Page 21 of Love Beyond Reach (Morna’s Legacy #11)
F ather found me crying in Elspeth’s garden after returning from his daily ride. I didn’t visit my spell room after Jerry left, and I spent the rest of the day avoiding everyone, content to wallow in my own self-pity.
How could he leave so easily? And his words made it plain enough that he had no intention of returning here. The sudden nature of his departure reminded me so much of Grier’s banishment that old feelings of loss and abandonment dredged their way up, leaving me totally miserable.
Father joined me on the ground next to the roses without a word. Unable to acknowledge his own emotions about anything, he hadn’t any idea how to deal with emotions that didn’t belong to him.
Uncomfortable with the silence, I brushed a tear from my eye and looked up at him.
“Do ye need something, Father? I’ll not be good company for ye tonight.”
In a show of affection so strange I had to resist the urge to pull away from him, Father took my hand and gathered it between his palms.
“I sent Seumas away, lass. He told me what he said to ye. Any man that doesna want ye is a fool.”
The notion that Father believed my tears had anything to do with Seumas was more proof of how little he knew me.
“Doesna want me? What did he tell ye he said to me?”
Stroking my hand as if it were a kitten, Father looked down at it as he spoke.
“Ye needn’t be embarrassed, Morna. Seumas’ displeasure with ye has nothing to do with ye.”
Pulling my hand away, I raised my voice in confusion. “Displeasure? What are ye talking about, Father?”
“Seumas came to me and said how he told ye this morning that he doesna wish to marry ye after meeting ye.”
There was nothing I could say in my shock. Every new thing I learned about Seumas made him seem more like my father. His ego was so grand that rather than have anyone know he’d been rejected, he’d rushed to make others believe the choice had been his.
“Doona worry though, lass. I swore to him that I would never provide protection to his clan again. ’Tis his mistake, and he shall pay for it if ever he needs aid from a Conall.”
I could tell no one of the real reason for my tears. So, as Father leaned awkwardly over to hug me, I allowed him to believe it had everything to do with Seumas.
“Alasdair has already sent word to Henry MacNeal. Do ye remember him? He and yer brother have always been good friends. ’Twas Alasdair who suggested the match. I never would have thought of it myself, but I believe ye may find him verra pleasing. He’ll be here within a fortnight.”
T wo Weeks Later
M y sadness remained as the weeks passed, and my attitude toward everyone in my life—the only exception being wee Eoin—turned to one of aggravation and hostility. As I stood at the castle’s main entrance waiting to be introduced to yet another suitor, I was vibrating with irritation.
As Father left the rest of us standing inside, every bit of frustration I’d harbored toward my brother over the last two weeks exploded.
“I canna believe ye’ve joined him in this. Ye told me ye dinna see a need for it. Ye said I dinna need a husband until I wanted one. Now ye’ve gone and invited yer own choice here. It makes ye no better than him.”
Looking to make certain Henry MacNeal and Father were still at the stables, Alasdair walked away, waving for me to follow. Once he entered the sitting room closest to us, he bent down to look at me at eye level.
“Is that what has been bothering ye all these days, Morna? Ye thought I’d betrayed my word to ye?”
Seeing the acknowledgement in my eyes, he stood and paced in front of me.
“Ye should have said something to me about this days ago, lass. I’d have happily explained everything to ye. I canna believe ye really thought I’d do such a thing.”
“But ye did do such a thing.” I couldn’t withhold the venom in my voice.
“No, lass, I dinna. Do ye know who Father intended to invite here next?”
I shook my head and waited.
“Ludo Buchanan. Not only is the old fool thirty years older than ye, his temper is far worse than even Father’s.
I begged Father to allow me to pick the next suitor so ye wouldna be forced to be around him for a moment.
I doona care if ye marry or not. If ye dislike Henry, ye can send him away just as ye’ve done the others, but at least I know he is a good man with no temper. ”
I allowed my brother’s words to sink in as the anger inside me dissipated for the first time in days.
Apologizing for my behavior, I moved to wrap my arms around him.
“I should’ve known. There is a good reason for everything ye do. Thank ye.”
Squeezing me tight, Alasdair slowly pulled away and began to lead me back to where Elspeth and Eoin stood waiting.
“I love ye, Morna. I’ll always protect ye. Now, doona greet Henry with the same callousness ye’ve shown all of us lately. At least give the lad a chance. Ye’ll like him.”
I turned and stilled.
The second my eyes locked with Henry’s, I knew Alasdair was right.
I would like him very much.