“Has he stated the reason for his unannounced visit, Frync?” he finally inquired.
“He means to annul yer marriage to Her Ladyship, Me Laird.”
“Can he do that?” Helena turned to Alexander and grabbed at his shirt, steadying herself. “He cannae, can he?”
“Frync, go back and tell him that Helena and I arenae in the castle at the moment, that we left shortly after Sophia departed, as the lady was upset. That we arenae expected back until tomorrow. Have Lorna settle Chester and his men into rooms appropriate for their stations. Tell Michael and Alice that they are to entertain him this evening but nae to speak of anything of importance. They can use me absence as reason enough.”
“Aye.” Frync turned to go back in the direction he had come from.
“Och, and Frync,” Alexander called, stopping him. “Have a guard shadow him at all times—tell them it’s for his protection.”
The servant nodded in understanding and retreated hastily to carry out his Laird’s instructions.
Alexander took Helena’s hand and led her out of the garden through a back gate hidden by overgrown bushes, leaving the castle and their unwelcome guests behind as they disappeared into the forest.
“He cannae do that, can he? Tell me,” she pressed.
Alexander didn’t respond at first. He just kept marching deeper into the forest, pulling her along.
“Alexander! Answer me. Can he?”
He stopped so fast that she collided with his back and stumbled back. His wary gaze flicked to her.
“Aye, lass. At this point, he can.” He quickly looked around as if fearing to be heard, then spoke in a low voice, “We have yet to consummate our marriage. If he discovers that, then aye, he can annul our marriage.”
“Oh.” Her stomach sank in embarrassment, in fear, and a multitude of emotions enveloped her. “Right. That.”
“Aye. That,” he said quietly, dropping her hand.
He resumed walking through the forest, this time at a much slower pace. She followed behind him silently, and eventually, they reached a rock formation, where they stopped to sit.
“We’ll wait for a while, give them time to settle in, and then return to our chambers.”
Helena drew her knees up to her chest as she used to do when she was a child and was upset about something. “What are we goin’ to do?”
“There’s only one thing we can do, lass. I dinnae like the circumstances, but I promise to be gentle with ye,” he murmured, stroking her hair gently.
Nodding silently, she avoided looking at him, just leaning against him for comfort, both lost in thought.
It seemed like hours passed before the darkness began to creep in and they made their way back to the keep, sneaking in through the garden gate and into the castle through the rear entrance to the kitchen. They earned surprised looks from the maids as they hurried out of the kitchen and up the stairwell to their rooms.
“Go and change—I’ll have dinner brought to our rooms. We can eat there to avoid the unpleasantries below.” Alexander opened the door to her room for her. “We’ll find our way through this, lass, dinnae fret.” He paused, grabbing her chin with his forefinger and thumb. “I’m nae goin’ to let anyone take ye from me.”
“Nay.” Helena rose on her tiptoes to kiss his cheek. “That’s nae what I want at all. Goin’ home means the war will resume, and I cannae have that.”
“Aye, ye’re right about that, lass.” He pulled her close, whispering hotly in her ear, “Go on, lass, before I change me mind about dinner.”
With a nervous giggle, Helena retreated into her room and closed the door behind her. She leaned against it, listening to the sound of his booted steps as he went to the room next door.
A giddy excitement overtook her as she changed out of her day dress and into her favorite nightgown.
A knock on the door drew her attention. She rushed to it and cracked it open enough to peer out and see who was there. Thankfully, it was Alexander.
“The food is gettin’ cold, lass.” He motioned to the next door with a nod of his head. “Come on.”
Helena stepped out of her room and hurried to his, all the while hearing him following close behind. The table by the window was laden with food and drinks. They ate in relative quiet, but her nerves were getting worse and worse by the moment that she ended up picking at her food.
“Nae hungry?”
