“I’m glad my brother found love with you and glad I’ll have you as family.”
Alaina squeezed his hand before releasing it. “I’m so very glad you’re here to help your brother. Until tomorrow.”
She hurried off, and Burke made his way back into the forest where Storm and Tanin waited for him while William and Philip continued to keep watch.
“Lady Alaina was receptive to my questions,” Burke explained once they returned to their campsite. “She and Cullen fell in love and planned to run off together. She took ill and her father found Cullen and now makes him pay for loving his daughter while the earl intends to wed her off to a duke.”
Storm shook her head while pacing in front of Burke. “He’s looking to make powerful connections through marriage. I wouldn’t be surprised if the duke helped him to get Cullen imprisoned in Weighton.”
“I’m meeting with the earl tomorrow,” Burke said, standing firm in anticipation of Storm’s objection.
“It will be a waste of time,” Storm said and sank to the ground to sit.
“I agree,” Tanin said, resting against an old rotting stump.
Burke sat beside Storm, the blue of her eyes swirling like an impending storm and warning of her concern. “Why?”
“The earl is looking for power and the only way of obtaining it is through the marriage of his daughter. No amount of money will match that.”
“She’s right,” Tanin said. “I fear you waste your time.”
“What other choice do I have?” Burke asked, and watched as Tanin sat straight up and stared with wide eyes at Storm.
“Don’t even tell me you’re considering it,” Tanin warned, his eyes fixed on Storm.
Burke looked over at her, and in the depths of her blue eyes he could see a plan brewing like a storm that was about to rage and consume everything in its path.
“You know as well as I do, this meeting will go badly,” Storm said and turned to Burke. “You can’t meet with the earl. We must find a way into Weighton to free Cullen. It is the only logical solution.”
“I can be persuasive,” Burke argued.
“It’s not about persuasion,” she argued. “Besides, I still lead this group and my decision is final, and I say there’ll be no meeting between you and the earl.”
“It’s my choice,” Burke said firmly.
Storm shook her head. “No, it’s not. Your foolish move could not only cost my group dearly but it could cost your brother as well.”
He’d hear her out since he respected her opinion, but he’d be damned if the final choice would be hers. “How so?”
Storm looked to Tanin and he answered.
“The earl is a vindictive man—”
“Lady Alaina said the same.”
“Then listen to her for she speaks the truth,” Tanin said. “He has been the cause of suffering and countless deaths, and even of ones he claims to love. He had Lady Alaina’s mother confined to an institution, claiming she was insane. She killed herself after there only a month. He then married again and found a way to get rid of her when he insisted she was barren. He has gone through four wives and now looks for a fifth to give him the son he so desperately wants.”
“The earl intends to use his daughter to benefit his thirst for power. Otherwise she is useless to him,” Storm said. “While you may be able to convince him that your brother holds a title of land baron, that title does him little good here in Scotland. You are wasting your time and I will not allow it.”
“It’s not your decision,” Burke snapped.
“Think again, Mr. Longton,” she warned calmly.
Burke sent Tanin a look that begged for privacy and the man walked off, though not before making sure Burke understood that he agreed with Storm.
He wasn’t surprised when Storm stood and took a firm stance, her hands on her hips, her head held high. He was glad she didn’t wear the stocking cap that portrayed her as a young lad. He loved her wavy black hair that shouted she was a woman and a beautiful one at that.
She just wasn’t any woman—she was his woman. And though the thought melted his heart, he knew he needed to shield himself for he was about to go into battle with the infamous Storm.
