Page 37 of Beguiled By the Highlander
“Hugh?”
“Aye.” Hugh sounded vastly relieved, and Isolde gripped her fingers together as her stomach churned with sudden nerves. Njord did know this man. What else could he recall of his life? Nothing?
Everything?
“Christ.” Njord sucked in a ragged breath. “The storm. Someone hit me on the head, Hugh, and tossed me overboard. It was no accident.”
Someone had tried tokillhim? She stared at him in horror. There had been many things she’d wondered about him, but it had never occurred to her he’d ended up in the sea because someone had tried to murder him.
Hugh’s voice dropped. “We’ll find the man responsible.” Then he appeared to notice her and bowed his head. “Forgive me, my lady. My actions are unpardonable, but I’m so relieved to discover my cousin is alive and well.”
Njord gave Hugh—his cousin—a friendly and obviously familiar punch on his arm. His grin was entirely inappropriate, considering he’d just discovered someone had tried to kill him, and another ripple of unease snaked along her spine.
What am I missing?
Then he turned to her. “Lady Isolde, allow me to introduce ye to my cousin, Hugh Campbell.”
Hugh bowed, but she scarcely heard his formal response. A loud buzzing filled her head, and only one word penetrated.
Campbell.
Njord’s cousin was a Campbell.
God’s bones, William.That was what Hugh had said when he caught sight of Njord, and the churning in her stomach turned nauseous.
William Campbell.
Of Argyll?
“Aye,” he responded to whatever Hugh had said. “Lady Isolde of Sgur Castle, the lady who saved my life. And my intended bride.”
No.No. This could not be happening. Her noble Njord could not have deceived her so. Yet he stood beside her, a satisfied grin on his face, as he claimed her for his bride in front of the entire hall.
When he attempted to take her hand, her wits returned, and she hastily stepped back, out of reach. He frowned, as if he didn’t understand, and a great vise squeezed inside her chest, making it all but impossible to drag air into her starved lungs.
She’d always believed Clan Campbell would stoop to any depths to secure what they coveted. The history of their isles,and how Campbells of the past had pledged allegiance to the Crown, told that story plain enough.
But to feign memory loss, to invoke her sympathy and lead her on a dance of deception... ah, God. She could scarcely fathom it.
“Isolde?” He sounded so concerned. Didn’t he realize his masquerade had cracked open, and now she could see him for what he truly was? Nothing more than a liar. “Are ye well?”
All eyes were upon her. If only the floor would open so she could disappear and not have to face this utter humiliation. But she was the eldest granddaughter of Sgur Castle, and the honor of her foremothers rested upon her shoulders.
She summoned up the frostiest glare she could muster, and despite his great height did her best to look down her nose at him. He would never discover just how deeply his pretense had shattered her.
“Quite well.” Thank God her voice didn’t quiver with the turmoil shredding her breast. “Alas, it’s no comfort to discover the Campbells are as lacking in honor as I always feared.”
With that, she turned on her heel and left the hall before she disgraced herself for all time by allowing a tear to escape.
Chapter Twelve
William stared afterIsolde as she regally stalked from the hall, her scathing words ringing in his ears. Aye, he knew she despised the name Campbell. But that was when she’d been betrothed to a faceless man. Everything was different now that they both knew the truth.
“William.”
“What?” He didn’t turn to his cousin, although God knew how relieved he was to see him. The insidious sense of being cast adrift in an incomprehensible sea no longer haunted him like a shadowy specter. When he’d recognized Hugh as his kin, and recalled who he was and all that entailed, the revelation had streaked through him like lightning, incinerating all the doubts he’d harbored.
His heritage was worthy of seeking Isolde’s hand.
