Briefly, the two lairds met each other’s gazes, and Magnus could see sympathy in MacIrvin’s expression. Perhaps he knew of Magnus’s past, perhaps he did not, but they both knew this was no way for a man to take a wife.
“My house is one of honor,” the Earl continued, his fingers clenching and unclenching at his sides as his eyes flicked incessantly from Leah to Magnus and back again. “I shall not have my daughter’s stupidity besmirch my good name.”
He smirked at Leah, who crossed her arms over her chest and glowered at him—the fiery phoenix rising slowly from the ashes.
Magnus felt a grey fog falling over his mind at the thought of taking a wife again.
The idea was not as foreign as it might have been a few years ago. He had at least acknowledged the needs of the council, and in recent weeks, he had considered the possibility of remarrying perhaps in two or three years.
But he had no desire to marry now and certainly not to trap this firebrand into a cursed existence with him. He would not be the reason that her light dimmed.
He thought of Elizabeth and the time they had shared. It had been happy, for what it was worth, but he had never loved her. Their marriage had been one of duty and necessity. Theyhad lived together contentedly enough, but the intense, burning desire he felt for Leah was an entirely new experience for him. She was everything in the world he wanted but could never hope to deserve.
He could not imagine taking her as his wife under these circumstances. He knew that their marriage would always be overshadowed by the series of events that had brought them together.
Magnus unlocked the part of his mind that had long since been shut away and brought the image of Elizabeth’s face before him. What would she think of this? She being the most cursed of all. It was his fault that she was dead, of that he knew, and he would not allow another to suffer the same fate.
“Well?” Lord Burton pressed. “Will you protect my daughter’s honor?”
As her father asked the question, Leah turned back to Magnus, looking up into his eye, her own eyes wide with shock and despair.
It’s alright, lass, I shall nae imprison ye. Nae for anythin’ in the world.
“Nay,” Magnus replied, as though the word were a curse. He watched Leah’s eyes turn cold. “I willnae marry her.”
CHAPTER 12
As soon asMacWatt said those words, Leah heard the bite of steel as MacIrvin drew his sword once more.
She had known that Magnus did not wish to marry again, yet after everything they had shared, this new rejection was a fresh blow. He did not meet her gaze, dismissing her as easily as if she were a stranger.
Her father instantly erupted into Magnus’s face, screaming at him about his lack of honor, that any laird who understood the true nature of a woman’s reputation would never have abandoned her to such a fate.
Leah’s eyes caught Katie’s as the tirade continued. Her friend had been utterly silent, but she was watching her now, quietly shaking her head as though to dispel the chaos around them.
Leah could suddenly hear the tide pounding heavily against the shore, and she could feel the waves in her blood, rising andfalling in her veins. She tried to take deep breaths to dismiss the feeling, but it would not abate.
It seemed as though time stood still. Her father was on the brink of true fury, his arms flailing in a great arc, ready to fight for what he believed was right.
He does not fight for me.He fights for what is best for him, for his honor, and for his reputation. He no more cares for me than he cares for the life I must lead.
The tide was crashing harder now.
Why are the waves so loud?
Leah felt as though her entire body was floating, being washed away by the power of the ocean. There seemed to be long swathes of kelp floating through the eddying currents toward her, and suddenly, they enveloped her in their strong arms and lifted her out of the water.
She struggled against them, gasping for breath, her head falling back into oblivion.
Someone was shouting for Betty, she heard the name echoing off the walls.
“It’s alright, Leah,” a deep voice whispered, “I have ye.”
She was suspended in the air, her arms hanging loosely at her sides as she was lifted from the cold waves and held against a warm chest.
For the longest time, all was dark as she was carried through the currents to unfamiliar lands. She could feel her hair floating in the dark waters, filled with horrors she could not see.
“Leah.”
