Page 92 of A Sinful Night with a Scot
Rushing through the corridors, Keane took hold of her hand. “Are ye really…” he could hardly say the words, and instead, nodded down at her stomach.
But Elsie shook her head. “Nay, me love. I had tae say it tae slow him from trying tae get me tae annul our marriage.”
A strange feeling crashed through him, and as they continued on, it surprised him greatly to discover that it was disappointment.
They rounded a corner and headed into another corridor hurriedly. Keane was up ahead, with Elsie by his side, and Alisdair and Owen at the rear, ready to battle any who came after them. But the corridors were now empty. Anyone who wasn’t outside fighting was likely holed up in some hiding place until it was all over. Just like it had been when Gunn’s men had attacked their own home.
They were nearly there. Just a little way to go, and they would reach the side entrance where they had entered. As Keane flew around the next corner, he suddenly came to a screeching halt at the sight before him. Elsie did not react as quickly, and Keane found himself pulling her back towards him.
“Well, well,” Laird Munro said, his snarling lips curling as he held his sword ahead of him. “Fancy meeting ye here.”
Swiftly, Keane pushed Elsie behind him, leaving her in Owen and Alisdair’s capable hands. He then drew his own sword and faced Munro head on.
“Ye want tae lose another duel?” Keane growled.
“Nae this time,” he snarled back. “I underestimated ye the last time. But this time, I am fighting fer the survival o’ me clan.”
“Clearly, the survival o’ yer clan is far more important than yer daughter, fer it was she ye were fighting fer on the last occasion,” Keane spat, the hatred for this man laced throughout his tone.
Munro launched at Keane, but Keane was ready for him and defended his strike.
“Keane!” Elsie cried from behind him.
“Stay back, Elsie,” Keane bellowed, before launching with a strike of his own.
Munro defended well, but they had only just begun, and thus, Keane settled himself in for another difficult fight. This time, he wasn’t injured. This time, he was stronger and angrier than he had ever been before.
Clanging metal echoed around the corridor as their swords crashed against each other, over and over again. For a while Munro pushed forward, but Keane pushed back. He had humiliated this laird in battle before, and he was certain he could and would do it again. Laird Munro also knew that, which would likely be playing with his mind, no matter how hard he fought.
Munro lifted his sword above his head and brought a high strike down on Keane, but he struck the piercing blade away from him, spinning the laird to the side. Taking the opportunity, Keane ran into him, slamming him with his body while the laird was already off balance.
Munro toppled, stumbling over his own feet, and crashed into the wall, dropping his sword as he did so. Keane launched forward, and with the laird now on his knees, he brought his sword to his throat.
“This is all yer fault,” Keane spat as he panted for breath. “If ye had kept yer word, if ye had stayed away and told Gunn tae dae the same, Elsie would never have been taken. Me men would never have been injured and killed. There would have never been an attack in the first place.”
The blood drained from Roland’s face as he realized he had once more, lost the fight.
Lifting his hands in surrender, he barked, “I didnae want tae dae it. She forced me hand.”
He nodded at Elsie who stood with Owen at one side and Alisdair at the other. She was breathing heavily with worry, clearly terrified at what might happen.
Munro continued. “If she had just done what she was supposed tae dae…”
But it was the wrong answer, for his reply only angered Keane further, and he jutted the sword further into the man’s throat.
“She has a name,” Keane bellowed. “Say it. Say her name.”
“El… Elspeth,” Roland spluttered.
“Nay!” Keane barked. “The name she wants tae be called. The name ye have refused tae call her all her life.”
Roland looked from Keane to Elsie and back again, his brows furrowed in confusion. And in that very action, he showed how little he knew about his daughter. How little he cared about the only child he had.
“Elsie!” Keane bellowed again. “Her name is Elsie. Say it, damn ye.”
“Elsie,” Roland blurted.
Keane eyed him with a hatred that only matched how he felt for Laird Gunn. “Ye dinnae deserve tae be a faither. Elsie deserved so much better than ye. Now, I have tae decide whether I should rid ye from her life forever.”
