“Mother Mary,” his mother breathed, setting down her bannock. “Craeg.”
The censure in her tone made him bristle, and his response came out harsher than intended. “I’ve already sent the missive. It’s done.”
Alec leaned back in his chair, one hand coming up to rub his clean-shaven chin. “When?”
“Yesterday afternoon.”
His mother stiffened at this. “And ye didn’t think to consult us first?”
Guilt twisted in Craeg’s gut, but he pushed it down. “I’m chieftain now. The decision was mine to make.”
His mother’s jaw tightened. “Aye, ye are … but ye are also my son. And this … do ye understand what ye have done?”
He forced himself to hold her gaze. “Ye made a similar choice once.”
His mother’s expression darkened. “That’s not the same … I wasn’t betrothed to another when I decided to marry Alec.”
“I won’t apologize for this,” he replied stiffly.
“No one’s asking ye to.” Liza rose to her feet, her skirts rustling. She crossed to him, her expression grave. “But love doesn’t exist in a void, Craeg. Ye are a chieftain. Yer decisions affect everyone in this clan.”
“I know that.”
“Do ye?” She stopped before him and placed her hands upon her hips. “Hamish Macquarie will be incensed. He could retaliate. He could—”
“Let him try,” Craeg bit out the words. “I’ll not bind myself to that family.”
“But ye already did,” she shot back. “And to go back on yer word now is a breach of promise.”
Craeg tensed, cutting Hazel a look. She still hadn’t said anything. Instead, her blue eyes had shadowed, and she now wore a hunted look. Aye, she too had spoken of the ‘breach of promise’, but he wasn’t a fool. He knew what breaking a formal betrothal meant.
“Surely, discovering Macquarie’s secret is just cause?” he pointed out. “The man is a rapist … and tried to have his own daughter murdered.”
Liza’s lips thinned.
“Iwillwed Hazel,” Craeg said firmly, even as heat ignited under his breastbone. “With or without yer blessing.”
“Ye havemyblessing, Craeg,” Lena burst out, casting her mother a censorious look. “Hazel will make a wonderful sister.”
“Lena!” Liza turned to her daughter with a scowl. “This isn’t a game.”
Lena’s excitement faded. “I know that,” she replied, her voice suddenly small.
Liza murmured an oath under her breath and pinched the skin between her eyebrows. “The fact remains that ye made a promise to another, and to break it will have consequences.”
“I’m going to visit the priest this morning,” Craeg announced then. “Hazel and I will be wed today.”
“No, ye won’t,” his mother countered. The words hit like a fist to the gut. Craeg opened his mouth to argue with her, yet she plowed on. “Not without Loch Maclean’s permission.”
His hands curled into fists at his sides, frustration pummeling him now. “What?”
“Ye heard me.” His mother was eyeballing him. Her face was still a little pale from her illness, yet anger burned in her eyes now. “Ye might be Chieftain of Moy, but ye are not the clan-chief. And breaking such an important betrothal requires his blessing.”
Another silence fell, this one brittle and tense.
Alec had spoken little throughout, although his blue eyes were now shadowed.
Craeg’s heart started to kick against his ribs.Shite. He’d been so focused on breaking free of the Macquarie alliance, on claiming Hazel as his own, that he hadn’t thought about asking for Loch’s blessing. No. That wasn’t true. Hehadthought about it, but he’d just chosen to ignore it.
