Page 17 of The Dark Highlander’s Heart (Thorns Of The Highlands #2)

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S everal hours into the meeting, the men found themselves no closer to a solution, and try as she might, Katherine was unable to provide any information which might help them put an end to the hostilities with her father.

Eventually, Alex suggested that they adjourn briefly, to see if any new ideas might come to them. Katherine followed Bryan closely as he left the Great Hall, and the moment the others were out of sight, Katherine threw her arms around Bryan and kissed him passionately.

The gesture surprised him tremendously, but he surrendered to it immediately.

Her mouth was so soft and warm against his, and with her body pressed against him, he could feel her heart hammering fiercely. He embraced her reflexively, inhaling her scent once more, and she held him even more tightly. Her hands slid up and down his back, sending shivers of delight all through his body.

Though he wished the kiss could last forever, he knew that it would be bad for anyone to catch him at it. If they did, it would surely cause them to question his loyalties all over again. With great difficulty, he pulled his face away from hers.

“What on earth was that for?” he asked, mystified.

Even though she was exhausted after the previous night’s efforts, she favored him with a smile. “Ye defended me; ye put yer own reputation on the line tae do so. That’s more than my own family has ever done for me. Ye’re the kindest, bravest man I’ve ever known, Captain Black.”

He laughed gently. “After all we’ve been through, I believe the time has long since come for ye tae call me Bryan.”

“Bryan, then,” she giggled. “And ye must drop the honorific and simply call me Katherine.”

“Then ye are the truly brave one, Katherine, not I,” he continued. “It takes real courage tae do the right thing, even if that means going against yer own people. Ye are risking so much tae help us stop yer father. And no matter what happens in the days tae come, know that if yer clan does not welcome ye back, ye will always have a home here with us.”

“Thank ye,” she replied. “I hope there will be some way for me tae be accepted by my own people, but if not, it is good tae know I will not be entirely displaced.”

“There must be some way tae resolve all of this,” Bryan mused. “We will find it, I promise ye.”

As he said this, he saw that the council members were beginning to drift back into the Great Hall. He took a couple of steps away from Katherine, so their intimacy would not be seen as suspicious.

“Perhaps I ought tae remain outside this time,” Katherine suggested. “I’ve not been able tae tell ye anything useful so far about my father’s defenses, and my presence does not seem tae be conducive to yer planning.”

“Very well,” Bryan agreed. “But remain close by, just in case there are any questions we need answered. Hopefully, we’ll have an answer tae all this before too long.”

But as Katherine waited outside the Hall, more hours ticked by. She heard raised voices several times, and the occasional thud of a fist hitting the table for emphasis. None of the sounds were particularly encouraging. She paced the corridor in a tight circle, hoping that they would make some progress before long.

At last, the door opened again, and the men filed out. Kirk Oliphant was the last one to leave the Hall, and as he did, he gave Katherine a doubtful look, shaking his head slowly.

“Madness,” he murmured before continuing down the corridor.

Katherine stepped into the Hall, where Alex and Bryan waited for her. The laird’s hands were on his hips. The captain of the guard looked confused, and not altogether pleased.

“Ye arrived at a decision, then?” she asked timidly.

“Aye, that we did,” Alex replied briskly. “We shall write tae yer father at once, and tell him that ye are tae be married tae an Oliphant man of noble breeding and station.”

Katherine blinked, shocked. “Forgive me, Laird Alex, but I seem tae have missed the part where such a fellow proposed tae me!”

“This must be a marriage of convenience, not of romance,” Alex informed her. “The best way tae ensure peace between our clans is tae join them through matrimony, as I tried tae do but failed miserably.”

“Then, who am I tae marry?”

“Kirk Oliphant,” Bryan said quietly.

“But we’ve barely exchanged two words since I arrived here!” she balked. Now his dubious expression and muttered comment upon leaving the Hall made more sense to her.

“He is the best candidate by far,” Alex pointed out. “He is my cousin, after all. Marrying ye tae him will show yer father that we dinnae mean tae insult him with this arrangement. Quite the contrary, in fact. Once our clans are joined, both shall benefit. We can share our resources with the McGregors, and in return, we can call upon them if we ever need their forces tae fight alongside our own.”

“Do ye believe it will work?” Bryan asked, peering at her intently.

Katherine did her best to put aside her own surprise, and disappointment, as she considered the question carefully.

“He will be outraged at first, naturally,” she began tentatively. “But tae learn that his daughter is tae be married tae the cousin of the laird, there is a chance that it might force him tae see reason at last, where all else has failed. I dinnae think he would prefer tae lead his armies tae certain death against the superior Oliphant forces. Not if there’s another way out. One that will spare his pride and allow him tae continue as laird of the McGregors.”

“‘Tis settled, then,” Alex said. “I shall compose a letter and send a messenger at once so that we may hear his response as soon as possible. I can only hope that he will rein in his temper and do the right thing for his clan, before this madness gets out of hand.”

And with that, Alex strode out of the room, leaving Bryan and Katherine alone together.

“May I assume, at least, that ye did not come up with this plan yerself?” she asked with a stunned laugh. The notion of it was still too big for her to fully contemplate.

Bryan shook his head. “‘Twas Alex who arrived at this conclusion.”

“But why must it be Kirk? ” she demanded. “Why not…”

He gave her a forlorn smile. “Ye forget, my lady, that I am naught but a guardsman. One with a questionable past, at that. Yer father would take such a thing as a grave insult, and then war would be certain tae follow. Kirk is by far the most noble-born member of the clan, since he shares the laird’s bloodline. ‘Tis a fine match. Yer father must see that.” His smile faded. “That said, I am not altogether certain that this will put ye back in yer father’s good graces when all is said and done.”

Katherine sighed. “Nay, I should think not. He’d welcome Romilly back, of that I have no doubt. But he’ll not wish for my presence, as it will no doubt remind him that he will be related tae his bitterest enemies. Romilly will be released, will she not, if the wedding occurs?” she added, hopefully.

Bryan nodded. “It is clear that we dinnae mean tae execute her for her crimes, else we’d have done so by now. As such, ‘twould be unseemly tae keep her under lock and key once her clan is no longer a threat tae ours. Unless ye believe she will inflict further violence upon us?”

“She worships our father,” Katherine answered. “If he truly commands that the conflict cease, she will do as he bids.”

“That remains quite an ‘if,’” the captain observed with a pained grimace.

“Aye, there is too much uncertainty all around.” She searched his eyes. “Is this truly the only way, Bryan?”

“I’m afraid it is.” He reached out, taking her hands in his. “I wish it were otherwise. But of course, ye must know that, though we hope ye will help us in this way, we cannae compel ye tae marry him if ye refuse.”

Katherine thought about the village in the aftermath of the McGregor raid. She remembered the stricken faces of the townsfolk; the eyes of the children, staring mutely at the charred wreckage of the homes they grew up in. The agony they’d endured at the hands of her family was more than she could bear. She was deeply ashamed of her father’s actions.

And had she not promised to do whatever it took to prevent any more Oliphants from enduring such horrors?

Well, here was her chance. Her only chance, from the sound of it.

She did not dare say no.

“If this is the path tae peace,” she said, “then I will do what I must. ‘Tis up tae my father, and out of our hands now.”

Bryan’s mouth tightened into a thin line, and he nodded once. “I thought ye would say so. Good. It is settled, then, Lady Katherine.”

He lingered in the Hall a few more moments, and it seemed as though there was much more he wanted to say to her. She wondered if some part of him had hoped she would say no to the plan so that he would not be forced to watch her wed to another.

His sense of duty prevailed, though, and he turned and left without another word.

Katherine returned to her chamber and gazed out the window. After an hour had passed, she saw the gates open, and watched the messenger ride out toward the borderlands. As she did, she found herself uncertain of which outcome she was truly hoping for.

If her father rejected the proposal, would that mean she and Bryan might find some way to be together after all?

No.

She wished it could be otherwise, but she knew it wouldn’t be. Refusal would certainly mean open war, and once that started, Bryan’s first duty would be to his clan, even more than before. His time and attention would be spent planning attacks and counterattacks, and leading his men into battle.

Worse still, it would mean he would need to distance himself from her even more. He hadn’t been able to allow himself to act on his feelings for her because he hadn’t wished to muddy the waters of his duty to the Oliphants. If war broke out, he’d need to demonstrate that sense of duty all the more fiercely. How would it look, if one of the clan’s highest-ranked guardsmen was caught carrying on with a McGregor, even an exiled one?

And amid it all, there would be more raids and flames, more screaming and death. More terrorized women and children, more displaced families. More butchery and misery.

No, she could not bring herself to truly wish for her father to reject the overture. He had to agree. There was too much at stake for him to do otherwise.

When the messenger had disappeared over the farthest hilltop, Katherine lowered herself onto the bed. She thought that sleep would be a long time finding her, with all of the conflicting emotions raging in her heart.

But after everything she’d been through over the previous day, she fell into a deep slumber the moment her eyes closed. She remained asleep until late in the afternoon, when one of the servants brought supper to her. She had hoped that Bryan might come to look in on her, and was disappointed when the evening passed without any sign of him.

Eventually, she realized that there was a perfectly valid reason for this, though it saddened her: She was not a prisoner anymore, to be kept under observation by the most vigilant Oliphant guardsman.

Now she was something quite different. She was the betrothed of the laird’s cousin—or at least, she was presumed to be thus, unless a negative response came from her father regarding the marriage solution. As such, it would be considered improper for another man to be alone with her in her chamber.

So she ate in silence, alone with her stormy thoughts. When she had cleared her plate, she went back to bed and wondered how she might pass the next few days while waiting for an answer to the message.

This time, it was far more difficult for her to rest.

When she rose the next morning, there was a knock at the door. Her heart leaped, for she thought perhaps she might have been mistaken in her assumptions the previous night, and that Bryan had come to look in on her after all. The sight that awaited her when she opened the door proved to be almost as welcome; Lady Isla, smiling radiantly.

“So! Not only do we have the pleasure of yer company for a while longer after all, but it seems ye will be joining the family. It has been very lonely ever since Alex’s adopted sister, Lady Lorna, was married to the love of her life and left the castle. So I welcome this arrangement and ye in the family.”

Katherine laughed timidly. “So it would seem. Depending upon my father’s answer, at any rate. I am still not wholly certain this mad scheme will dissuade him from his rage.”

“Well, either way, we have done all we can,” Isla replied reasonably. “All that is left is tae watch and wait. Which can often be the most difficult thing of all, so I thought ye might appreciate a bit of a distraction.”

“Aye,” Katherine tilted her head curiously. “That was most considerate of ye, thank ye. What did ye have in mind?”

“I thought ye might like tae get out of the castle for the day,” Isla suggested. “We could ride to the nearest village? I understand ye made a friend there during yer previous visit?”

“That I did,” Katherine laughed, fondly remembering Fiona. “I would enjoy seeing her again. But how did ye know about that?”

“Bryan mentioned it tae me,” Isla informed her. “He saw how much ye enjoyed her company, and said ye might welcome a chance tae see her again.”

Katherine’s heart swelled at how considerate Bryan was, but it was yet another bitter reminder of the fact that she could never be with him. She tried to conceal her whirlwind of conflicting emotions from Isla.

“Excellent! Also, I thought we might bring along some bolts of cloth and sewing implements,” Isla added. “I believe there are many young lasses in town who might benefit from learning some new patterns, and who better tae instruct them? I’m told ye did something similar in yer own lands?”

“Mostly because it was a good excuse tae leave my father’s presence for a few hours at a time,” Katherine chuckled ruefully. “Aye, that does sound like a lovely way tae pass the time.”

“In that case,” Isla informed her, “ye will be pleased tae learn that when I heard ye had come back tae us, I had the dresses ye’d been borrowing moved back in here.” She pointed to a trunk in the corner. “They are in there, and from now on, I’d be honored if ye considered them yer own. While ye get dressed, I will gather some food from the pantry for us to take with us, and I shall meet ye at the stables.”

The moment Isla had left the room, Katherine squealed and jumped up and down with delight, her anxieties momentarily forgotten. She threw open the trunk and pulled the fine dresses out one by one, running her fingers over their lovely material and selecting the best one for an afternoon ride.

When she’d settled on one, she put it on, slipped her shoes on, and ran down the steps eagerly. This attracted several odd looks from the servants and the other denizens of Castle Oliphant, but she paid them no heed, hurrying to the stables, where Isla was waiting for her.

“Och, aye, that outfit is most fetching on ye!” Isla remarked merrily.

“Thank ye again for letting me wear it,” Katherine replied, beaming and approaching Bluebell. The horse seemed to remember her fondly, and she stroked its muzzle tenderly.

“It appears as though Bluebell is happy ye’ll be remaining with us a while yet as well,” Isla giggled. She mounted Heather with the help of one of the stable hands, and Katherine did likewise with Bluebell. “Shall we ride, then? I’m sure Fiona will be even more delighted tae see ye than Bluebell is.”

Moments later, the two of them were racing their horses across the verdant countryside of the Oliphant lands, shouting challenges out to each other and laughing with the wind in their hair.