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T he morning of the wedding, Keira could feel the ache behind her eyes. She hadn’t had a wink of sleep since the whole thing happened, and she was certain sleep was not going to come anytime soon.

Lesley entered first, sympathy flickering in her eyes.

“Hudson told me what happened,” she started, pity lacing her voice. “I cannae tell ye how sorry I am that this is all happening.”

Keira looked over her friend’s shoulder, waiting for her man-at-arms to walk in. She furrowed her brow in confusion when he didn’t, and she glanced at Lesley. “Where is he?”

“Who?”

“Hudson. I thought he was coming with ye.”

“Aye. He went to fetch a few things from the market for me. Dinnae worry about him. I kenned ye wouldnae be able to sleep, so I told him to get me some things I need to prepare for ye. At least to get ye through today.”

Keira rose from her bed and walked into the bathing chamber. One of the first things she had always looked forward to every single day was her morning routine. This time around—and she guessed this was how it would be for the rest of the day—she couldn’t care less.

Even now, as the water submerged her entire body, she could not be bothered to scrub her skin. There was nothing about the day that was worth looking forward to. She might as well be preparing for a sentence or even her execution at this point.

When she stepped out of the bath, the people in the room had doubled.

Shona stood by the door, her eyes steady on her as she walked across the room, water trailing behind her feet.

“Are ye all right?” she asked, her voice full of concern.

“As all right as I can be,” Keira responded.

For the first time since Lesley had walked in, she noticed the bouquet of flowers that stood by the door. Her eyes flicked to Lesley.

“Nay wedding without flowers. Nae even this one.” Lesley’s voice was sharp and direct.

“Is this yer wedding dress?” Shona asked, swallowing as she gestured toward an intricately designed lace gown that hung from the door of the wardrobe.

Keira’s eyes flicked to it, and she nodded slowly. She had brought it out the previous night. It was the same dress she wore at her previous wedding.

A bitter laugh escaped her lips at the irony. Two weddings out of duty. The same dress for both.

“I can help ye dress if ye want.” Shona’s tone was gentle.

But before Keira could respond, a knock sounded at the door.

“Hudson?” she asked, glancing at the door and then at Lesley.

“It cannae be him. He cannae be back yet.”

Shona moved to the door and pulled it open. A woman, one of the guests at the cèilidh, walked in, her eyes sharp and intelligent.

Keira squinted her eyes. For some reason, she felt like she was supposed to know her, but despite her efforts, she couldn’t put a name to her face.

“Keira,” Shona said, “this is Alison. She’s Laird Marsden’s wife.”

Alison moved closer, her eyes filled with enough pity to drive Keira down a spiral. “I am truly sorry for what is happening. I could tell from the look on yer face yesterday that ye didnae plan this at all.”

Keira only gave her a brief nod in response.

Soon, the women got busy, and the room grew loud. Lesley helped rearrange some of the flowers in the bouquet and cut the stems of the ones she deemed uneven. Shona helped Keira into the dress, and Alison styled her hair.

“The flowers are perfect!” Lesley proclaimed, a triumphant smile resting on her face.

Keira turned her head as Shona started to tighten the laces of her corset one after the other.

“What do ye think?”

She stared at the flowers—they had been arranged neatly and grouped by colors. They looked fresh and exquisite. So exquisite that she was unable to tell the exact time her eyes started to well with tears.

Lesley noticed immediately and moved closer to her. “Nay. Nay. Nae now, Keira. Ye cannae cry. Do ye nae like the flowers?”

Keira sniffed. “That isnae the problem. The flowers are perfect.”

Lesley stared at her, her brow furrowed in confusion.

“If only this wedding was just as perfect as well.”

At those words, all the women around her paused what they were doing. Keira noticed and regretted bringing it up in the first place.

“Ye ken ye still have some time,” Shona reminded her.

“Aye,” Lesley agreed. “Hudson should be on his way back by now. He should have bought the roots I need. We can take a break and just talk if that is what ye want.”

Keira wiped the tears rolling down her cheeks and shook her head. “Nay. I dinnae want that.”

“Keira,” Shona said, her voice soft.

“’Tis nae the first time I will be marrying out of duty. I ken how to compose meself. Let us keep going,” Keira urged, her voice firm.

“Are ye certain?” Alison asked, twirling the comb in her hand.

“Aye,” Keira affirmed. “I dinnae want to be stuck in this dress for too long. I want to get this over with as soon as possible.”

Another wave of tense silence swept over the room.

The women resumed their work, speeding up wherever they could. Alison grabbed the string of white pearls that rested on the vanity and gently draped it around her neck.

“Ye look beautiful,” Shona commented.

“Aye,” Alison agreed. “Evander is a lucky man.”

Keira nodded, a bitter smile tugging at her lips. “Let us just go, please.”

In another world, if she was getting married to the love of her life, a man who wanted to marry her for her and not some twisted sense of duty, this would have been the perfect wedding.

The servants had been quick to prepare the courtyard in just the few hours of notice they had been given. The grass had been well trimmed, and flowers lined the path that reached the makeshift altar, where Evander currently stood with the priest.

Shona stood right beside her, walking with purpose, her hand tightly gripping the flower bouquet.

Keira studied Evander as she approached him.

He was clad in a dark coat and a kilt made of Kincaid tartan.

She could see the awe in his brown eyes as she drew closer, and part of her wondered if that was a performance as well—like all of this had been.

“Me advice?” Shona murmured, her voice drowned out by the bagpipes but loud enough for Keira to hear.

“Dinnae give him all of yer heart at once. Evander is a good man, just like his braither was. I’m sure he can be very charming.

But that means ye have to be careful. Once ye give him yer heart, there is nay way to get it back. ”

Keira swallowed, ignoring the several pairs of eyes on both sides as she continued to walk. Shona’s words not only rang in her ears, but they also sank into her heart as well. Every single word.

“I would ken all about giving yer heart to a man like him. I am still paying for it and trying to get it back.”

She finally stopped by the altar, and the hair on the back of her neck stood on end.

“Ye look lovely, Keira,” Evander whispered to her, his voice soft and clear as the priest began the wedding rites.

Before she could respond, he squeezed his eyes shut, wincing.

“Are ye all right?”

“Aye. Just some bad tasting dram I had earlier,” he responded when he opened his eyes and looked at her again.

Keira nodded.

Everything seemed to pass by in a blur. The wedding itself, the prayers and vows, the handfasting ceremony, the kiss.

She felt as if she had floated out of her body and continued to witness the entire thing from above, unable to gain one iota of control over her body and the helpless marriage she had been forced into.

Her absentmindedness lasted most of the day as she responded to felicitations with almost little to no joy in her spirit.

“Aye, quite a lucky woman,” one of the women who had attended the cèilidh—evidently from Clan Kincaid—whispered to her. “We have always thought that when it was time for Evander to get married, he would pick one of us.”

Keira frowned. “One of ye?”

“Och, ye ken. Lasses from the clan, me included, have been trying to get him to notice us for a long time. We have prepared ourselves for years, thinking one of these days, he’ll pick one of us.”

Keira swallowed. “Oh.”

“But then ye did it,” the woman continued, her smile growing more eerie by the second. “Ye bagged Laird Kincaid without even trying. Ye must tell me yer secret one of these days.”

Keira laughed. “I will. Some other time.”

The woman gave her another bright smile before walking away.

The laughter on her tongue instantly vanished. So, not only was she forced into another loveless marriage, but now she had jealous clanswomen to worry about?

There was only so much of this she could take, and it was beginning to get the better of her. She reached for Lesley the next time she found her.

“I shall take me leave,” she announced, her voice still devoid of joy.

“Yer leave? ‘Tis yer wedding. The people came here to see ye.”

“They have seen enough,” Keira muttered. “I am tired, Lesley, and I cannae do this anymore. I want to try and get some sleep.”

Lesley nodded and gently patted her friend’s back.

Keira turned on her heel and walked away, making her way to her room, plastering a smile on her face as she accepted even more gratulations from the clansfolk who walked past her.

Then, she caught Hudson staring at her from the periphery, a rather tense look on his face. She walked quicker and caught up to him.

“This isnae fair,” he started.

“Life isnae fair,” she responded.

They began to walk together toward the castle doors.

“I cannae bear to see ye go through this again, M’Lady.”

“Trust me, this isnae exciting for me, either.”

“Ye can leave if ye want,” Hudson suggested. “I will leave with ye and find a place for ye. A place far away from here.”

Keira stopped and turned to him, the same bitter smile returning to her face. She reached for his cheek and stroked it gently with her thumb. “I want ye to believe me, Hudson, when I tell ye that yer loyalty hasnae gone unnoticed.”

Hudson reached for her hand, an earnest look on his face. “Then let me be loyal to ye till the end, Keira.”