Highlander's Beautiful Liar A Scottish Medieval Highlander Romance Historical Novel - Adamina Young Page 0,68
done it on purpose. Apparently now she wanted to marry a highlander.
Personally, Alec thought Calvin was pleased. Lana was still too young to be married, and Calvin wanted to keep his daughter close a little longer.
Grace visited frequently, usually when Connor grew tired of trying to handle her. She had men from four different clans constantly asking for her hand in marriage. She turned down every single one and started threatening Connor that she would challenge them to a duel if he approved of any behind her back.
“Who knew,” the King said loudly to Connor, “that it would take an English lass to finally get Alec Sinclair to settle down?”
The table laughed, and Kane winked. “Not an English lass. A MacKay. A MacKay who defeated two guards while chained to a wall. No English lass could do that.”
Lana snorted and rolled her eyes. “Really? How exactly do you think Cora did that?”
Even Alec turned to look at his wife. After all this time, she’d never gone into detail about what had happened that day. Alec had sworn that no matter what, even if Innes had forced himself on her, he would help her heal, mentally and physically, but she’d told him that it had never come to that.
“How did ye free yerself?” Jamie asked. “We have all wondered.”
Cora averted her eyes. “Well, I unlocked the manacles, and when the first guard tried to touch me, I simply locked the manacle around his hand and stole his sword and attacked the other. They weren’t ready for that. I had the element of surprise on my side.”
“Ye unlocked the manacles,” Alec repeated slowly. “How did ye do that?”
“With the key, of course.”
When everyone stared at her, Donna cleared her throat. “You must understand that her mother was a survivor. Before she could accumulate a more comfortable life,” she explained delicately, “she had to survive on the streets. She picked up a few skills, and to make sure that her daughter was never defenseless, she taught them to her.”
Alec’s mouth dropped open. “Ye picked their pockets for the key?”
“Yes. Innes had the key. I picked his pocket.” Finally, she looked up and shrugged. “I explained when we first met that I was a thief. It is not my fault that you did not believe me.”
“Ye deceitful little bride,” he growled, and while everyone laughed, he bent his head and kissed his beloved wife in front of everyone to see.
Duncan woke up and wailed.
Anger and fury kept her warm in the Scotland cold as she rode from the inn to the keep. It was later than Lana expected, nearly midnight, but she knew the way well. Over the past four years, she’d visited her honorary sister often so she could spoil her nephew and little niece. This was, however, the first time she’d made the journey alone.
Her parents thought she was spending the week with her friend Imogene. They’d be furious to discover that she’d hired a coach to see her safely through Scotland, but she had to ride on horseback through the Highlands. Thankfully, she rode through the Sinclair lands first, and Connor had graciously, even if surprised, let her stay the night and given her a three-man escort the rest of the way.
She was no fool. She knew the moment that he’d been alerted to her presence, he’d sent a messenger to Cora and Alec. Since her escorts were stopping every few hours, even forcing her to stop at the inn for dinner even though they were so close, she was well aware they were giving the messenger time to get there first.
So when torches lit up the border of his lands, and Lana saw Alec standing there, she wasn’t afraid. “Lana,” he said in a low voice. “Are ye well?”
She heard the underlying anger. In the past few years, he’d come to see her as his own younger sister and was protective of her.
She wondered what he would do if he discovered the real reason that she was there.
“Yes, thank you, Alec,” she said as though his was the most natural visit in the world. “I am sorry to arrive unannounced, but I hope you won’t mind my visit. I very much wanted to see Cora and the babies.”
Even in the barely lit dark, she could feel his suspicious gaze on her, but it wasn’t her brother-in-law that she was interested in. No, she was staring at another. The real reason that she was here.