Page 15 of Ruining a Highland Healer
Before he could respond, she shook herself free of the thought and shifted the mood. "Well... it certainly daesnae look like ye’re about tae murder me."
Torrin let out an exasperated sigh as he led her down the corridor. "Why would I murder ye? Why would I murder yehere? I could have simply let ye die in the woods."
This quickly proved the wrong thing to say.
"Och aye, leave the defenseless lass in the woods tae die!" Valora said and Torrin was quick to turn around and shush her. Though he doubted anyone could hear them, he didn’t want to take any risks. "Dinnae shush me! First ye tie me with that cord, now ye’re takin’ me… who kens where ye’re takin’ me!"
"I’m takin’ ye tae me chambers," said Torrin, and that, too, was the wrong thing to say.
Valora stopped walking, something that Torrin only noticed because he couldn’t hear her footsteps anymore. After a few moments, he stopped too, and he tried to look at her expectantly, gesturing in front of him.
"Walk."
"I’m nae goin’ tae yer chambers!" Valora hissed. "Ye may think ye have some claim on me, but we’re nae even wedded yet! I willnae allow ye tae bed me."
Torrin tried to stave off a headache, pinching the bridge of his nose. "I have nae intention tae bed ye. I only wish tae speak with ye."
Valora didn’t seem entirely convinced. In the dim light of the torches, she gave him a doubtful look, her blue eyes narrowing as she looked at him like she was trying to peer right into his mind.
"I promise I willnae touch ye," he said. "I only wish tae talk."
Valora didn’t seem entirely convinced, but she reluctantly began to follow him once more, perhaps realizing that she couldn’t simply stay in the middle of that corridor forever. A few moments later, Torrin opened the secret door at the other end of the passage, revealing his chambers—a large but sparselydecorated room, one of its walls overtaken completely by bookcases sagging with the weight of the books on them and the other hosting a grand fireplace, where a fire already burned bright.
He was thankful for it. Riding all that distance without a cloak had left him chilled to the bone, and now he could finally sit by the flames, absorbing their warmth.
"Sit," he told Valora as he dragged two chairs near the hearth.
She looked around at her surroundings for a moment, before she joined Torrin by the fire. She placed her hands on her lap, lacing their fingers together and drawing her bottom lip between her teeth, exuding a nervous energy that in turn made Torrin nervous.
He had to tell her the truth; he doubted that she or any of the other women knew the true nature of the ball they had attended.
"I had nay intention of claimin’ ye or anyone else taenight," he said. "That wasnae why I was there, at the ball."
Valora gazed at him curiously, almost suspiciously, but she didn’t speak.
"I was there fer Laird Keith," Torrin continued. "Our clans have been enemies fer a long time an’ I thought the ball would be a good opportunity tae find out more about him, so I secured an invitation."
"So why am I here?" Valora asked. "Why did ye ask fer me hand?"
"Because I saw the way Laird Keith was treatin’ ye," Torrin said. "An’ I ken the kind o’ man he is. Ye would have suffered a lifetime by his side."
It was the truth, plain and simple, and though he didn’t know if Valora believed him, he could at least tell she wasn’t as suspicious of him now, her expression softening ever so slightly. That was the easy part of what he needed to tell her; now he would have to admit the whole truth to her, no matter how much it would hurt her.
"He would have done anythin’ tae have yer hand, Miss MacNeacail," Torrin continued, hoping that he could make her understand. "Ye see, yer faither may nae be as powerful as he is, but he has a powerful fleet. He has men who ken the sea. An’ what Laird Keith wants more than anythin’, it’s power an’ someone he can use as his broodmare."
Valora could hardly stand to hear what Torrin was telling her. She had always known that she would be used as a pawn, for financial and political gain, but to hear it put so plainly, so crudely, was a whole different story. She swallowed hard, trying to keep the tears from falling from her eyes. She refused to look weak—she refused to give anyone anything that they could use against her now that she didn’t know who to trust.
Not that she knew before—but now, with so many new players on the chessboard, she could only imagine that things would get even harder for her, and she would have to be careful of deceit and betrayal from all sides.
Tae be traded like this, in one single night, nay courtship, nay anythin’ that one may deem proper.
Was it truly so different, after all, from all the other women who had been traded for such things? None of them had been traded off like this, but most noble women she knew had married for financial and political gain rather than love. In the end, any such marriage was a trade in which the woman was nothing more than a pawn.
Her heart shattered in her chest into a million pieces, but she would gather them once more, just as she had done in the past. Now, all that remained was trying to figure out what to do after this, how to live the rest of her life.
Would it be there, with Torrin? Did she have any hope of seeing her sister again?
Did she have any hope of escape?
