The Highlander Who Stole Christmas - Eliza Knight Page 0,1
Thea had gone through. Why had their da arranged to marry her off? If Thane had been laird at the time, he’d not have agreed. But the responsibility had only fallen to his shoulders after the great battle, which had also stolen his da’s life. And what was done was done.
Thane thrust aside those melancholy thoughts, or else he might guide his horse right off a cliff. Instead, he focused on his plan for infiltrating the Campbell stronghold and finding Lady Sarah as fast as he could.
Recognizing her was the least of his worries. Och, but Thane could pick her out of a crowd of a thousand fiery-headed beauties, of that he was certain.
What he worried about most was blending in with those in residence.
He planned to infiltrate the castle during their annual Christmas feast, which took place on the eve of the holiday, and steal her away while everyone was distracted by the celebration. Word had leached out across the Highlands that the Campbells still planned to celebrate despite the death and destruction that had hit their country. Another great blow to those who were still suffering.
Bloody bastards would be drunk on ale and wine and spiced cider, dining on the blood and guts of their peers.
The Campbells hardly suffered enough during the battle.
Of course, he knew that wasn’t generous of him. All the clans had suffered. However, after learning that Thea had been left with little protection at the castle while the warriors had gone off to fight for Bonnie Prince Charlie and that when the ransom for Thea was demanded, the Campbells had refused, he wasn’t feeling very charitable.
Oh, how his sister must have suffered at the hands of the butcher of the loyalist government army—also known as the Duke of Cumberland, son to King George who’d exacted his revenge on the Scottish rebels in favor of Bonnie Prince Charlie. Knowing that had made him harden his heart. Not just to the bloody Sassenachs who’d murdered her, but to those bastard Campbells, who might as well have been a party to it for they hadn’t done much to protect her.
The place in his chest that used to burn a fire for a cause, had now frozen over, beating only for revenge.
Before this moment, Lady Sarah Campbell had considered herself to be quite beloved by her family.
But now, as she backed against the wall in the darkened corridor, she realized what a complete fool she’d been. How easily she’d allowed herself to live in a bubble of pure fantasy. For it was evident now, considering the conversation happening on the other side of the tightly closed door, that she was only a commodity to be traded.
Her heart pounded in her ears, threatening to drown out the rest of the conversation happening within.
“There will be dozens of them present.” This was the distinctive deep voice of her younger brother Edward.
“Ye were smart, brother, to invite everyone for the Christmas feast. No one will guess that we’re actually brokering a deal.” And that had been her other youngest brother Ellyson’s reply.
Both her brothers chuckled, following by the sound of clinking. Were they giving cheers to selling her off?
Sarah fumed, hands fisted at her side, and her jaw clenched so tight she risked breaking a tooth. To them, she was a deal to be brokered, and neither of them seemed to care one wit that she was human, and until a few moments ago, their much-beloved sister.
Alas, that had all been in her mind, for it was evident now that she didn’t mean as much to them as she thought she did. What an absolutely pathetic idiot she’d been.
The Christmas feast that she’d been helping to prepare for weeks—had in fact planned most of—was just a ruse to auction her off to the highest bidder. Why did they even bother with the feast to begin with? They could have saved themselves a lot of trouble and resources if they’d simply tossed her naked out into the moors for the quickest man to grab.
The clans were all hurting for money and staples since the Battle of Culloden, and though their clan was larger and richer than others, their size was the problem. They were large, too large, and had a lot of mouths to feed. So why not get rid of her and collect coin in the process?
She was nothing but a piece of property.
Jon was so busy with the rebellion these last few years that he’d put off arranging a marriage