Page 12 of A Sinful Night with a Scot
What a fool she had been to think she could get very far. Now, she suffered even more, for though he had wiped her skin withtonic, the scratches still burned and stung a little. Perhaps not as much as they might have, had he not attended to them, but still.
As they ventured into the village, several hours later, the laird dismounted. Turning back to her, he lifted her down from the horse. Admittedly, she was surprised at his gentleness under the circumstances.
“I’m going tae remove this,” he said, untying the rope at her waist. “Dinnae mak’ me regret it.”
“Ye mean, after such a successful attempt on the last occasion?” Elsie grumbled.
“It could’ve been worse. I might never have found ye, and ye’d have been stuck out in the wilds on yer own. After last night, I have a funny feeling that ye wouldnae have lasted too long.”
She screwed her nose at him, and then he took her by the arm.
“Let’s go.”
The men with them moved further into the village, while the laird, Elsie and Alisdair headed towards the chapel. As reluctant as she was, she really had little choice but to go with them. Once inside the small stone building, Laird Mackay went in search of the priest, leaving Elsie with Alisdair.
“Ye ken,” Alisdair began, “Keane isnae a bad man.”
“Ye could’ve fooled me,” Elsie retorted. “What kind of man is he then, tae steal me away from me own wedding and now, force me tae marry him?”
Alisdair didn’t seem to have an answer for that, and instead he shrugged. “He’s far from perfect, but he’s fair, and he’ll nae harm a hair on yer head.”
“Aye, naeahair,” she countered sarcastically. “He’ll just kill me, and harm them all.”
Alisdair shook his head. “He was never going tae kill ye. He doesnae have it in him tae hurt an innocent lass.” He then heaved a sigh. “I wish ye’d have kent the man I grew up with, the one I’ve been friends with fer years. But he’s changed now, and he’s…” Alisdair trailed off, clearly trying to choose his words. “He’s nae the attentive man he was. Let’s put it that way.”
“Well, there’s a revelation I couldnae have worked out fer mesel’,” she replied, the sarcasm still heavy in her tone. “Why are ye tellin’ me this?”
“Because every person deserves tae ken a little something about the one they’ll marry.”
I ken enough already!
While the two fell silent and watched Keane converse with the priest from a distance, Elsie was reminded of her father. He too, was a cruel man. His unkindness toward her had never beenprovoked, nor had she given him reason to be so callous, apart from the fact that she was a daughter and not a son. It appeared she would now spend her life with yet another forbidding fiend.
From one dreadful existence tae another.
At least she was used to it.
Keane and the priest seemed to have finished their conversation and walked toward them.
“He will marry us,” Keane said, feigning a ridiculous excitement. “Isnae that wonderful, me love?”
“Aye,” Elsie replied flatly. “Fantastic.”
The priest flicked her a worried glance, but Keane grabbed her by the hand, squeezing it slightly, giving her a wordless warning.
“Och, she’s joking,” Keane said, forcing a laugh, a threatening laugh that almost made Elsie shiver. He then looked at her pointedly. “Are ye nae, darling?”
“Aye,” Elsie said, pinning on a smile as fake as his. “O’ course, I am.”
The priest still did not look convinced, but led them to the front of the chapel at any rate, and while Alisdair stood as their witness, the old cleric began the proceedings.
Elsie listened to him with growing anxiety, for now, everything felt very real. Once she agreed to this, she would truly be Laird Mackay’s wife. The priest turned to her, and when it came to the vows, she suddenly wanted to run, scream, yell at the top of her voice that there was no way she wanted to marry this man. And thus, not answering him when he asked for her agreement, Elsie watched as the priest frowned.
Turning his gaze to Keane, he said, “Is the bride willing?”
“She is,” Keane said.
Elsie suddenly jumped at the pain in her arm, and realizing that Keane was pinching her, she quickly breathed. “I am. I… I dae.”
