Page 91 of The Highlander's Virgin Widow
“Me advice?” Shona murmured, her voice drowned out by the bagpipes but loud enough for Keira to hear. “Dinnae give him all of yer heart at once. Evander is a good man, just like his braither was. I’m sure he can be very charming. But that means ye have to be careful. Once ye give him yer heart, there is nay way to get it back.”
Keira swallowed, ignoring the several pairs of eyes on both sides as she continued to walk. Shona’s words not only rang in her ears, but they also sank into her heart as well. Every single word.
“I would ken all about giving yer heart to a man like him. I am still paying for it and trying to get it back.”
She finally stopped by the altar, and the hair on the back of her neck stood on end.
“Ye look lovely, Keira,” Evander whispered to her, his voice soft and clear as the priest began the wedding rites.
Before she could respond, he squeezed his eyes shut, wincing.
“Are ye all right?”
“Aye. Just some bad tasting dram I had earlier,” he responded when he opened his eyes and looked at her again.
Keira nodded.
Everything seemed to pass by in a blur. The wedding itself, the prayers and vows, the handfasting ceremony, the kiss. She felt as if she had floated out of her body and continued to witness the entire thing from above, unable to gain one iota of control over her body and the helpless marriage she had been forced into.
Her absentmindedness lasted most of the day as she responded to felicitations with almost little to no joy in her spirit.
“Aye, quite a lucky woman,” one of the women who had attended the cèilidh—evidently from Clan Kincaid—whispered to her. “We have always thought that when it was time for Evander to get married, he would pick one of us.”
Keira frowned. “One of ye?”
“Och, ye ken. Lasses from the clan, me included, have been trying to get him to notice us for a long time. We have prepared ourselves for years, thinking one of these days, he’ll pick one of us.”
Keira swallowed. “Oh.”
“But then ye did it,” the woman continued, her smile growing more eerie by the second. “Ye bagged Laird Kincaid without even trying. Ye must tell me yer secret one of these days.”
Keira laughed. “I will. Some other time.”
The woman gave her another bright smile before walking away.
The laughter on her tongue instantly vanished. So, not only was she forced into another loveless marriage, but now she had jealous clanswomen to worry about?
There was only so much of this she could take, and it was beginning to get the better of her. She reached for Lesley the next time she found her.
“I shall take me leave,” she announced, her voice still devoid of joy.
“Yer leave? ‘Tis yer wedding. The people came here to see ye.”
“They have seen enough,” Keira muttered. “I am tired, Lesley, and I cannae do this anymore. I want to try and get some sleep.”
Lesley nodded and gently patted her friend’s back.
Keira turned on her heel and walked away, making her way to her room, plastering a smile on her face as she accepted even more gratulations from the clansfolk who walked past her.
Then, she caught Hudson staring at her from the periphery, a rather tense look on his face. She walked quicker and caught up to him.
“This isnae fair,” he started.
“Life isnae fair,” she responded.
They began to walk together toward the castle doors.
“I cannae bear to see ye go through this again, M’Lady.”
