Highlander's Beautiful Liar A Scottish Medieval Highlander Romance Historical Novel - Adamina Young Page 0,49
out, and I lose my hold on the clan. Someone like Innes could claim it without having to murder a laird.”
She wanted to tell him the truth. She needed to tell him. Innes didn’t just want the MacKay clan. He wanted her, and he was not above murdering to get to her. If he killed Alec, then he would be free to marry her.
But Lana. God help her, but what would Innes do to Lana? How could Alec protect her? She was too far away. Too vulnerable, and Innes already had people watching her. Ready to take her away at a moment’s notice.
“Promise me that you will be careful. I don’t want anything to happen to you,” she whispered as she laid her head down on his chest. “You are more to me than the man I was being forced to marry. Do you understand?”
Stroking her hair, he hushed her. “I am here, Cora. I am not going to leave ye.”
No, he was not, and she was not going to let Innes take him away from her. Maybe it was time to see just how much highlander was in her blood.
Because he suspected that she would somehow know, Alec waited in bed for two hours even though she was asleep before he slipped out. It had shaken him. Not just the arrows but the fact that she had been so terrified for him.
Him. She’d done nothing but try to escape him, but she’d gone after him because she was scared. She could have walked right into the path of a killer, but she didn’t want to lose him.
He couldn’t let this happen again.
The dining hall was packed more than usual that night. Some, he suspected, wanted to see if he would show up, but others were waiting for his orders. There was nothing but respect in that hall. Cora belonged to them now, and they recognized that. They would protect her.
Silence fell as he walked in. Taking his spot at the head of the table, he waited a beat before he grinned. “Sorry to break it to ye, but ye cannae get rid of me that easily.”
Laughter rippled through the hall. “As many of ye heard, there was an attack today. Whether that attack was against me or my wife remains to be seen, but I trust that everyone here will do their part to protect yer mistress.”
Kane stood and nodded his head. “She is the daughter of Duncan. We will give our lives for her, and for ye, our laird.”
It was the first time that Kane had publicly acknowledged his fealty. Slowly, the MacKay men stood and all bowed their heads, each echoing his sentiments.
Cora may have felt like she no longer had her English family, but she had a Scottish one. He wished she was here for this, to see that she was loved.
“If Innes Campbell is behind this, then I want proof. From here forward, Innes Campbell isnae an ally. He is the enemy.”
“And if he is not?” someone asked.
Alec leveled his gaze. “Then it is one of ye.”
17
Cora’s hands shook as she sealed the letter and handed it to Mary. Alec had her watched like a hawk now, and there was no way that she could leave the keep, but Mary could still come and go, and she knew that Mary wouldn’t tell on her. “I don’t want you going to Campbell on your own. You’re too pretty,” Cora said with a brave smile. “Hire a messenger from one of the villages.”
It was the next day, and Cora had barely slept. Her nightmares were no longer about being in the prison. It was about finding Alec’s body at the hands of Innes.
“Ye should tell Alec the truth,” Mary whispered.
Cora’s heart broke. “If I tell Alec, my sister will die. If I do nothing, then Alec will die. I cannot choose between my husband and my sister. I won’t.”
“And ye think that ye can reason with a man like Innes?”
Reaching out, she clasped Mary’s hands in hers. “I will do what it takes to protect the people that I love. Please do this for me, Mary. I just need to know what he wants. It’s just a conversation.”
Mary nodded. “All right. So long as ’tis just messages. Ye wilnae go see him.”
“I cannot even leave my chambers without being watched. How am I going to leave the keep?”
“True enough.” Mary grinned wolfishly. “Say what ye want about yer man, but he knows how to protect his woman.”