CHAPTERTHREE
Bryce hadn’t seen Lorna’s parents in a long, long time. They looked the same if slighter older. The only thing he wasn’t prepared for was for Laird Fergus and Lady Arrin McAdam to be acting so cold and cruel to their daughter.
“Where are ye comin’ from, lass?” Lady Arrin asked, and Bryce could see that Lorna had paled next to him.
“The wedding. Ye kenned that, Mother. I wanted tae go tae the wedding of Watt and Lilias.”
Her mother put her hands on her hips, and her father frowned. “We didnae ken. Ye mentioned it, but ye didnae tell us that ye were leavin’, and then we found out that ye were gone, and then ye return in the middle of the night! I told ye nae tae go! ‘Twas a fool’s errand!”
Bryce stood stock still, but he kept his hand on Lorna’s elbow as if it was a way to keep her safe. He didn’t like the way her parents spoke to her, as if she had done the worst, most heinous thing when she’d really done nothing. She hadn’t even succeeded in speaking to Watt again about her feelings.
Lorna said nothing; she just seemed genuinely shocked at her parents’ reaction. “Go tae the study, lass,” her mother said. “We will see ye there. I want tae speak tae ye afore ye go upstairs tae bed. All this must be finally put tae rest.”
Lorna stiffened, and she pulled out of Bryce’s grasp and left down a passage. Bryce bowed his head to her parents.
“Greetings, Laird and Lady McAdam. It has been a long while.”
Finally, Lorna’s parents took their eyes away from their daughter long enough to register who the man who stood before them was.
“Bryce MacDowell?” Arrin asked, squinting her eyes at him. “Ye are back from France?”
“Aye,” he said, nodding. “Back for good, I hope. But I came for the wedding.”
“Och, aye, that makes sense,” Fergus said, looking a little confused. “Welcome back, lad. Yer brother is sure tae be glad tae have ye back.”
“Aye,” Bryce said stiffly, and he could still sense Kyla at his back, wishing she would say something.
“Come, I will show ye tae yer room, Bryce,” Kyla said, stepping forward. The parents, still distracted by their daughter’s actions, began to speak to each other in lowered tones.
“Aye, thank ye. But first I want tae go see Lorna.”
“See Lorna?” Kyla whispered, but she couldn’t say anything else because Bryce moved down the passage after Lorna. He had been to the castle before, so he knew where the study was, and he slipped inside, not waiting to be allowed entry. He found Lorna pacing back and forth, her eyes red.
“What are ye doing here?” she asked when she saw him, and he stepped up to her and clasped her on the shoulders.
“I wanted tae come and see if ye were all right. That was a harsh greeting ye received.”
Lorna shrugged out of his touch. “Why would ye wish tae see if I was all right? I am fine. Ye should be going tae yer chambers and leaving me be. I donnae need ye. I donnae wish tae be treated as a child.”
She turned away, and Bryce felt a little sting of pain at her rejection. Maybe when they were younger, he had detected a sort of affection from her, grateful to be shown attention, but not any longer. He’d teased her as a child, but only to get her to show him her beautiful smile. But now, her heart had been broken, and her parents had embarrassed her. She no longer wanted him, and if she had ever felt any sort of attraction to him, it was long gone.
But for some reason, he was desperate to soothe and assuage. She had already been embarrassed too many times in the last day. He wanted to give her a sense of calm.
He tried again. “Listen, lass, ye donnae need tae feel sorry for anything. Naething even happened!”
“How can ye say that tae me? Yer brother is the one who set ye upon me tae keep me contained at his wedding.” Tears sprung from her eyes, but she turned away and wiped them off her cheeks. “I cannae believe that me parents are also furious with me. I didnae think they would be this upset. Now I look like an utter fool.”
Bryce moved closer, and when she turned around to face him, she sucked in a breath as she gazed into his eyes. For a second all breath left his body. There was something in the fury with which she’d moved and spoken that drew him closer. He wanted to comfort but at the same time, he wanted to revel in the fire in her eyes and the brightness it brought to her cheeks. She was so incredibly beautiful, and for the first time in a very, very long time, Bryce felt a twinge of desire. Never in his whole life would he have thought Lorna McAdam to be the woman to bring about that desire
He stepped back. It wouldn’t be right. She was on the cusp of heartbreak, and he was a broken man who would return home to his brother’s castle. He was about to speak again, but Lorna’s parents came through the door, and their looks were so full of anger that he hardly recognized them.
“We had a messenger tell us what ye were up tae, lass. The man who brought the gift tae Laird MacDowell must have heard ye speaking tae Kyla. We kenned that ye were there tae get Watt tae fall in love with ye again,” Arrin’s voice was full of emotion, and there were tears in her eyes.
Her father spoke next. “Ye have made a fool of yerself, lass, and we are ashamed of ye. What shame ye could have brought tae the clan if word of yer foolishness got out tae all the other clans across the Highlands?! How would ye possibly find a match then?”
Bryce’s heart ached at the sound in Lorna’s voice as she replied tearfully, “I didnae do anything. Naething happened. I said naething. There is nae shame, and nae one saw me do anything that would embarrass us. It was more embarrassing that my family wasnae there tae celebrate he and his bride.”
Fergus glowered. “We couldnae go. We needed tae protect ye from making a fool of yerself, but ye didnae listen tae us, and ye went anyway!”
