Page 13 of The Highlander’s Auctioned Virgin (Auctioned Highland Brides #3)

Elinor walked into the surgery, where Katherine already awaited.

“Good grief, M’Lady. Ye gave us all a scare.”

Elinor sat on one of the tables in the surgery, where wounded soldiers or ailing children were usually laid.

“Katherine, I promise ye, I am nae injured.”

“That, M’Lady, will be for me to determine, nae the other way around,” Katherine responded. “Are ye all right?”

“What have I been saying since I got here?” Elinor threw her hands up in frustration. No one was listening or even trying to listen to her. “I wasnae injured.”

“Where were ye the entire night?” Katherine asked as she examined her left hand first.

She didn’t release her hand until she was utterly satisfied that there were no bruises or cuts that would linger too long.

“As surprising as this may be for ye, I was in the cabin.”

Katherine cocked her head. “The cabin?”

“Ye ken, Simon’s cabin.”

Katherine threw her head back as realization dawned on her. “Oh, the cabin.”

“Aye.”

“And what is this I hear about ye deciding to marry him? Ye ken, when I heard the news, I thought something terrible must have happened. He had managed to corner ye and threatened to kill ye, did he nae?”

“On the contrary,” Elinor whispered, “he was quite the gentleman.”

“The gentleman?”

“Aye.”

“Ye ken we are talking about the Hound here, do ye nae?”

“I am well aware, aye.”

“So he must have done something to bewitch ye at the cabin.”

“Nay. He was just the clear winner. I am just as surprised as ye are.”

“Elinor,” Katherine muttered as she checked her legs for bruises and cuts, “the whole point of this auction is for ye to find a man who is sturdy of heart and can protect ye when danger comes. I can see the protection part, but ye have lost me with the heart part.”

“I ken.”

“He’s a killer,” Katherine whispered, as if it were a secret.

“Ye think I daenae ken that?”

“Logically, he shouldnae be able to pass the tests,” Katherine continued.

“But for some reason, he did. I have nay choice, Katherine. I set up this auction. I invited the lairds. I chose to decide how to get married, and now I must abide by me rules.”

Silence fell on them as Katherine checked her feet for injuries.

Elinor was right. There were no bruises. Not any that she could see.

“I told ye.”

“So, ye were just in the cabin with him all night, and when morning came, ye decided to come back?”

“Well, we played Nine Men’s Morris. He helped me dry me clothes.”

Katherine cocked her head. “Did he– ”

“Nay.” Elinor’s response was sharp. So sharp that it came out almost defensive. As if it had happened and this was her way of protecting him. Of protecting herself. “He didnae do anything. But when I woke up the next morning, he had hunted a deer and roasted it for me.”

“Elinor– ”

“I ken. I am just as surprised as ye are. Probably even more.”

Katherine grabbed a stool and dragged it to the table.

For the first time since she had started treating Elinor’s injuries, she no longer had a look of frustration on her face. Just intrigue.

“Ye reckon he’s playing the long game?” she asked.

The question was jarring. Almost out of nowhere.

“What long game?” Elinor arched her eyebrows.

“Alright. So, Thomas told me yesterday that he overheard some of the lairds talking as they retired to their rooms for the night.”

“During the storm?”

“Aye, during the storm,” Katherine confirmed.

“Apparently, one of the lairds believed that ye might have died out there, which meant the clan was up for grabs. They were already drawing lots on who would take which part of the castle before ye returned this morning, Elinor. He said that some even considered the possibility that ye might still be alive and that once ye returned and married one of them, they would slowly gain power until ye had faded out of control and they would become the sole leaders of Clan MacAdair. By then, ye would be nothing more than a maid with a place in the kitchen, where ye belong.”

Elinor listened quietly and let silence reign for the next few seconds after her friend stopped talking. Then, she broke into a low chuckle.

“At least I’m nae marrying any of them.”

Katherine nodded. “’Tis good to ken that. But ye’ll be marrying the worst of them. Tell me, does Ciaran ken yer real name? Does he ken yer full story?”

Elinor flinched slightly. There were several instances the previous night where she could’ve told him everything that had led her here. Now, with her friend’s reasonable pessimism, she couldn’t help but wonder if she had done the right thing by keeping it to herself.

“Nay, I told him nothing,” she replied. “But he kens that I’m nae from here.”

“Does he also ken about the other thing?”

Elinor frowned. “What other thing?”

“The fact that ye’re a virgin?”

“I havenae told him that yet. We still have to get to ken each other. We daenae have to spill everything from here on out. Now, are ye fully satisfied?”

“Satisfied?”

“That I am nae injured?”

“Aye.” Katherine nodded. “But I must say, I am deeply worried about ye, Elinor. What if ye get hurt in the long run? He is a killer. The man is literally known for being a killer.”

Elinor laughed. “I promise ye, Katherine, ye daenae have to worry about me.” She jumped off the table. “Now, I had quite a long night, and I just dismissed the lairds. The one thing I need now is a warm bath. Did the maids already draw me one?”

“They did yesterday, thinking ye were going to return. But Jenny left to draw another one.”

Elinor nodded.

“If ye’re nae going to respond to me, maybe ye will respond to someone else.”

“Good heavens. Dinnae tell me that Thomas will also come here and tell me his opinion on me marriage with Laird MacTraigh.”

“Do ye think calling him that makes him less scary? And nay, ‘tis nae Thomas.”

Elinor frowned. They were the only two people who could talk to her and try to change her mind about anything. “Then who is it?”

Almost as if on cue, the door swung open, and in someone walked, their boots scuffing the wooden floorboards.

Elinor slowly turned around, her eyes widening. “Anna?!” she squealed.

“They arrived in the middle of the storm yesterday. I havenae had the time to tell ye yet.”

Elinor spun back, furrowing her brow at Katherine’s words. “They?”

“Aye. She came with yer braither, Jackson,” Katherine explained.

But Elinor didn’t listen, not anymore as Anna moved closer to her. Those words bounced off the top of her head.

Anna stopped before her, one hand resting on her slightly protruding belly and the other hanging by her side.

“Oh, Anna!” Elinor squealed again and threw her arms around her.

Anna wrapped her in a giant hug, and they both remained in that position for a long moment.

“Ye’re here. How in God’s name are ye here?!” Elinor asked, breathing in the familiar scent of Anna’s red hair.

“Gordon received yer letter as well. He showed it to me, and I thought I must make an appearance as soon as possible. ‘Tis nae every day ye get to see who yer sister will choose among a group of men.”

“Oh…” Elinor trailed off, her voice faint.

“Now, what is this I’m hearing about ye already deciding yer fate?”

Anna headed to one of the available stools by the window, where she could sit properly, and Elinor and Katherine followed her. She gingerly lowered herself onto the stool, her hand still resting on her belly.

Elinor’s gaze flicked to the belly and back to her sister’s face. A part of her wondered if the baby had already started to kick, but she didn’t ask. From the way Anna glared at her like she had committed an egregious crime, there were more issues at stake.

“I heard it, but I didnae want to believe it. Nae until I heard it from yer lips.”

Elinor rolled her eyes and looked from Katherine, who stood a few feet behind her, and back to Anna. “Aye, the rumors are true. I’m marrying Laird MacTraigh.”

“Ye think the name is supposed to make him sound less scary?” Anna scoffed, her brow furrowed.

“That is exactly what I said!” Katherine cried.

“He’s a killer, Elinor. He is usually sent to kill people, and nae just during war.”

“Why does everyone keep reminding me of that fact? I ken it.”

“Do ye? Because if ye did, ye wouldnae have agreed to marry him,” Anna retorted, her voice rising.

Elinor rolled her eyes again, ignoring the way her sister’s red hair caught the light filtering through the window.

“Ye can still get out of this,” Anna continued, ignoring the fact that her sister was growing more distressed with each passing second. “Ye only announced recently that ye have chosen to marry him; ye can announce that the decision was a mistake and ye will do nay such thing.”

“We are to be man and wife soon, Anna. I cannae go back on me promise.”

“What damned promise?!” Anna huffed.

“The promise that I shall marry the man who passes all the tests I have set. He was the only one who came for me during the storm. The other lairds returned to the castle to eat me food and bask in the warmth of me hearths. Ciaran was the only one who found me. And he didnae just find me, ye ken. When he realized we couldnae return to the castle, he made certain that I was fed, warm, and entertained. And nay, he didnae touch me the entire night. How many of those greedy lairds outside can do that?”

Elinor’s eyes darted between Anna and Katherine. They were both silent.

“Ye think a part of me isnae terrified as well? Ye think I havenae thought about all the disadvantages that come with marrying a man like him over and over?” She looked at her sister. “And ye’re a quick one to judge, Anna, seeing as ye married the Devil of the Highlands.”

“This is different.”

Elinor eyed her sister intently, her voice dropping to a whisper. “Is it?”

Anna bit the inside of her cheek and said nothing, but Elinor could see the concern on her face. Concern for her naivety, for her helplessness, as if the last three years she had survived under Murdock’s thumb had never existed.

“I need a bath,” Elinor muttered and spun around.

She could still feel their eyes on her as she made her way out of the surgery. It was fine. Let them look. She would marry Ciaran anyway.

She had to.