Mary’s eyes widened with comprehension. She gave Flora another quick hug before following her sister up the stairs with only a slightly more dignified speed.
Flora was so happy, she thought she could burst. After tomorrow, it would be perfect.
Lachlan felt the tension dissipate with Rory’s agreement. After the declaration he’d made with Flora and with what he had planned tonight, he didn’t need it, but for Flora’s sake he was glad. It would make tomorrow much more pleasant.
Marriage law in Scotland was open to interpretation, to say the least. Although the kirk frowned on irregular marriage and tried to discourage them by levying fines and the like, it did not take much to make a valid claim of marriage. A statement of intent to marry followed by consummation would suffice. And Lachlan intended to make sure he had such a claim, not wanting to take a chance that Rory would change his mind.
Clearly, Rory didn’t believe their story of a chance meeting, and Lachlan expected to be under some intense questioning as soon as Flora left the room—which she did not long after to attend to the evening meal.
He wasn’t disappointed. The door had barely closed before Rory turned on him. “Now you’ll tell me what really happened.”
He considered lying, but he respected his old friend too much to do so—even if it meant facing the wrong end of Rory’s fabled claymore. He wouldn’t tell him about the bargain he’d made with Argyll, but he would tell him enough of the truth to forestall any more questions.
He gave Argyll a quick glance before turning back to Rory. “It wasn’t an accident. My men stopped her carriage.”
All signs of conviviality vanished. There was only so far he could stretch the bonds of friendship, and he’d just hit the limits.
“You abducted my sister?”
There was no good answer to that question, so he stayed silent.
Rory’s jaw hardened, holding back his fury by a very thin thread. “Why?” he asked.
Lachlan met Rory’s angry gaze, knowing that it was only their long friendship that had prevented him from challenging him first and asking questions second. “I wanted her.”
“If you forced her, you are a dead man.” The cold fury in Rory’s voice resonated in the small room.
“You know me better than that.”
“I thought so. Why not come to me? You know I would have pressed your suit.”
“That is the very reason I did not. I’d heard she was strong-willed and opposed to the idea of an arranged marriage. I thought the direct approach would be more effective.”
Rory must have acknowledged the truth to that, because he did not argue. Instead he said, “How did you know where she would be?”
Lachlan explained about the elopement, leaving out how he’d come to be aware of it.
Rory swore. Like Argyll, he was no friend to Lord Murray. “The little minx.”
Argyll, who’d been conspicuously quiet and more than content to let Lachlan appease the MacLeod, finally spoke. “Coll’s method might have been rather primitive, but you cannot argue with the results. It is a good match, and clearly the lass wants him.”
Rory’s eyes narrowed at Argyll. He should have kept his mouth shut and let Lachlan handle it. The MacLeod suspected that something else was afoot.
“Only the fact that I am convinced my sister does wish to marry you of her own free will prevents me from questioning you further. But before I leave here, I will have the full story.”
Lachlan nodded. By then, it would be too late for it to matter.
Chapter 18
The day of her wedding dawned bright and sunny with nary a cloud on the horizon, but Flora woke feeling chilled. Out of habit, she reached for the solid warmth beside her but felt only empty space and cold bed linens. She experienced a sharp moment of panic before remembering. They’d made love last night, but in deference to the presence of her cousin and brother, Lachlan had returned to his own room. It was the first time they hadn’t spent the entire night together since she’d agreed to marry him. It was strange to realize how much she missed him and how alone she felt without him.
He’d been so tender last night, drawing out every moment of pleasure. He’d cradled her against his body as he moved inside her, looking into her eyes with an intensity that made her heart squeeze.
After today, they would be bound together forever. Excitement for the day to come made her eager to begin. She tossed aside her coverlet, she slipped from bed and scampered to the window—immediately regretting her lack of footwear as her bare feet hit the cold wooden planks.
Bright sunlight spilled through the glass, filling the room with a gentle heat that warmed the chill from her skin. From the height of the sun on the horizon, she realized that she’d slept later than she intended. The short ceremony would take place at midday, followed by a feast that would last long into the night.
She didn’t have much time to get ready. Knowing that Morag would be up soon to help her dress, she started toward the stack of half-emptied trunks that still littered the room, intent on finding the silk stockings she’d misplaced in yesterday’s frenzy of sorting through her clothes for Mary and Gilly.
