Page 47 of The Highlander's Auctioned Virgin
“If ye’re nae going to respond to me, maybe ye will respond to someone else.”
“Good heavens. Dinnae tell me that Thomas will also come here and tell me his opinion on me marriage with Laird MacTraigh.”
“Do ye think calling him that makes him less scary? And nay, ‘tis nae Thomas.”
Elinor frowned. They were the only two people who could talk to her and try to change her mind about anything. “Then who is it?”
Almost as if on cue, the door swung open, and in someone walked, their boots scuffing the wooden floorboards.
Elinor slowly turned around, her eyes widening. “Anna?!” she squealed.
“They arrived in the middle of the storm yesterday. I havenae had the time to tell ye yet.”
Elinor spun back, furrowing her brow at Katherine’s words. “They?”
“Aye. She came with yer braither, Jackson,” Katherine explained.
But Elinor didn’t listen, not anymore as Anna moved closer to her. Those words bounced off the top of her head.
Anna stopped before her, one hand resting on her slightly protruding belly and the other hanging by her side.
“Oh, Anna!” Elinor squealed again and threw her arms around her.
Anna wrapped her in a giant hug, and they both remained in that position for a long moment.
“Ye’re here. How in God’s name are ye here?!” Elinor asked, breathing in the familiar scent of Anna’s red hair.
“Gordon received yer letter as well. He showed it to me, and I thought I must make an appearance as soon as possible. ‘Tis nae every day ye get to see who yer sister will choose among a group of men.”
“Oh…” Elinor trailed off, her voice faint.
“Now, what is this I’m hearing about ye already deciding yer fate?”
Anna headed to one of the available stools by the window, where she could sit properly, and Elinor and Katherine followed her. She gingerly lowered herself onto the stool, her hand still resting on her belly.
Elinor’s gaze flicked to the belly and back to her sister’s face. A part of her wondered if the baby had already started to kick, but she didn’t ask. From the way Anna glared at her like she had committed an egregious crime, there were more issues at stake.
“I heard it, but I didnae want to believe it. Nae until I heard it from yer lips.”
Elinor rolled her eyes and looked from Katherine, who stood a few feet behind her, and back to Anna. “Aye, the rumors are true. I’m marrying Laird MacTraigh.”
“Ye think the name is supposed to make him sound less scary?” Anna scoffed, her brow furrowed.
“That is exactly what I said!” Katherine cried.
“He’s a killer, Elinor. He is usually sent to kill people, and nae just during war.”
“Why does everyone keep reminding me of that fact? I ken it.”
“Do ye? Because if ye did, ye wouldnae have agreed to marry him,” Anna retorted, her voice rising.
Elinor rolled her eyes again, ignoring the way her sister’s red hair caught the light filtering through the window.
“Ye can still get out of this,” Anna continued, ignoring the fact that her sister was growing more distressed with each passing second. “Ye only announced recently that ye have chosen to marry him; ye can announce that the decision was a mistake and ye will do nay such thing.”
“We are to be man and wife soon, Anna. I cannae go back on me promise.”
“What damned promise?!” Anna huffed.
