Page 31 of Highlander’s Curse (The Daughters of the Glen #8)

Twenty-four

C olin?”

His back stiffened and he sat straighter in his chair at the long table in the Great Hall.

He hated it when his mother began by using his name in that particular tone of voice.

It was the one she reserved for determining which of her boys had broken into her dried fruits or which of them had trampled through her herb garden when they were young.

To this day it immediately put him on the defensive.

“I met yer Abby at midday meal. She’s a lovely young woman, though I believe she was distressed you dinna join us.”

He felt the rebuke of her statement but couldn’t bring himself to explain his absence. It wasn’t as if he were actually avoiding Abby. There had been arrangements to be made for his travels on the morrow.

“She’s no my Abby.”

“Oh?” Rosalyn smiled up at the serving girl who filled her cup, waiting until the girl moved on. “There’s a thing which has troubled my thoughts since our talk this morn. Would you mind if we discussed it before yer Abby joins us?”

With resignation, he nodded his acquiescence. There was obviously no deterring his mother once she set her course.

“Once I sat down to my mending, I began to wonder, Colin, if the Magic sent this lovely young woman, this Abby of yers, into yer bed without a single stitch of clothing, would I be correct in my assumption that you also were in that bed? And that you also were unclothed as she was?”

“I’ll admit, Cousin, the same has crossed my mind,” Blane added from Rosalyn’s left.

“And mine, as well,” Caden chimed in.

Perfect. The whole of the clan seemed intent on joining in this discussion of his and Abby’s state of undress.

He started to answer but paused, considering where his mother was leading this conversation.

As if the room were closing in on him from all sides, he quickly realized there was no answer he could give that wouldn’t bring looks of disapproval to every face at the table.

For a brief instant he considered lying but discarded that idea even as it formed.

It wasn’t just that the telling of untruths violated his sense of honor.

He also doubted it would help, since he’d spent the better part of his childhood half-convinced that his mother had the uncanny ability to read his thoughts.

The truth it was, then.

“Aye.”

The admission was made more uncomfortable by his inability to follow up by telling them it had all been perfectly innocent and platonic. It had, in fact, been anything but. And truth be told, he knew in his heart that were he to find himself in a similar situation, he’d do the exact same again.

“I see.”

The arch in his mother’s brow should have warned him of what was to come, but he chose to ignore it, hoping he was wrong.

“And what do you propose to do to rectify having dishonored this young woman?” Blane asked, clearly speaking in his capacity as Laird of the MacKiernan rather than concerned older cousin.

“Dishonored?” This was not a conversation he had any desire to pursue.

“Aye,” his cousin answered. “You’ve taken the lass to yer bed, with full knowledge of yer entire clan. She is a lady, without protection of kith or kin. If she’s unable to return to her own home, what will you do to make this right for her?”

“What would you have of me?” Surely his cousin couldn’t be suggesting a marriage. The fate of two of their clansmen, as well as the whole of their king’s army, hung in the balance and these people were fashing themselves over the reputation of one woman?

“I would have you do the right thing, Cousin. I would have you wed this Abby of yers.”

“Hold on a minute. Let’s not anybody get carried away here.”

Somewhere during the back-and-forth with his family, he’d missed Abby’s entrance. She stood behind him with Caden’s wife, Ellie, who even now pulled out the chair next to him for Abby to sit.

Abby seated herself and clasped her hands in front of her before looking up with what could only be irritation on her lovely face.

“Pardon me for jumping in, but I must have misunderstood what I just heard. Colin and I aren’t getting married.

I am not marrying him, he’s not marrying me.

There’s no marrying of any sort going to happen.

Just so we all get that straight. I’m only here for a little while. ”

“Thank the Fates someone here has some sense,” Colin muttered, ignoring the twinge of uncomfortable emotion her immediate rejection of him brought with it. Ridiculous, that. He felt exactly the same way she did. “On the morrow I leave for Methven. Once I’ve found—”

“Excuse me,” Abby interrupted, laying a hand on his forearm. “You meant to say we’re leaving for Methven, right? Because you’re not going anywhere without me.”

“I go to save the lives of my clansmen. I go to warn my king of the treachery awaiting him.” Surely she could see the higher cause here. “It’s no a place for a lass such as yerself.”

“Yeah. See, that’s not going to work for me.” Abby paused as the serving girl set a trencher between them. “It appears that the only way I can get home is with your assistance. So, whither thou goest, and all that stuff.”

Perhaps he’d credited the woman with good sense far too quickly.

“You canna mean to accompany me on this journey, Abby. I head toward battle, my purpose too important to risk on having to fash myself over yer safety. I ken you have no experience with the ways of our world, but I assure you, where I go is no a place for a woman such as yerself.”

An uncharacteristic silence filled the room as his entire family watched and waited for Abby’s response.

“You said you were going to save people, not to fight them.” Abby shook her head stubbornly, picking at the meat in front of them.

“I may not have actual experience in your world, Colin, but I’m not ignorant of its ways.

I’m not waiting here while you traipse off and get yourself killed leaving me trapped here in this time.

You aren’t going anywhere without me. Where you go, I go. Simple as that.”

This was not a disagreement he relished having under the avid view of his family, but he would not back down.

As far as he was concerned, there was nothing left to discuss.

“Yer staying here and that’s my final word on the matter.

It’s as simple as that .” He could have sworn he heard his brother chuckle behind him.

“Oh, really?” She turned to meet his gaze, her eyes narrowing.

“Well how about this for simple?” She leaned in close, lowering her voice and forcing him to lean toward her.

“How about I just wish us both back to my time right now? How about that? If my wishes are so damn powerful and you’re so damn set on saving these friends of yours, then I’d strongly recommend you reconsider taking me with you or the only place you’re going is the twenty-first century. ”

“You canna mean that. My clansmen face death if I’m no allowed to go to them. My king faces defeat.” Aloud, he denied her threat, but from her expression, he feared she meant every word she uttered. “You wouldna do such as that.”

“No? Try me.”

Colin sat back in his chair, waiting for a wave of anger and frustration to pass over him. If anyone was trapped anywhere, it was him. He couldn’t risk being tossed back through time. Not before he’d had a chance to warn his king of what was to come.

“I’ve changed my mind,” he announced in a loud voice. “When I leave on the morrow for Methven, Abby will accompany me.”

“Damn straight,” she murmured beside him.

“As yer laird, I canna allow that.” Blane spoke up for the first time. “As yer own mother has just reminded me, an unmarried lass canna travel unaccompanied with a man who is not of her family. It’s no a proper thing to do and we’ve none to spare to send along with the two of you.”

“I’m not the least bit concerned with what’s proper,” Abby rejected.

“But we are,” Rosalyn added from her spot at Colin’s elbow. “Now, if you were to wed, there would be no cause for concern.”

Colin jerked his head around to glare at his mother.

What was wrong with the woman, sitting there smiling like some brainsick banshee?

Was it not bad enough he was being forced to drag Abby into danger?

His mother of all people should be using her considerable intelligence and charm to convince Abby to stay at Dun Ard.

He opened his mouth to remind her of that very fact but Abby’s next words interrupted his protestations.

“Marriage has nothing to with any of this. It isn’t even a consideration.”

Perhaps his mother was doing exactly that.

This could be the escape route he’d earlier thought cut off from him!

Abby had made it clear from the beginning of this conversation that she had no desire to wed him.

All he needed do was to join ranks with his family, insist on marriage as a precursor to her accompanying him, and he was free to leave Dun Ard without her.

“I fear my hands are tied, Abby.” Colin reached for the tankard in front of him, relaxing back into his seat for the first time since he’d entered the room.

“It’s my laird’s decree and I must obey.

In order for you to accompany me, we must wed.

But it’s clear that’s an option you reject.

As it stands, through no fault of my own, you’ll need to remain here.

I’ve no choice in the matter. Without a marriage, I’m no free to take you with me. ”

Colin drank deeply of the dark, spicy wine. With all this nonsense of Abby’s insistence on accompanying him out of the way, he could relax and enjoy his evening with his family.