Page 72 of The Burden of a Scottish Chieftain
Dyna chuckled. “Meg can take care of herself. And besides, Lennox will find out as we will, and we’ll all be there to support her. And to stop the baron if he’s too persistent.”
“When are we leaving?” Logan asked.
“I’m leaving now,” Lennox said. “I’ll go back to gather my guards, then we’re headed to MacQuarie land.”
“I would leave soon and keep your eyes open. They’re likely to come by boat,” Logan said.
Tora ran over and asked, “When are you leaving, Mama?”
Dyna gave her daughter a puzzled look. “To go where, Tora?”
“To save Meg from the bad man. You have to.”
“Soon,” she replied, crossing her arms and staring at her daughter, who ran back to play with her toys.
Lennox said, “I’m on my way.” He sat for one moment to gather his thoughts, see if he had any other questions. He knew the value of being prepared.
Dyna said, “So, based on my daughter, I’m changing my advice. Go now, Lennox. We’ll follow.”
Tora hurried over and whispered in Lennox’s ear. “Mama is right. We’re all going.”
Chapter Forty-One
Meg
When Meg woke up, it was light out and her sister already had the fur pulled back on the window. She’d meant to get up for the supper meal, but she’d apparently slept the night through. Rubbing the sleep from her eyes, she set her legs on the side of the bed, again admiring the chamber that showed her sister’s touches, then got up to peer out the window.
Her chamber faced the sea. It was the loveliest view she’d ever seen. The sun shone bright across the water now dotted with fishing boats. The sparkle of the sun’s reflection across the waves danced and shimmered as though the faeries frolicked upon the water.
“It is quite a view. Do you not agree?”
Meg whirled around to see her sister strolling toward her with a tray of fruit and a fresh loaf of bread. “Tamsin, that smells wonderful. You are cooking?”
“I am, and I’m enjoying it. Alana helps me and we assist Thane’s cook, Agnes. She’s a lovely woman. But enough about me. I wish to hear all about you, dear sister. I brought a warm cup of vegetable broth for you. Please sit and chat with me. I can’t wait to hear about your adventures.”
Meg gave Tamsin a brief accounting of all that had happened since she’d escaped their father’s home—the kirk, finding the bairns, Lennox saving her, her illness, and the last trek across Morvern.
Tamsin said, “I’ve heard most of that from the others. Tell me about Da and the baron.”
Meg scowled, not wishing to think on it, but if she was to share it with anyone, it would be her sister. “Tamsin, he was disgusting. Old with gray hair and a protruding belly. He kissed me and I wished to vomit. All he spoke of with me was givinghim bairns. Lads. He only wanted lads and right away. Da never told me anything until the day before when I met the baron. He was to return for me the next day. I had no choice but to run away.”
“The baron paid Papa for you, did he not?”
“Aye. I know not how much. Did that happen with Raghnall? And what happened to him?”
Tamsin took her turn and explained everything that had occurred with her husband. Meg had no idea that poor Tamsin’s life had been so difficult. The beatings, the near-death experiences, the cruelty by her husband and his mother.
“And Thane saved you every time.”
“He did. With help from Clan Grantham. I’d probably be dead by now if not for Thane and Eli. I adore him.”
“And the marriage bed? Please explain it all to me. You know Mama told us naught.”
“How much do you know, Meg? I heard rumblings about you and Lennox MacVey.”
Her eyes misted, but she held in the tears. “We handfasted. And I think I love him, but I’m so confused. I don’t understand everything about the intimacy or what I would do as his wife. I feel like I’ve walked from one world into another that is nothing like the first.”
“You have. Things on the Isle of Mull are lovely compared to our lives with Da. I mean, with Mama we were happy because we were young, but Eli and Dyna took the time to explain to me how cruel the world can be when it comes to women. They don’t accept it, and I don’t either. Not anymore. But I had to learn to love myself first before I could let Thane in.
