Page 6 of Bound to a Scot
“’Tis all right. I was married once too,” he replied.
Horror dawned on her and Emmeline shook her head. “I’m sorry. I have tae go.”
“Dinnae go. Nae yet. We’re only gettin’ started.”
Her eyes welling with tears, Emmeline turned and fled the common room, pounding up the stairs and dashing into her own room. She closed the door and flopped down on her bed.
“What have I done?” she cried into the mattress. “What in God’s name have I done?”
CHAPTER FOUR
“Laird MacLachlan, welcome tae Castle Macfie.”
“Thank ye fer havin’ me, Laird Macfie.”
Maddox climbed off his horse and handed the reins to a stableboy who led his mount to the stables on the far side of the yard. He turned to Laird Macfie, sizing him up as they gripped each other’s forearms in the warrior’s shake. The man’s dark hair fell to his shoulders and his deep blue eyes were hard and probing. He wasn’t a man who missed much. The grin on the man’s thin, bloodless lips looked stiff and unnatural, telling Maddox he wasn’t a man who smiled often.
“Thank ye fer makin’ the journey tae Colonsay,” Macfie went on. “Come in. Let’s get ye out of the cold. We’ll get some food and wine in ye and we’ll talk.”
“That sounds lovely. I appreciate yer hospitality,” Maddox replied.
“Seems we’ve got much tae celebrate taegather, ye and me.”
Maddox said nothing but gave the Laird a nod as they turned and walked into the castle together. A servant appeared to take his damp cloak from him. Macfie led him down a long corridor and into the main receiving hall. It was brightly lit and warm and as they made their way to the long table, servants were laying out a feast. Far more than seemed necessary for just the two of them. Nonetheless, Maddox surveyed the spread and inhaled the rich, delicious aromas and felt his stomach grumble.
“Sit, sit,” Macfie said. “Let’s drink and dine.”
He offered Macfie a smile as he sat down at the table. A serving girl poured them both a cup of mulled wine and they toasted each other before tucking into their meal. Maddox ate ravenously, dipping his bread and roast chicken and mutton into the thick, rich gravy.
“I trust the trip up from town wasnae tae bad?” Macfie asked.
“’Twas long and cold, but fine.”
Despite the sky being gray and heavy, Maddox had gotten on the road at first light that morning. A fine drizzle continued to fall upon the land, but the storm had broken, and he wanted to get his meeting with Laird Macfie over with as soon as possible. He still wasn’t sure how he was going to talk the man out of sealing the pact through marriage, but he was determined to find a way. Marriage was not what he wanted. The dark-haired woman he’dkissed in the common room the night before had further proved that to him.
Maddox had made the entire journey from the small port town to Castle Macfie regretting the fact that he’d failed to get the name of the woman he’d kissed. He hadn’t been able to get her out of his mind the entire ride. It wasn’t just the kiss or feeling her soft, warm body. There was just something about her that stirred something deep within him. Something primal. Something Maddox had never felt before. It left him confused but also intrigued.
As they finished up their meal, the servants came and cleared the table. Maddox was stuffed, his hunger sated. He sat back and took a sip of his wine, dreading the conversation that was about to be had now that the meal was over. Laird Macfie sat forward.
“So?” he said. “Shall we get tae business then?’
“Aye. About that?—”
Macfie turned his head and called over his shoulder. “Bring her in.”
A door at the rear of the hall opened and a young girl walked in. With long dark hair that hung loose about her shoulders and the same azure-colored eyes as her father, the girl was young and petite. Her skin was fair, her cheeks flushed, and she would not meet Maddox’s gaze. He couldn’t blame her. Being paraded around like a show pony at auction had to be humiliating. The girl was pretty, perhaps even beautiful, but the thing that stoodout to him most was that she was, in fact, a girl. He would have been surprised if she’d seen fifteen summers yet.
“Laird MacLachlan, this is me daughter, Cecilia,” Macfie said. “Girl, come closer. Let Laird MacLachlan have a good look at ye.”
Her gaze remained on the floor and her cheeks turned a deeper shade of red, but she obeyed her father and stepped closer to the table. Her father made a circular motion with his finger.
“Turn around,” Macfie commanded. “Give the man a good look at what he’s buyin’.”
Although Maddox was no stranger to political arrangements and alliances made through marriage, the very notion of buying and selling people for personal gain, as Macfie had so callously referred to it, turned his stomach. He wasn’t the most cultured or genteel man in the world, but he certainly had more decorum than to say something so foul to his own daughter.
“Cecilia, why dinnae ye go and sit next tae Laird MacLachlan?—”
“’Tis all right,” Maddox cut him off. “I wonder if we might have a word in private?”
