Page 68 of Heather and the Highlander
“If you’re so hellbent on acting like you’d prefer a nunnery, then why did you agree to marry me at all?” he asked, unfairly.
“Because I hadno choice! I was running away from my home. I had no money with me and no way to get money. If you hadn’t come by, I would probably have slept outside, or had tobegfor a room…assuming I survived whatever assault those ruffians planned for me. But you did come by. And you did propose. So I accepted, because it was mad and you seemed sincere, and I had no other options.”
She flung the ring at the floor, where it rolled to Niall’s feet.
“I should have taken you to a nunnery and dropped you at the door,” he said, stooping to pick it up. “At least then you wouldn’t be here driving me mad!”
“You seem sane enough to me, coldly calculating each step in your stupid seduction so you can get all my money at last.”
“Did that feel cold?” he growled.
“It does now that I know why you did it,” she said, slicing into his soul. “Get out.”
“This is my home.”
“But it’s my room. So kindly get the hell out of it.”
Niall strode to the connecting door and slammed it shut, the bang of heavy oak reverberating through the whole level.
Behind him, he heard the key scrape in the lock as Heather sealed herself off once more.
Back to this,he told himself. Well, at least he’d know where she was.
* * * *
For her part, Heather fumed for a good long while, too furious to think beyond the next few minutes. How could he do that? How could he just stroll into her room, make her melt with need, and then just casually note that he was doing it for her money?
She glanced at her finger where the ring had been. She’d only worn it for a few weeks, but the spot felt bare and chilled now. She wondered how much he’d get for the ring when he sold it, and if it would be worth giving up the connection to his mother.
Ugh.It wasn’t her concern. She was done with Niall MacNair. She was done being the prize. Heather Hayes was meant to be on her own, and tonight was the final, devastating reminder of what could happen when she gave up her own dreams for the sake of someone else’s.
She pulled out a sturdy bag that was stored in the chest at the foot of the bed. Quickly and quietly she packed the few items she could. One gown to change into, a shift, extra stockings and some other essentials. She folded in the banknotes, and shoved the whole bag under the bed until she was ready to use it.
Heather’s plan was simple. Act normally until no one was watching, and then leave Carregness forever. It shouldn’t be difficult. She knew the stable boys by now, she knew which horses wouldn’t be missed, she knew several paths between the castle and the town. By the time Niall realized she was truly gone, it would be too late.
With her goal in mind, Heather went down to the great hall, and when she spied Susan clearing the tables from the late supper, she asked the maid to bring some bread and cheese to her room.
“No hurry,” Heather added airily, as if she didn’t really care if she got it or not. “Just in case I find myself hungry later this evening. Oh, and perhaps a little shortbread, if there is any. You make it so well.”
Susan beamed, and promised a tray would be brought up.
Heather thanked her. In fact, she had no appetite at all. Her stomach was knotted rope after her encounter with Niall. She might never eat again. She intended to pack the food in her bag for the journey tomorrow.
At that moment, she saw Niall enter the great hall at the other end. He noticed her and checked his progress. Heather gave him a frosty look before walking out, her back stiff. She had nothing to say to him. Nevertheless, she could feel his gaze on her, and then realized that she wore the plaid shawl around her shoulders.
Damn it. The very first step in ridding herself of the MacNair influence should be to toss the stupid tartan out the window. But itwasvery warm.
“Lord help me,” she muttered as she stalked down the passage and up the staircase. “My nightmares will be in plaid.”
Chapter 19
Niall couldn’t sleep that night. He couldn’t even lie down, he was too on edge. So he saddled his horse and rode into the village. It occurred to him that for the price of a few coins, he could find a woman to take the edge off. A straightforward, uncomplicated transaction.
But the moment he thought of that, he knew it wouldn’t work. Not for more than a half-hour. He didn’t just need a physical release. He needed this whole mess to be done with. And spending the night with a prostitute would change precisely nothing about his situation. Or the fact that the only woman he really wanted was Heather. The one woman he couldn’t have.
He kept riding—a stupid, foolhardy thing to do in the nighttime, but then, he was clearly a stupid, foolhardy man. There was a larger town several miles further on, closer to the main roads and therefore a hub of commerce. And where there was commerce, there were lenders.
He knew of a few names, though he’d hoped to never have to visit any more lenders in his life. When he arrived, the business of the first man was locked up tight and totally dark. Niall didn’t know where the man’s home was, so he went to the next name on his list.
