Page 13 of Saved By the Cruel Highlander
“Dinnae let him hear ye call him a beastie,” Holly said with a smile. “He thinks he’s a prince and we are all his subjects.”
She laughed, but Eliza still looked unsure.
Eliza turned and made for the door, but Holly stopped her.
“Can I ask ye a question, Eliza?”
The maid turned back and nodded, keeping one eye on Ollie.
“Why do the other servants—the ones we ran into on the way here—seem so nervous?”
Eliza snorted and waved a dismissive hand. “They ken who ye are, Me Lady. Word spreads fast in the castle.”
Holly’s blood froze, and she found it hard to catch her breath for a moment.
They knew who she was? As in Felix’s betrothed? Or as in the girl who’d been kidnapped and almost sold to a brothel?
“Who I am?” she managed to ask.
Eliza nodded. “Aye. Ye’re goin’ to be the Laird’s wife, the future Lady of Clan McAllister.”
Holly slowly let out a relieved breath. She didn’t want her past to follow her. And she didn’t want it known that she was already betrothed to another man. If word got out, it could destroy her reputation. But then what did she care about a silly reputation when this marriage meant saving her life? Plus, she would be a married woman soon, and her husband, the Laird, would not tolerate gossip about his wife. At least Holly hoped he wouldn’t.
“I can understand bein’ nervous about havin’ a new Lady, but they seemed a bit too concerned,” Holly said.
Eliza’s eyes were trained on Ollie, who walked around the chamber, rubbing his face against everything he could touch—his way of putting his scent out there and claiming this as his territory. She was so engrossed with the cat’s behavior that she spoke as if she were gossiping with other maids.
“But the Laird is a monster, a beastly man, so everyone assumes that ye must be beastly, too.”
“What?” Holly asked with surprise. “Why would they think that? I have given them nay reason to think that I’m a… a monster.”
“But ye are willin’ to wed one,” Eliza said, still watching Ollie. “So, in their minds, it takes a monster to wed one.”
Holly’s mouth dropped open in shock. Her gasp was loud enough to tear Eliza’s gaze away from the cat.
Eliza’s green eyes widened as she realized just how blunt she’d been with her future lady.
“Forgive me, Me Lady,” she hurriedly said. “I shouldnae have said such a thing to ye.”
Holly agreed, but now she was too intrigued with how everyone thought her future husband was a monster, and she figured that Eliza, as blunt as she was, would tell her.
“Why does everyone think the Laird is a monster? Is it because of the scar on his face?”
Eliza’s eyes widened even more. “Have ye nae seen it, Me Lady? It almost splits his face down the side.”
“‘Tis but a scar,” Holly replied. “I have seen it, and I dinnae find it monstrous at all.”
Eliza frowned and shook her head slightly, as if not understanding how Holly did not find the scar atrocious.
“Aye, but surely ye’ve heard of his terrible actions in battle?” Eliza continued.
Holly shook her head. “Nay, I havenae. I ken almost nothin’ when it comes to Laird McAllister.”
A twinkle of delight shone in Eliza’s green eyes as she walked further into the chamber. She glanced around to make sure no one was close enough to hear her words, then explained in a dramatic whisper, “‘Tis said that the Laird was like an animal on the battlefield. He felt no pain, and every day he went to fight, he came back soaked in blood. Someoneelse’sblood.”
Holly’s eyebrows lowered. “But that is war. Ye cannae have battles without bloodshed.”
Eliza didn’t seem pleased that Holly was not as aghast as she’d hoped. She straightened with a slight scowl. “Aye, but ‘twas unnatural, they say, the way Laird McAllister took down so many men and took so many prisoners.”
