Page 63 of The Highlander's Auctioned Wife
“I mean that…” Anna trailed off, thinking back to their first encounters, trying to pinpoint what it was about him that had encouraged her to choose him.
“He was the best prospect,” she continued, swinging her leg back and forth, remembering the bog and the loch and the woods, and that first thrill of his kiss. “I’ll never be under any illusion that he wasn’t there for the same reason as the other Lairds—for heirs and someone to produce ‘em—but at least yer cousin…” She lowered her voice, whispering uncertainly. “He listens to me. I… I feel drawn to him, I suppose. I’ve never felt like that before. Sometimes, though, I forget how I ended up here.”
Her mind grew foggy, frustration slithering through her as she strove to recall what had pushed her to ride away with Gordon, what had prompted her to make such a hasty decision.
He said he wanted a wife to stand at his side—nae a trophy or a broodmare, but as close to an equal as possible.
The memory cut through the fog, dissipating her frustration.Of coursethat was why. And since she had been at Castle Lyall, Gordon had given her even more reasons to stay, and even morereasons to believe that her “ hasty” choicehadbeen the best one, after all.
“Do ye think yewillmarry him, then?” Sophia prodded.
Anna let her gaze wander to the horizon, imagining the same view from the sanctuary of the cove. “Aye, I reckon so.” She paused. “We could even arrange the weddin’ sooner. Honestly, I daenae see any reason why I’d leave now.”
Nae when I feel like I’ve finally found a place where I might belong, among people who would make the loveliest family.Castle MacTorrach had started to feel different after Moira went off to marry her husband, but it had never been the same after Elinor was snatched. The night she was grabbed was the same night it ceased to feel like home. After all, “ home” was a place where a person was supposed to feel safe, and Anna never had again, after that night.
“Och, Anna!” Sophia threw her arms around Anna, hugging her tightly, almost knockingbothof them off their perch. “Ye’ve nay idea how happy that makes me! How happy Gordon will be, to have ye as his wife! Och, I kenned it the moment I saw ye, that ye were about to change everythin’ for the better!”
Anna hugged Sophia back, smiling over her shoulder. “Nothin’ is set in stone, Sophia. Dinnae get too excited; yer cousin hasnae even asked me yet.”
“That’s just a formality,” Sophia insisted, holding Anna tighter. “It’ll happen; I ken it. And ye’ll be the most beautiful bridethere’s ever been, and the finest Lady this castle has had since… well, the one before. And ye’ll have a herd of bairns, and I’ll be the best auntie to each and every one—I ken I’ll nae be an auntie by blood, but by heart, I’ll adore the bones of ‘em all!”
In that moment, Anna was grateful that she was looking over Sophia’s shoulder, so the younger woman couldn’t see the trepidation that crossed Anna’s face.
With the five weeks of the betrothal laid out and agreed upon, it had been easy to forget that this was real, and had a very real, very matrimonial ending if she chose to stay with Gordon, with an expectation of duty and children and everything that came with being someone’s wife.
Am I truly ready for that?
Reality had just hit, and it struck hard.
Gordon hadn’t intended to eavesdrop on the private conversation between his betrothed and his cousin, but the moment Anna had mentioned the “ trick dress” and the writing on her skin, he hadn’t been able to ignore it.
He hadneededto know what she had etched on that smooth, pale skin, just as heneededto feel that soft skin again, to see every part of her, to map the exquisite terrain of her body andcall it his. Something conquered, something won, without any violence at all; it would be the greatest victory of his life.
But once he’d heard, and smiled at the revelation, he hadn’t walked away from his “ guard post” to give the women privacy. He’d stayed behind the curve of an old, ruined grain store, remaining concealed, too entranced by the sound of Anna’s voice to consider leaving. Yet, there were parts he hadn’t been able to catch, her voice quietening here and there beyond the reach of his hearing.
“He dinnaeleave me with much of a choice… He was the best prospect. I’ll never be under any illusion that he wasn’t there for the same reason as the other Lairds—for heirs and someone to produce ‘em…”
He’d heard those parts well enough, just as he’d heard her say she saw no reason she would leave, and perhaps the wedding could take place sooner. It should have delighted him, putting an end to the uncertainty of his clan’s future.
Instead, it left him cold. Even now, after spending more time together, getting to know one another intimately—in more ways than one—she still thought he was the same as all those other lairds. What was worse, he wasn’t sure she was wrong.
Howcouldhe be any better than those other lairds, when he hadn’t even told Anna the reason she was there? The reason he had decided to marry, all of a sudden?
I’ll tell her,he vowed silently, slinking away from his hiding place.After we’re wed, once she’s me true responsibility by law, once she’s truly mine, I’ll tell her everythin’.
And as she’d just said, perhaps the weddingshouldbe sooner than planned. There was no further reason to delay.
CHAPTER 29
Testingher memory of the map she had drawn, Anna whistled cheerfully to herself as she made her way downstairs to the Sea Hall for breakfast.
She’d slept surprisingly well, only a couple of nightmares threatening to wake her, though they’d passed into pleasant dreams of peaceful coves and sun-drenched picnics and the remembrance of Gordon’s lips on her skin swiftly enough, keeping her in the quiet realm of sleep.
Mostly, however, she had Jane to thank for that calm night of slumber.
Leaving out a few choice details, she’d spoken to Jane the previous night about the unknown intruder by the willow tree, certain that the maid would be able to take the edge off any lingering fear. Sure enough, Jane had.
“Sounds to me like a poor soul got the fright of their life,”the maid had said, tutting.“Probably just pickin’ flowers or herbs, maybe goin’ to the stream to fish for supper, and what do they get from that betrothed of yers—a rock to the head! Honestly, I’m nae surprised they hid in the grass, lest they get another rock to the skull or worse.”
