Highlander's Beautiful Liar A Scottish Medieval Highlander Romance Historical Novel - Adamina Young Page 0,65

about finished when the door opened and the Thistles walked in. Donna and Calvin were cautious, but Lana immediately pulled out her chair and sat down. “What are your intentions toward my sister?” she demanded.

Alec looked up at Calvin and saw the same determined look on their face. “I have already married her,” he said slowly. “’Twas legal and sanctioned by the King. Now that Innes is dead, there is no fear that it will be dissolved and she forced to wed another.”

Lana rolled her eyes, and suddenly, he wondered if it was a good idea that the young lass was spending so much time with Grace. The two of them were a force to be reckoned with. “I don’t mean legally. Cora was taken from her home, forced to witness the murder of her father, imprisoned, forced to marry you, and then kidnapped again. How many more dangers will she face here? Can you keep her safe?”

Alec’s chest tightened. He didn’t want to think about all that Cora had gone through. It was hard enough to know that he was going to have to face a future without her. “With Innes dead, there are no more threats against her, but I have already received a missive from the King. My place as laird here is secure. Cora is no longer a political chess piece. I intend for our marriage to be the freedom that she deserves.”

“What does that mean?” Lana demanded.

Alec stared knowingly at Calvin. “She is free to go home with you. Though she will never be able to wed another, I will not interfere with the life she chooses to lead in England. She will be allowed a large allowance to do and live as she wishes. I hope she finds happiness.”

“And if she is carrying?” Donna asked softly.

Alec flinched at the knowledge. “If there is a child, I wilnae take it from its mother, but it wilnae grow up abandoned by me. We will find a way to raise it in both worlds as it will be heir to the MacKay clan.”

Lana’s eyes filled with tears, and she rose, her gaze accusatory. “How could you not love her? How could you be married to her and have spent all this time with her and not love her? I do not understand you, Alec Sinclair, and I think I hate you!”

As she ran from the room, Donna followed behind her, but Calvin stayed behind. “Cora would stay,” he said softly. “If she knew how much you loved her, she would stay with you.”

“Cora has been stripped of her choices for too long. Aye, she’d stay, whether she thought I loved her or not. She would stay out of duty because that is the kind of woman that she is. I have dealt a hand in her misery here. I didnae trust her. Perhaps if I had, she would have told me the truth rather than running to her death. There is nothing I could give her that would make her happier than her freedom.”

Calvin cocked his head. “England does not speak highly of the Scottish and even worse of highlanders, but in the few days that I have been here, I don’t think I’ve ever met more honorable men. I agree that you could have treated her better, but I will tell you right now that if you force her to go home with us, you are still stripping her of her choice. We welcome her home, of course, with open arms, but a man who loves her would give her the chance to choose.”

He headed for the door and turned back. “You have underestimated her before, highlander. I trust that you will not do it again.”

25

Trapped in another nightmare, Cora screamed and fought, but when she woke, the arms around her were warm and loving. “I have ye,” Alec whispered as he tenderly kissed the top of her head. “I have ye, Cora.”

“You’re here.” Night had fallen, and the room was dark, but Cora turned to him and snuggled into his embrace. “I didn’t think you’d be here.”

“I hadn’t planned to,” he admitted. “I thought perhaps ye would want to spend the night with yer sister.”

“I am overjoyed to see them, but it is you that I want by my side, Alec.” Her chest squeezed painfully. He was acting so strangely earlier. “You are still angry with me.”

Rising up on his elbows, he stared down at her, and his eyes were stormy with anger. “That ye