
Lady MacLennan’s main concern was securing her daughters the best possible matches. Mabel was almost grateful her mother hadn’t set her sights on such a dreadful man.
Surveying the room, she could understand why he wouldn’t want to be present at a social gathering. With such a reputation, it was amazing he had even been invited in the first place.
If it hadn’t been her sister’s wedding, she, too, would have begged off the celebrations, not being one for crowds. She saw her parents’ hope in inviting so many eligible bachelors, but her aversion to making small talk kept her firmly rooted to the walls to avoid it.
“Scarlett,” Hamish Dunlop, Laird of Clan MacLennan, chided, “ye should be with yer husband. Why are ye here with yer maither and sisters?”
“Faither,” Scarlett answered, “I?—”
“Go now,” he ordered.
Mabel noted her sister’s glum expression as she moved to sit by her new husband, who only spared her a glance before returning to greet the growing line of well-wishers.
“Ye should ken better than to keep our daughters as ye do, wife,” her father scolded again. “Now that Scarlett is married, it is time to find suitable husbands for Mabel and Skylar.”
“I ken, husband. I was only refreshing their memory of some of the guests present today and those absent.”
“Who is absent?” he asked, looking around the room. “It is almost a crush.”
He was correct. And the fact that Mabel would soon be expected to socialize as soon as she was dismissed only added to her anxiety.
“The Laird of Clan Muir,” her mother answered.
Mabel was surprised by the nervous glance her father cast around the room. She had thought her mother’s reaction an over exaggeration, but for her father, who she had always thought brave, to falter as he did… it was worrying.
Just who is this man?
“Ye shouldnae speak his name so casually, wife,” Laird MacLennan hissed. “Besides, there are many better things to discuss.”
“Ye’re correct, husband.” Lady MacLennan nodded. “Come, lasses. It is time ye met some potential husbands. Now that Scarlett has married such a powerful laird, ye’re sure to getbetter matches now. Especially ye, Mabel. Nay more hiding behind Scarlett or Skylar.”
“Aye, Maither,” Mabel answered, eyeing potential exits to avoid the coming lecture.
“There’s Lady Fraser,” her mother announced. “She still has two unmarried daughters, and her son is about yer age, Mabel. He could be a good match for ye.”
