Page 30 of Taken by the Highland Villain (Breaking the Highland Rules #2)

The morning sunlight hit Jude’s eyes like a blow from a mace. He grimaced and rolled his head against his desk, where he’d passed out the night before, with a grunt of pain.

How much did I have to drink last night?

He scowled across the room. He was not sure how much whiskey he’d downed, but he knew well enough why he’d drunk all of it.

Valerie was gone. There would be no more challenging glances, bright smiles, or curious questions. There would be no more gentle touches or new clothes left on his bed. No more curtains appearing in random places. Only the dimness and silence of MacFinn Castle.

His head was pounding, and a sniff revealed that his breath and his clothes stank of alcohol. With another grunt and an effort that made his throbbing head scream with pain, Jude levered himself to his feet, intent on drinking some water and then collapsing into his bed for a few hours.

He staggered down the hall and shoved open his door. He managed all of two steps into his rooms before he realized there was something different. Heart sinking, he limped across the sitting room and through the door of his bedchamber.

Gone were the heavy black velvet curtains that had blocked every bit of light.

Instead, the windows were adorned with blue curtains, decorated with knotwork of his clan’s colors.

The curtains were tied back from the windows with blue sashes, each one marked with the clan’s crest. The stitching was painfully familiar.

Something inside Jude broke. With a roar of rage and hurt, he grabbed the nearest item—a goblet on the side table—and flung it against the wall. The goblet shattered, sending shards across the floor.

“Moira!!”

Moira appeared moments later, with Craig right beside her. “My Laird?”

“The curtains…” Jude snarled, his blood boiling with so much emotion that he could scarcely form the words.

“Miss Blackwood made them for ye afore she left—finished them the night of the dance, she did. She asked me to hang them for her.”

A part of him wanted to rip the curtains down and throw them in the fire or the midden. Another part of him wanted to wrap himself in the fabric and breathe in Valerie’s scent, feel the patterns of her stitch work, and lose himself in the memories of her presence.

Instead, he glowered at his most trusted servant and his second-in-command. “I didnae ask for this.”

“I ken. But she made it for ye.” Moira lifted her chin.

Jude’s gaze flicked back to the curtains. The blue reminded him of the sky and the blue-green of Valerie’s dress.

All at once, he wanted to be far away from the room, from the curtains. More than that, he wanted to be away from all the little reminders of Valerie’s presence that hung around his castle.

He growled, then glared at both of them. “I’m goin’ to the river for a swim.”

“Please wait, Laird MacFinn.” The soft voice made all three of them turn.

Lady Ailsa stood there, her face pale.

Despite his frustration, Jude softened a little. “Aye. Ye need somethin’?”

“Nae me, Laird MacFinn. But Miss Blackwood. My braither is trappin’ her, and he’s usin’ all of us to do so, as well as her kinfolk.” She wrung her hands.

Jude felt a stab of unease. “What do ye mean?”

“He’s obsessed with Valerie. There’s a portrait he owns, and the woman in it happens to look like her. He’s been determined to own her, the same way he owns the painting, ever since he saw her, especially after she refused him the first time.”

Jude clenched his fists, his stomach churning in growing anger—this time directed at Nathan Cullen—as she continued.

“After my braither found out that she’d come to ye, he came to me, and nae just as an excuse to stay close. He kenned that for some time, I’ve had a lover. And that lover…”

“Is me.” Craig stepped closer and put an arm around her shoulders.

“She’s the lass I’ve been seein’ for the past season and more.

We met by accident, but when I saw what that beast was doin’ to her, and what kind of woman she was…

I didnae mean to put the clan in jeopardy, My Laird, but I couldnae abandon her, nor ignore my heart when it chose her. ”

“I see.” Jude knew he’d have to think about it later, but for now, he had other things on his mind. “And yer braither…?”

“He kenned. He threatened to expose Craig if I didnae bring Valerie to me under the guise of a dress fitting. And when she told him she was betrothed to ye, he ordered me to come here and spy on ye, to find out the truth of the matter, and to sabotage ye if necessary.”

So, even if Valerie had been willing to go along with my suggestion, the truth would have come out, and we would have been in a feud with MacAllister and MacOlley both, over her and Lady Ailsa.

Somehow, she kenned that. She guessed—guessed enough of the matter, at least. She left to protect us.

“There’s more. I overheard him talkin’ to my braither… He’s been forcin’ her hand by tellin’ her that if she doesnae agree to marry him, he will bring war to her kinfolk and leave her sister widowed, if he doesnae kill everyone and leave the clan gutted.”

Jude’s heart sank even further.

She left to protect her clan as well as mine. She hinted as much to me, with her worry for her sisters, and I was too stubborn to realize the truth. Nay… I didnae want to understand the real reason she couldnae accept my compromises, or the stakes she was fightin’ for.

I was a fool. A stubborn, bullheaded fool.

“Please, Laird MacFinn… I dinnae ken what my braither intends to do to Valerie, but I ken he will claim her, as he claims everything he sets his eyes on. And I ken what sort of man he is… He willnae be kind to her once he’s claimed her.

My braither is far too much like my husband.

” She lifted her arm to reveal the blue-black bruises on it.

Her meaning was clear. Nathan Cullen viewed Valerie as a possession, to be used and abused at his pleasure.

Jude felt anger and sickness roiling in his gut, indecision holding him there in the hall.

“I’m so sorry, My Laird. I should have told ye before. I should have been honest with ye and her. I just… I was so afraid… and…”

“I understand.” Jude shook his head. “Ye did what ye felt ye must.”

“Will ye help her? Save her?” Her large brown eyes, glistening with tears, gazed up at him, pleading, and his stomach clenched hard.

“He cannae. The only way to save Miss Blackwood would be to marry her, and the Laird has sworn never to marry.” Craig’s voice was cold, and his eyes were sharp and challenging as they met Jude’s.

Something inside him shattered into shards, as sharp and dangerous as the shards littering the floor. The coldness that accompanied even the thought of failure blended with the hot, sharp burn of anger, and a gut-twisting sensation that he could scarcely even recognize, let alone name.

Valerie gave herself to a monster to protect her clan and mine. She’s so small, nae a warrior, but she protected everyone with her words and her courage.

“Go tell the stablehand to saddle my horse.” His voice was cold, sharp as a blade.

“My Laird?” Craig’s eyebrow rose, an unspoken challenge and question in his eyes.

“Go have my horse saddled—the fastest and strongest one we have. I’ll be in the stables as soon as I’ve changed my clothes and strapped on my sword.”

I dinnae ken what I’m going to do, but I willnae hide behind a woman’s skirts, nor will I let Valerie sacrifice herself for me.

I dinnae ken what I will do when I arrive, but I willnae fail her again.

The blue-green dress was as lovely as it had been the first time Valerie wore it, but seeing herself in the mirror, wearing the flowing silk, made her want to burst into tears.

She couldn’t help remembering the last time she’d worn it. If she’d had a choice, she would have worn another dress. But there was no time to make a new wedding dress, and this was the most suitable dress she owned.

Besides, for all that it hurt, wearing the dress felt like having Jude’s shadow at her shoulder. If she could never have him, it at least brought her some comfort to feel as if some small part of her happier memories was accompanying her down the aisle.

A soft knock sounded at the door, which opened to admit Lily.

Valerie smiled at her older sister—the person she’d chosen to walk her down the aisle and give her away, in place of a father figure. She had considered asking Oliver, but in the end, she had chosen the only parental figure she had.

Lily came to stand behind her and started braiding her hair back. “It is a beautiful dress.”

“Jude bought me the silk. I saw it, and I wasnae plannin’ to buy it, but he insisted. And when I set it aside for other work, he demanded that I make the dress, and arranged a dance for me to wear it to.” Valerie gave her sister a weak smile.

“He sounds like a good man.”

“He is.”

Lily’s hands slowed, then hesitated. “Valerie… there’s still time. We can help ye leave. Ye can go somewhere—anywhere ye like. There are some of Faither’s men who would spirit ye away, and ye’d be happier as a pirate maid than ye would be married to that man.”

“But I gave my word.”

“I ken, but defendin’ us isnae yer job, little Val. Little Valiant Valerie.”

The two of them smiled at the mention of their father’s old nickname for her.

“But it is, at least this time. The first time, it was Brigid who stepped forward. Now, it is my turn.” Valerie reached up and clasped her sister’s hand. “Dinnae be so worried. I’ll make things work out, somehow.”

“Och, my bonny sister… so brave and so strong.” Lily squeezed her shoulders, then returned to brushing and braiding her hair.

Another knock, and Oliver opened the door. “The priest is here, and everythin’ is ready when ye are.”

Lily finished putting the ribbons in Valerie’s hair. “Are ye ready?”

“As ready as I can be.” Valerie forced a brave smile on her face and looped her arm through her sister’s. “We should go. I’m certain Laird MacOlley doesnae want to be kept waiting.”

Together, the two of them made their way downstairs to the Great Hall, where everyone else was waiting. Brigid and Megan met them at the door and took up positions behind them.

Beyond the doors, soft music played. Oliver gave them all a small, tight smile and then stepped inside.

Moments later, the music changed, signaling her entrance.

The doors opened, and Valerie began the long walk up the marked path to the dais, where the priest waited with Laird MacOlley and a man she didn’t recognize.

That must be Laird MacAllister, the man who hurt Ailsa so badly.

She swallowed down her rage. She had never wanted to strike a man so hard, not since her first encounter with her grandfather’s soldiers just over a year ago.

Together, she and Lily made their way to the dais, where Laird MacOlley descended to offer her his hand, along with a smug, cold smile of avarice and triumph.

The music faded away, and the priest stepped forward as Brigid and Megan took their places beside Conall, Oliver, and Emily.

The priest cleared his throat. “We are gathered here today to witness the union of two souls. Who comes this day to be wed?”

“Nathan Cullen, Laird of Clan MacOlley.”

“Valerie Blackwood, of Clan MacKane.”

The priest nodded. “And who presents these two to be wed?”

“I, Laird MacAllister, present my friend to be wed here this day.”

Lily hesitated, and Valerie shot her a look.

Her mouth tightened, but she did step forward with Valerie to place her hand in Nathan’s. “I, Lily Blackwood, present my sister to be wed this day.”

Laird MacOlley’s hand was cold, dry, and almost reptilian. It took everything Valerie had not to pull her hand back and spit in his face. She bit the inside of her cheek and tried to maintain a bland smile that might be mistaken for nerves.

“And do the two of ye come together of yer own free will?”

Nay. Nae at all.

“Aye.”

“Aye.”

“Very well.” The priest cleared his throat again and looked over the small congregation. “We have gathered to witness the union of these two individuals. If there is anyone here who feels this wedding shouldnae occur, speak now, or hold yer silence forevermore.”

A voice rang from the far end of the hall, familiar and wholly unexpected. “I object to this marriage.”

Valerie whirled around, unable to do anything more than stare in amazement as Jude marched toward her.