Page 16 of Saved By the Cruel Highlander
She clapped a hand over her mouth as soon as the word ‘monster’ left her lips. She had not been thinking when she’d uttered that word, the same one she had told Eliza she didn’t want to hear from anyone in the castle.
“I’m sorry,” she blurted. “I didnae?—”
“’Tis quite all right, lass,” he said with a fond smile. “‘Tis an apt description. Ye told me how others see Elias, but what about ye? Do ye find his personality acceptable?”
Holly wasn’t expecting that question, although she guessed she should have. This conversation was an interview. Fergus was gently interrogating her to find out if she was suitablefor his Laird. She didn’t mind and even respected the elder’s protectiveness.
“He can be a bit… ill-mannered,” she answered honestly.
Fergus burst into laughter. He laughed so hard that he started coughing, and Holly feared he would choke and die right there in her chamber. He managed to pull himself together after a minute, though, and she breathed a sigh of relief.
“Aye, Elias can definitely be ill-mannered at times. Most of the time, actually,” he added with a shake of his head. “But underneath all that gruffness, he is a good man and a good laird.”
“I’m sure he is a good laird,” she said.
A good laird who smears the battlefield with the blood of his enemies, from what I’ve heard. Can a man be a monster and a hero?
Fergus studied Holly for a moment as if deciphering her exact thoughts from the look in her eyes and the tightness of her mouth.
“What about the scar on his face?” he asked next. “Does it nae frighten ye?”
Holly shook her head. “Nay. He told me his braither gave it to him, so I?—”
“Eliastoldye about his braither?” Fergus blurted.
Holly frowned at his incredulous tone. “Just that his braither gave him the scar, nae how, but he added that he deserved it for nae bein’ prepared.”
Fergus furrowed his brow and pulled on his beard as he stared at her. He looked thoughtful, even a little intrigued. Holly felt like a mare on display. She squirmed slightly in her seat and covered it up by leaning down to pet Ollie. He was lying a bit further away than she had realized, and she nearly tipped out of her chair from stretching too far.
“Well,” Fergus said, as if he was making an announcement of some sort, “I’ve taken up enough of yer time, Miss Taylor. I will leave ye to get settled in.”
He struggled briefly but slowly got to his feet.
Holly rose as well and walked him to the door.
“‘Twas nice meetin’ ye, Fergus,” she said.
She had a feeling she had made her first friend at McAllister Castle.
“The pleasure was mine, lass. If ye have any problems with the staff, ye just come to me, and I’ll straighten them out.”
Holly thanked him, but she doubted she would do that. If she was going to be the Lady here, then she would have to deal with the staff herself.
Once Fergus had left and she’d closed the door behind him, she moved to the hearth and picked Ollie up from the floor. He meowed in displeasure at being woken up, but once she settled on the bed, he snuggled on her lap and went back to sleep.
Holly looked around her new bedchamber. She still couldn’t believe that she had the nerve to suggest marriage to Laird McAllister.
Sure, she’d been a bit panicked and desperate, and that explained her rash decision. Now, she wondered if she’d made the right one. Felix wanted to murder her to get her inheritance. She had to do something quickly before it was too late.
I’m just nae sure if I acted too hastily.Have I just made a mistake that could cost me dearly, perhaps even me life?
CHAPTER SIX
Elias stared at the parchment for the second time, his mind not absorbing the information. There was just too much going on to concentrate. Plus, his thoughts kept straying to the woman he was going to wed.
What made me accept her proposal so easily? Just minutes before she arrived, I was tellin’the elders how I refused to get wed.
Putting the fire poker back in its place beside the hearth, he left his study and went to her chamber.
