Page 23 of Awakened By Time
“I willnae do it, Da. I willnae marry him and ye cannae make me.”
“I can and I will. I’ve allowed ye to do as ye like all of yer life and now ye will do as I like. Ye will marry the Laird of San Francisco or ye will marry Laird Munro. Those are your two choices.”
“I dinnae wish to marry at all, Da. I wish to go live with me brother Dougall and his wife, Helene.”
Zeke felt as if he’d been punched in the gut. Was this the same Dougall and Helene? Of course, it had to be. Suddenly he understood why he was here. Brenna was Dougall’s sister. Was he supposed to rescue her from these awful people?
“’Tis bad enough that yer brother disobeyed me wishes to marry that servant lass of his, but I willnae have ye running off on me as well. A good alliance is worth its weight in gold, Brenna. I wish an alliance with the Laird of San Francisco and if not him, then Laird Munro will do.”
“Sir Zeke doesnae wish to marry me, Da. Have ye not been told over and over again.”
“Fine. Then Laird Munro ’twill be.”
Brenna stormed into the castle as her Da yelled after her.
“And dinnae attempt to run away again.”
He glanced around at the silent crowd who were gathered, “What are ye all gawking at. Get back to work!” The onlookers scurried away, leaving Zeke doing his best to remain out of Paddraig’s sight. He had to find Brenna. There had to be a way he could help her escape her Da’s wishes and get to Dougall and Helene, and he thought he might have an idea how.
Sneaking in through the castle doors and past the great hall where Paddraig still railed at anyone nearby, he made his way upstairs. He wasn’t sure which room belonged to Brenna, but he hoped to find her. The sooner they put his plan in place, the sooner they would both be away from here and the sooner he’d find his sister and be on his way home.
He knocked on the first door and no one answered. He tried the second with the same result. He tried every door on the second floor and no one seemed to be around. She must not have come up here. He’d see her later at the evening meal and they could speak then.
Opening the door to his room, he was surprised to see Brenna seated on the edge of his bed looking quite forlorn.
“Brenna? Are you alright?” He noted her tear stained cheeks and trembling hands. “No. You aren’t.”
He knelt in front of her, gazing up into her teary, yet beautiful eyes. He reached a hand up to brush away the wet on her cheeks.
“I didn’t know where else to go. I’m sorry. I shouldn’t…” Her voice broke with emotion and nearly broke his heart as it did.
He’d been so wrapped up in his own problems that he’d discounted hers. “Brenna, I think I’ve got an idea to help you.” He saw a small flicker of hope light in her eyes.
“Why would ye help me?” Her soft voice shook with the last of the tears she’d shed.
“Because I can and I should.”
She tipped her head and furrowed her brow in question.
“You’re Dougall’s sister, right?”
“Aye.”
“And you want to go live with him.”
“Aye.”
“I know your brother and I know Helene. I can get you there.”
Brenna’s eyes grew large in surprise. “But how? Me Da willnae allow me to leave this place until I am married.”
“What if we handfasted?” He’d heard all about handfasting from his sister, the history buff. “It’s only a temporary marriage. Once we leave here, we can both go our separate ways. You can live with Dougall and I can find my sister and take her home.”
“Ye’d do that fer me?”
“I would.” Zeke watched the play of emotions on her face as she thought about how this would work. Her pensive mood lasted so long that Zeke became concerned, but then her lips curved into a smile and her eyes lit with hope.
“It could work. Da’s in a hurry to get rid of me,” her voice caught as she said this and her hopeful mood of only a moment before disappeared as she cast her tear-filled eyes down and fidgeted with the folds of her gown.