Page 1 of Claimed by the Obsessed Laird (Highland Bride Hunt #1)
“How much longer till we get there?”
Isla peered impatiently out of the window as the carriage carried them on their way to the McFadden Keep, the sky glowing with red and orange streaks against the blue.
The hills reached up seemingly into the clouds in the distance, vanishing beyond sight, studded with trees, a river winding through the trunks and scattered leaves.
“Another hour,” her sister, Catriona, replied, raising her eyebrows at Isla as though to remind her not to be so forward.
Isla flashed her sister a grin as Catriona carefully tucked her reddish hair back into the bun at the back of her head, her green eyes fixed on the landscape outside—both features, of course, that she shared with Isla.
The two of them could have been twins at a glance, with their long, red hair and pale green eyes, though that was about all the two of them had in common.
“Oh, it cannae be that far!” Isla exclaimed, crossing her arms over her chest and letting out a long sigh. “The feast is meant to begin soon, isn’t it?”
“Aye, but Laird McFadden will no’ begin proceedings until everyone has arrived,” her father cut in. “He’s held plenty of these before, he knows well what he’s doing.”
“What exactly does he get out of this, anyway?” Isla wondered aloud. “Throwing these feasts fer people, I mean. He’s no’ looking for his own wife, is he?”
Her father shrugged.
“I dinnae ken,” he admitted. “But he hosts the finest people in all of Scotland, and if yer sister is to take a husband, then I’m sure she’ll find him here.”
Catriona managed a tight smile back in his direction before she looked out of the window once again, clearly not entirely comfortable with where the conversation was taking them.
Too much pressure, Isla supposed, for her to truly relax before she made it to their destination.
Tonight, after all, was to be a momentous one for her.
She could meet the man that she was to spend the rest of her life with, as would plenty of other young women if the stories Isla had heard about these events turned out to be true.
“Ye mustn’t look so nervous, Cat!” Isla told her sister, nudging her with her foot from across the carriage.
Catriona was wearing her finest dress, a light green number that drew out her eyes.
She had insisted on matching with Isla, perhaps so that the two of them would have safety in numbers.
Not that they were looking for the same thing out of this event, of course.
No, Catriona might have been looking for a husband, but all Isla intended to leave with were fond memories—and perhaps a few secrets she would not be so quick to share with anyone else.
“I’m not nervous,” Catriona retorted, but there was no certainty in her voice. Isla tipped her head to the side, grinning.
“Ye’re worried ye willnae find anyone?”
“Of course she will,” their father cut in once more. “Any man would be lucky to have yer sister as a bride.”
“They would,” Isla agreed brightly. “Ye’ll be a lovely addition to some Laird’s household, Cat.”
“Dinnae speak of me as though I’m some… some fine piece of furniture,” Catriona replied, and Isla could not help but giggle.
“Sorry, I didnae mean anything by it,” she assured her. “It’s just that ye ken how to manage a household. I’m sure there are plenty of men who’d be glad to have such a woman at their side.”
“Aye, and perhaps ye would do well to learn the same thing," their father added.
Isla flicked her gaze to him with some degree of incredulity.
She knew that her father was keen to get both of his daughters married off as soon as he could.
It was not that he didn’t care for them, but rather that they were a drain on the household finances.
He wanted to make certain that they were both settled with men who would be capable of taking care of them when he was no longer with them.
But Isla had no intention of giving herself over to such a thing so easily.
Marriage? It had never much appealed to her, at least, not the way she knew she would be expected to live if she took a husband of her own.
Yes, there was a charm in spending her life with a single person, forming a partnership that would never be broken, but what cost would it come at?
She was no good at managing matters of the household, no good at keeping records or making sure staff were at their posts.
Catriona, being the eldest, had always been the one to handle such things in their home, and she had never had to learn the ins and outs of that life.
Nor did she have any intention of doing so.
“We’re here for Catriona, no’ me,” she reminded him pointedly, raising her brows as she spoke.
Catriona gave her a quick smile, grateful for her presence.
When Isla had agreed to come to this particular affair, she had framed it as though she had been keen to help her sister, and, of course, she was.
If she was going to choose a husband, a person who would become part of their family, then it was only right that Isla approved of him, too.
But more than that, this evening seemed to crackle with possibility, and she could not wait to see where it might have taken her. All these men who were looking for someone to adore, she was sure she could bathe in some of their attention, just for the night…
Even if she had no plans to take a husband of her own anytime soon.
She doubted that there were many honorable gentlemen out there who would have wanted to take her home, if she were being honest. Yes, they might have been charmed by her wit and her sharp tongue at first, but as soon as they got to know her, they would realize that she bore none of the qualities that would be sought in the lady of the house.
But she was no more looking for a husband than they would be looking for her to be their wife, so it suited her down to the ground.
Now, as the carriage wheels rolled beneath them, carrying them closer and closer to the McFadden Keep, all she could think of were the possibilities that this night held—and everything that might be waiting for her when she stepped into that Great Hall.
A smirk teased at her lips. A wife? She couldn’t imagine much less in the world that she wanted.
Being bound to a fearsome Highlander, taken away from her home, and being stripped of all she had ever known to play the role of the dutiful wife.
There weren’t many things that struck fear in her heart, but being tethered to a man she didn’t know, a man she hadn’t chosen, made her courage flatter.
But a night of fun and adventure and opportunity among many eligible and handsome men, without the jail of marriage? That, she could very much get used to.