Page 22 of Bride of Fire
“Ye see?” he whispered to the clan. “I fear she’s not right in the head.”
“I’ll tell you who’s not right in the head,” she snapped. “You, Highlander, if you think you can lay claim tomycastle!”
Everyone gasped at that, including her cousins, as her words sank in.
In the long silence that followed, Morgan asked the obvious question. “What do ye mean,yourcastle?”
Hallidis rushed to intercede. “My cousin misspoke, m’laird. I fear she’s in her cups.”
“I’m not in my—” Jenefer blurted.
“The cold’s affected her mind,” added Feiyan, trying to help out.
“What?” Jenefer demanded.
“Aye,” Hallie said, “or the full moon.”
Feiyan nodded. “Aye, the full moon.”
But Morgan knew she was neither drunk nor mad. He held up his hand for silence and repeated his question to Jenefer in measured tones. “What do ye mean,yourcastle?”
Jenefer ignored her cousins’ attempts to silence her and drew herself up proudly. “Castle Creagor rightly belongs to me, and—”
“Jen!” Hallie said sharply.
“Bloody fool,” Feiyan muttered.
“Nay,” Morgan said, “let her finish.” This he wanted to hear.
She obliged him. “And I’ve come to claim it.”
Morgan was suddenly wide awake. “Is that so?”
“Aye,” she said.
He stroked his chin, wondering if shewasmad. How could she believe that possible? “By what right do ye claim this castle as yours?”
He saw an instant of hesitation in her eyes before she answered. “By the right of the king.”
Morgan narrowed his eyes. The wench was lying. Surely she knew the king had decreed that Creagor should go to Morgan Mor mac Giric. The documents so decreeing were on their way even now.
“Is that so?” he asked. “And if ye’re so certain o’ that, then why did ye feel the need to dress like a ghost to frighten me away?”
“A ghost?” Colban asked. “Is that what ye were supposed to be?”
“’Twasn’t my idea,” Jenefer declared. She added proudly, “If ’twere up to me, I’d have besieged the keep.”
Colban made the mistake of snickering then, which only fueled the blaze of her rage.
“Or declared war,” she announced, “and sent the lot of you scurrying back to the Highlands!”
“Are ye threatenin’ me?” Morgan asked, incredulous.
He could feel the tension in the hall as his clan waited for her answer.
Jenefer’s eyes took on a wicked gleam. “’Tisn’t a threat. ’tis a pro—”
“Nay!” Hallie interrupted. With icy calm, she decreed, “This is not the time or place for threats.”
