“Their wedding. It was at Torlusk, one of my houses on Mull.”
This time, she could not hide her reaction. By seizing MacIan at Torlusk, Hector had violated one of the most sacred tenets of Highland life—Highland hospitality.
Her poor mother. Flora’s heart went out to her. No wonder she’d so rarely seen Hector. Why hadn’t her mother told her?
And more disturbing, what kind of man could do such a thing? Lachlan’s warning about her brother came back to her.
She forced her pulse to calm. “But you eventually apologized and reconciled?”
“Apologized?” He laughed. “Why would I do that? It was her fault. No, Mother came to me about the time of Argyll’s wedding.”
Flora blanched, realizing why.Because of me. She’d been bemoaning the fact that she never saw her brothers and sisters and had never met Hector. Her mother had reconciled because of her. How her mother must have loved her to be able to forgive her son’s betrayal. She’d put aside her own feelings for her daughter. That was love. Should she have done as much for Lachlan? The thought disturbed her.
She took a deep breath, wishing she hadn’t brought up the subject. Surely she was overreacting? This was the Highlands. Blood feuds were a part of their history and not something she pretended to understand. But Hector’s actions sounded so treacherous and…barbaric. God, she thought, cringing, had she really called Lachlan that?
Hector smiled at her. “But that is all in the past. You are here now, that is all that is important.”
He had a nice smile, didn’t he? Even though she couldn’t help notice it didn’t quite reach his eyes.
“Though I do wish you had come sooner,” he said. “Why did you refuse to come with my men?”
Flora heard the unmistakable censure in his voice, and it put her on the defensive. “I didn’t realize who they were at first. I was shocked. Your man Cormac treated me roughly.”
He frowned angrily. “You told Aonghus you wished to stay.”
“I did.” She paused. “At the time.”
His mouth tightened. But when he finally asked his question, he sounded so concerned, Flora wondered whether she’d only imagined it. “Tell me what happened.”
Flora recounted the circumstances surrounding her arrival at Drimnin, leaving out her failed elopement. At first he seemed sympathetic, even giving an occasional pat of encouragement on the hand, but when she reached the point of her wedding, his face darkened.
“How could you actually have married him?” he spat, his eyes as cold as onyx.
The mercurial shift of temper was startling. She forced herself to speak calmly. “As I said, I did not have any choice.”
He gave her a hard stare, obviously not satisfied with her answer. “But you left before it could be consummated. That is good.”
“Yes,” she said carefully. “I left not long after the wedding feast. But…” Heat rose to her cheeks.
His eyes narrowed. “You gave yourself to him.”
“Before I knew the truth.” She explained about the declaration that he’d tricked her into before her cousin and Rory.
His face contorted in anger. “You little fool.”
The burst of malevolence was truly frightening. He raised his hand as if he intended to strike her, and she recoiled from him, stunned that this cruel stranger could be her brother.Dear God, what had she done?
He seemed to realize that he’d scared her, and he lowered his hand, making an obvious effort to control his rage. “It will make it more difficult to claim you were never married, but I will deal with it.”
“But—” Flora bit back her denial. This was what she wanted, wasn’t it?Why, then, did every instinct in her body clamor against it?
Her obvious conflict seemed to amuse him. “You will forget all about him, when you and Lord Murray—”
He stopped. It took her a moment to realize what he’d said. “How do you know about Lord Murray?” She’d omitted that part of the story.
He smiled. “I suppose it doesn’t matter now. Lord Murray and I have a little arrangement. He gets you—or rather youandyour tocher—and I get his influence with the king.”
Flora was stunned. The irony was not lost on her. Just like Lachlan, Hector had used her as a bargaining chip. They were both men with steely determination and the single-minded purpose to do whatever was necessary to win—heedless of whom they hurt in the process.
