Highlander's Beautiful Liar A Scottish Medieval Highlander Romance Historical Novel - Adamina Young Page 0,58
Alec whispered. They were sour words in his mouth. If Innes ever got his hands on Cora, Alec would kill him.
“And yet the King has allowed her to marry ye. ’Tis a blessing.”
“Not for her. She’s had her choices stolen from her the moment that Duncan entered her life, and I didnae treat her well in the beginning.”
“Ye love her now?”
Before he could answer, the doors to the great hall opened, and Grace came rushing inside. Both Alec and Connor stood and bellowed at her at the same time.
“Stop,” Grace snapped as she rolled her eyes. “Doona waste yer breath. I know ye want to tell me that I should be in my room where it is safe, but I had a most disturbing conversation with Cora. I tried to sleep, but I cannae. I think something is wrong.”
“Disturbing?” Alec frowned. “What do ye mean?”
Just then, another woman hurried through the open door. Mary. “Laird Alec. Laird Connor. Lady Grace. I apologize for interrupting. Cora wanted me to let ye know that she has fallen ill, and she will retire in her chambers tonight.”
“Ill?” Alec was surprised. Cora looked nervous at dinner but not sick. “Is she alright?”
The blood drained from Mary’s face, but she nodded.
Grace narrowed her eyes. “I spoke to her less than an hour ago, and she didnae look ill.”
“’Twas sudden,” the servant said faintly.
Lying. She was lying.
“Mary, what is going on? Is Cora alright?” Alec asked.
When Mary’s eyes filled with tears, Alec’s stomach knotted, and the pleasant buzz from the wine disappeared. He remembered the last time he’d felt like this.
When Cora had tried to leave him.
“She is on her way to England,” Alec spat. “Damn her, I told her that I would take her myself. Did she doubt me?”
“No,” Mary said softly. “She doesn’t doubt ye, but she fears she doesna have the time to wait.”
“Time? Has someone in her family fallen ill?” No. That didn’t make sense. Her family didn’t even know that she was alive. She wouldn’t have known if someone had fallen ill. “Mary, a letter came through yesterday. A message. It was for ye.”
“Nay.” Mary shook her head. “I sent and received the messages, but it wasnae meant for me.”
“Who was the message from?” Alec demanded. “Who?!”
When Mary didn’t answer immediately, Alec had his answer. “Damnation. After all this time, after she told me that she was hiding nothing else from me, she was still communicating with him.”
“Him who?” Connor asked.
“Innes Campbell. Mary, what do ye know?” The servant looked torn, and Alec acknowledged her loyalty, but this wasn’t the time for it. “She wilnae make it to England alone. She isnae strong enough to make it out of the Highlands, let alone find her way through the Lowlands alone, but I need to know what I am up against. She got a letter from Innes and is on her way to her family. Is she running from him or from me?”
“Neither,” Mary said finally. “Innes has always known who she was. He was there when Seth killed her father. They would have killed her too, but Innes is obsessed with her. Has been from the moment he laid eyes on her. That is why they imprisoned her. When people forgot about the daughter of Duncan, Seth promised Cora to Innes.”
With a gasp, Grace pressed her hand to her mouth. “She told me that she thought that dungeon was the most horrible time, but Innes has still been torturing her. Threatening her, hasn’t he?”
“Not just her.” Mary looked at Alec. “He’s claimed to have her sister, Lana, watched and followed. If she told anyone, then he would kill her, and when that arrow came, she feared that it was marked for Alec.”
She was protecting him. That sweet little wife who’d been fighting from the moment he laid eyes on her, was protecting him. “The message, Mary, what did it say?”
“She asked him what he wanted,” Mary sobbed. “She offered to give him anything that he wanted, but he wrote that he didn’t want her to give him anything. He was going to take it. First her family. Then her husband. Then her. She was going to England to check on her family.”
“Mary, find Jamie and Stephen. Tell them to ride to the Thistles immediately. They are to protect them. Connor, I need ye to stay here and pen a letter to the King. Tell him that Innes was there when Duncan died.”