Page 8 of The Defiance of a Scottish Heart
“Sheona Rankin, you’ll hold your tongue—”
“Keep your mouth closed until we are in your son’s solar, Dermot,” Lennox said to her father, his voice sharp with warning.
“Don’t tell me what to do, MacVey. This is my land now.”
“I’m telling you so you won’t embarrass your daughter further.”
The words hit like a physical blow.Further.As if she weren’t already humiliated enough.
Sloan grabbed their father’s reins. “Get your arse down, Da. And you’ll do what Lennox says until we’re inside. Close your mouth.”
They disappeared into the keep, still arguing.
Sheona shook her head, unable to speak past the tightness in her throat. She followed them inside on numb legs, her mind spinning.
Taskill. Marriage. Promise.
The words jumbled together, making no sense and perfect sense at the same time.
She reached Sloan’s solar just as her father tried to bar her from entering. His hand caught her shoulder. “Not you.”
“Oh, Sheona needs to be here, Dermot,” Lennox said firmly. “I insist.”
“MacVey, you sure are ornery. Is your new wife mad at you?”
Sheona slipped past the men while they argued and took a chair in the back corner. Sheona gripped the arms of the chair, her knuckles white, and waited for her world to finish crumbling. Eva appeared inside a moment later. Her friend must have followed her home.
The door closed. Sloan rounded on their father immediately. “What now, Da?”
“You know what. I told you that Douglas gave me his word a long time ago on that issue, and I’m not letting it go. Lennox will do what his sire promised me. It was his sire’s word, and we agreed on it.”
“I’m not willing to commit to a promise made by a dead man,” Lennox said coldly. “A promise that exists only in your mind, Dermot. Da said naught to me about this, so I’ll not be honoring it.”
Sheona wanted to scream. They kept dancing around it, speaking in circles, while she sat there with her heart in her throat.
“Lennox, you’ll not be expected to honor it.” Sloan’s voice carried the weight of exhaustion. “We’ll handle this.”
“Aye, you will, MacVey. If I have to drag him to the chapel, I’ll do it.”
“Da, he already rejected me.” The words exploded out of Sheona before she could stop them. “I know you are talking about me, but I should have a say in this.”
Her father spun around so fast it startled her. “You’ll sit down and be quiet. This is a discussion among chieftains, and your thoughts have no bearing on it.”
“I will not sit down!” Every muscle in her body trembled with rage. “This is my life you’re discussing! I have every right—”
Her father charged. Three chairs went flying as he barreled toward her, his arm raised, fury twisting his features into something unrecognizable.
Sheona’s back hit the wall. Her hands came up instinctively to protect her face.He’s going to hit me. My own father is going to—
Sloan and Lennox caught him before he reached her, wrestling him back. Her father struggled, his voice raw with anger. “Let go of me, Sloan. She’s got that slap coming. This is not her affair. Women do what they’re told.”
Sheona’s legs gave out. She slid down the wall, her hands still raised, her whole body shaking. This wasn’t her father. This was a stranger wearing his face. A man who’d been slowly disappearing since Mama died, leaving behind this angry, unpredictable shell.
“It is her affair, Dermot.” Lennox’s voice cut like ice. “Hers and mine. I’ll not force my brother to marry your daughter. He’s not interested. Get over it!”
The words landed like arrows, each one finding its mark.
He’s not interested.
