Page 5 of The Highlander's Auctioned Virgin
CHAPTER 2
“Ach! That hurts,”Elinor yelped as Jenny stuck a needle into her bodice.
“I apologize, M’Lady,” the maid said quickly.
Elinor nodded and turned back to the mirror.
Her hair was always tied into a knot behind her head, but for today, she would let it hang down.
The day was too important for her to let anything go amiss. She needed to not just find aman; she needed to findtheman. The man who would pass every challenge she had laid down.
“How many lairds do ye think are out there?” she asked, standing still so Jenny could further tighten her corset.
“I asked Meredith, the cook, to count their heads when I went out to get some bathing oils. She said they were up to thirty.”
Elinor nodded.
Thirty men. Here for one thing and one thing only. Her.
While she was not certain any of the men would be able to pass the tests she had set for them, a part of her was confident she was going to enjoy this more than she could admit. The notion of thirty men jumping through hoops just for her hand was quite entertaining.
“Where is Katherine?” she asked briskly.
“She went out to get some supplies from the market, M’Lady. She asked me to give ye her best and to tell ye that she will make her way back soon to bid ye farewell.”
Elinor nodded, staring at her reflection in the mirror. It had been two weeks since she last had that discussion about the auction with the councilmen, and ever since, she had been planning and preparing for it.
Now, it was here. There was nothing to plan and prepare for anymore. Now, she had to face it head-on.
“M’Lady, are ye certain ye daenae want me to do anything with yer hair? I can tie it and ”
“Nay.” Her response was sharp and immediate. It was important to her that her hair was let down.
“If ye say so, M’Lady.” Jenny stepped back from her. “I believe ye’re good to go.”
Ciaran was certain that the surprised expression on his face after he saw the numerous horses outside the castle could not be explained, no matter how hard he tried. He was well aware of this event, but part of him didn’t think it was as popular as it apparently was.
After counting up to twenty-seven horses, he stopped and climbed down from his mount, then led it to one of the available posts near the castle entrance.
This was incredibly important, not just to him but also to his clan. It was a way for him to prove himself and show that he could not just survive on his own butthriveas well. The number of competitors might be a little scary at first, but he knew deep down that he had something they didn’t. Determination.
As he tied his horse to the post, the cold afternoon air playfully caressing his face, a voice from the distance called out, sharp and jolting, “Ye cannae tie yer horse there. ‘Tis reserved.”
He froze halfway and turned in the direction the voice had come from. A young, dark-haired man who couldn’t be more than twenty-five years old approached him.
“It was an empty spot,” Ciaran explained.
“That’s why it’s reserved. Did ye nae hear anything I just said?” The dark-haired man stopped before him, his hand tight around the hilt of his sword. “I believe ye– ” He broke off.
Ciaran cocked his head and gave him a questioning look.
It was as if the man was suddenly seeing an entirely different person.
“By God, ‘tis ye.”
That was more like it. The expression Ciaran usually got from people. It never got old.
“Ye ken who I am?” he asked, his voice low.
