Page 29 of Beguiled By the Highlander
“Then we shall see ye shortly, Njord,” she said, as though finishing a conversation that had been interrupted, and loud enough for the lad to hear without straining his ears. “Good eve to ye.”
*
As Isolde andher sisters stood by the fire in the great hallafter supper, their grandmother came to her side. There was a familiar, unsmiling expression on her face which meant she had serious issues on her mind. “Isolde, we must speak.”
She hid her flare of impatience as best she could. She’d planned on spending some time with Njord. Even if they weren’t alone in the great hall, and even if her sisters joined their conversation, it was far better than the alternative of not seeing him at all.
Certainly, better by far than enduring an audience with Amma. There was no doubt in her mind that her grandmother wanted to discuss Njord’s imminent departure and how she, Isolde, now needed to resign herself to a future with Bruce Campbell’s son.
As ifthatwould ever happen. And there was even less likelihood of it happening now she knew for sure how Njord felt about her.
As she accompanied her grandmother to her private chamber, his husky endearment echoed through her mind and sent delightful ripples of desire between her thighs. Before he left Eigg, she would extract an oath from him, that he would return to her, no matter what he discovered about himself.
His honor would not allow him to break such a promise. And whatever the outcome of his visit to Oban, she was determined they’d end up together.
“Isolde.” Her grandmother’s voice, with a hint of ice, pulled her brutally back to the present, and she sat on her usual stool before the fire, Sjor at her feet, as Amma took her place on her chair. “Ye were observed leaving the stables shortly before the stranger from the sea.”
Taken aback by the statement, Isolde stared at her grandmother. Who had told her? And whose business was it to tell tales on her anyway?
“Is that a crime?” Curses. Why did she sound so defensive?
“To be alone in the stables with a man we know nothing about? ’Tis not a crime. But ’tis hardly prudent.”
“We weren’t alone. A stable lad was in there.” Had he spoken to Amma? It was so unlikely as to be laughable, yet she couldn’t think of any other possibility.
“Child.”
She couldn’t recall the last time her grandmother had called her that. Generally, she used it when addressing Roisin, and it was a term of endearment. But now it was nothing less than a reproach.
“Aye?” And she still sounded defensive. As though she had something to hide. But she wasn’t guilty of anything, and neither was Njord.
“I watched ye enter the stables. And I saw ye leave.”
The injustice seething in her chest flooded her cheeks with mortified heat. Was her grandmother spying on her now?
“We did nothing wrong.” It burned her that she even felt the need to say that, but she wouldn’t have her grandmother thinking Njord had besmirched his honor.
“He will be gone in two days.” Her grandmother’s voice was gentle, and somehow that was even worse than if she’d shouted at her. “That’s his choice, Isolde, and I respect him for it. I don’t doubt he has feelings for ye, but he cannot offer ye the future ye need. The future ye deserve as a daughter of Sgur.”
Isolde pounced on her grandmother’s last words. “And a daughter of Sgur can never abandon the Isle. I don’t care what ye’ve promised Bruce Campbell. I have no use for his son, and I shall not wed him.”
“We’ve discussed this before—”
“But we haven’t.” She knew she was being unforgivably rude, but she would no longer pander to this inexplicable whim of her grandmother’s. “The most ye’ve ever shared with me wasthe other day, when ye said it was for my benefit, and not Clan Campbell’s. How can it benefit me when I don’t want it?”
“Ye must trust me. I can say no more.”
Frustration clawed through her. She loved Amma, and they had rarely disagreed until the shattering revelation ten years ago when her grandmother told her what she expected from her.
“Will ye hog tie me and have me dragged from Eigg to fulfil this promise ye made the Campbell?”
Her grandmother blanched, and for a fleeting moment Isolde regretted her harsh words. But it was only for a moment. Because when Lady Helga angled her jaw in that regal way she had, Isolde knew there was no hope in changing her convictions.
“Ye’re a MacDonald of Sgur. Ye’ll never disgrace yer foremothers in such a manner.”
It was true, but it was also infuriating to have that fact flung in her face. She drew in a deep, calming, breath, and Sjor gave a soft whine, centering her. She’d never learn the truth by antagonizing Amma.
“Forgive me. Ye know I’d never bring shame upon our lineage. But I must know. Why are ye so set on this alliance?” And then a terrible possibility occurred to her, and she gasped. “Do they threaten war if I don’t agree?”
