“Nae everthin’ is about marriage, ma,” she said bitterly. “I told ye that I saw everythin’ happen. I was ready to swear by all I had that Torcall didnae kill that girl, yet me words matter naught to ye. ‘Tis nae love ma, ‘tis guilt.”
“Love or guilt. If ye do nae at least give Scott yer time, I will make sure ye leave the clan until he is executed, and when ye come back, Scott would still be waiting. I will face a giant for ye, me daughter. I will nae let ye ruin yerself. Someday, ye will thank me.”
Chapter Twenty-Nine
Ah, it wasn’t most delightful. He got his revenge and got rid of the dreadful Torcall in one breath. What more could he want?
But then, even as he reveled in the pleasure of his success, a thought nagged him. He wasn’t done—not fully. There was still one chit who had escaped him, and her refusal had been the worst. He hadn’t gone after her because it had been too risky and because he had dreamt of an end to her so many times.
She was the worst of them all, the whore. The rest had angered him with reasons that had been clear, but there had been no reason for hers. She had simply been horrible and wicked to him. She had delighted in his pain and had only mocked him.
Even worse—she dared to raise her hand and strike him. He remembered the day so well… he had waited for her at the corner he knew she would take. He knew that from a whole month of following her, and when he felt prepared, at last, he had stopped her in a place that they had enough privacy.
“Oh,” she said, “ye startled me.”
He smiled. “Aye. I ken ye wouldnae be expecting me.”
“Aye…” she looked at him expectantly, expecting him to explain the reason for stopping her.
“I fancy ye,” he said to her in a hurry. “I would like to court yer affections.”
She looked shocked. “I am sorry,” she said. “I am nae interested. I do nae feel the same.”
“I ken this,” he said hurriedly. “I merely request a chance to change your mind.”
She looked embarrassed and looked away. “I am sorry,” she said, “if I ever gave you a reason to think otherwise, but I am nae interested in ye at all. I would like to leave.” She turned to leave, but he stepped in her way.
“Ye could at least give me a chance,” he began to grow angry, and so did she.
“Now, ye pay attention, sir. I owe ye naught, and yet I have listened to ye. Making a proposal holds no guarantee of acceptance. Now, please, let me be!”
“Ye whore!” he’d said with quiet fury. “Ye have ne’er been involved with a man, and now I give you that opportunity, and yet ye turn it down. I picked ye, and ye should be grateful.”
With all the strength she had, she had slapped him, startling him and shutting him up.
“If ye ever come near me again,” she’d fumed, “I should tell me da, and he will have yer head.”
Then, with her back straightened, she had walked out on him.
It was that day that he knew he wanted to kill Alina. Oh yes, he had waited, but the time had never really been right. Now it was. He would do it in such a way that Torcall wouldn’t be able to defend himself because he would be dead.
But killing Alina wasn’t enough for him, no. After the death of Torcall, he would never be able to kill another woman. He would have to make his last the most memorable. Not only would he love it, but the clan would also hate Torcall even more. He needed one more woman to die that night. Who would it be? He laughed. It could be anyone. ANYONE!
His maniacal laughter rang out into the night.
* * *
“I would rather die.” But even as she said it, her voice shook. It was the realization that even though she couldn’t be forced to marry whoever the man was, she could be forced out of the clan just as her mother had threatened.
Her mother heard the quiver in her voice too. “Ye do nae have a say in this matter, Ceana.”
“How can I nae have a say in what goes on in me own life? Were ye forced to marry me da?”
Her mother wasn’t fazed. “Nae, I wasnae, but then I made the best choice any girl could have made. Me ma recognized that fact, as did me da. I wasnae a silly love-struck girl. I didnae insist on hurting those close to me selfishly.
“Bridget was killed. She was yer sister’s dearest friend. How do suppose she feels when she sees ye defend her murderer?”
Ceana couldn’t speak. The words choked her, and the world spun. They couldn’t do that, could they? She looked to her father with pleas in her eyes, but he too looked away from her. He wouldn’t help her.
