Page 43 of The Highlander's Auctioned Virgin
The walk for the next three minutes was silent and only punctuated by the sound of leaves rustling in the nearby trees.
“Ye think another laird had already been appointed, since ye didnae come home last night?” Ciaran asked, his eyes on the back of her head as he watched her dark brown hair drift gently in the morning wind.
Elinor smiled. “In that case, if it was any of those men, the clan is doomed.”
The first maid who saw them was a young girl feeding corn to the chickens. She dropped the corn bowl as her eyes widened in shock and hurried towards them.
“M’Lady?” she cried as she skidded to a halt before them. “M’Lady, ye’re alive! Ye’re here.”
“Oh well,” Elinor muttered under her breath.
Soon, other maids, along with Jenny, filed out of the castle and stared at them as if they had just dropped from the sky.
“We thought– ” Jenny started, her voice cracking. “We thought something terrible had happened.”
“Well,” Elinor said, “ye were wrong.”
“Oh, thank the Lord. Thank God ye’re safe.”
She could feel Ciaran’s eyes on her as the maids examined her for any injuries or bruises that needed tending. They couldn’t find any.
“Where are the other lairds?” she suddenly asked.
“They’re—They’re all in the Great Hall, M’Lady,” Jenny answered.
“All of them?”
Jenny nodded. “Aye, all of them. They returned at the first rumble of thunder.”
“Thank ye,” Elinor uttered.
The maids parted for her and Ciaran. She made her way to the castle, and he followed right behind her. The familiar coziness and warmth she had grown used to in the past few days suddenly filled her body.
“They like ye,” Ciaran muttered. “Yer maids. They like ye a lot, even though ye’re nae from here. Ye’re nae a member of this clan. At least nae fully.”
“What can I say? Their hatred for me former husband was too strong that we developed some kind of bond. A kinship.”
Ciaran laughed.
The murmurs of the lairds drifted to their ears as they drew closer to the Great Hall.
“Can ye believe it?” Elinor whispered, almost to herself. “They left at the first rumble of thunder. They didnae even wait for the storm to start before they all returned to the castle.”
“Like I said,” Ciaran muttered, “ye set this test for cowards and spineless men.”
Elinor did not answer, but she agreed. At least for now, she didn’t have to deal with them anymore.
A part of her wondered if she needed to have Thomas by her side for what was to come. She did not have to wonder for very long.
She stepped into the Great Hall, only to be enveloped by deafening noise. The smell of roasted turkey and ale permeated the air as the lairds chattered while they ate and drank, looks of utter satisfaction on their faces.
“Do ye need me to– ” Ciaran started, but Elinor raised her hand.
“I usually wait for the noise to die down,” she responded, her voice filled with determination.
Ciaran nodded and stepped aside.
Elinor stood by the entrance and waited. Then, as more eyes turned to her and Ciaran, the chatter died down.
