Page 60 of Taken By the Highland Villain

She couldn’t stay, no matter how much she knew she should, or how much Laird MacOlley might desire her presence—though she doubted he cared, now that he had gotten what he wanted.

She swallowed again and looked at Conall. “If ye will excuse me, I am afraid I am quite fatigued. It has been a long and difficult seven days.”

Conall nodded.

Laird MacOlley did not even look her way, too engrossed in his victory and the contract that symbolized it, sitting at the table between him and Conall.

With a final glance between the two men who held her future in their hands, Valerie turned and left the hall, her sisters still gathered around her in a strong, supportive group.

The silence lasted until they’d returned to her room. Then and only then did Lily break the silence, wrapping her in a tight hug. “Och, Valerie, what are ye doin’?”

“What had to be done.” Valerie swallowed back the tears and bitter disappointment. “If I hadnae agreed, he would have brought his warriors and all his allies against the clan. I couldnae let it happen—I couldnae risk ye.”

“But ye shouldnae have to protect us. Especially nae this way, and nae for the second time.” Lily’s voice was firm. “It was a mistake for ye to wed that brute Faither chose for ye, and it is a mistake to wed this man now. Ye arenae responsible for keepin’ us safe by sacrificin’ yer happiness.”

“It is too late. And even if it werenae, I would make the same decision.”

Lily started to speak, but Valerie shook her head to cut her off.

“Ye say it isnae my position to protect this family. But if it is me he wants, then whose position should it be?”

Her sisters started to protest, but she only smiled sadly and went to change for bed.

I love my family. If weddin’ another brute is what it takes to secure their safety, then I will wed him and live with the consequences. Nay matter what those consequences might be.

CHAPTER 26

The morning sunlighthit 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 enoughwhyhe’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 leveredhimself 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.