He cursed again. Great, just what he needed: an angry—make that irate—brother who looked as if he wanted to take Niall’s head off.
The fact that Patrick MacGregor, Chief of MacGregor, was one of the few men who could actually do that made it even worse.
“I thought I told you to stay away from her,” Patrick bit out as his fist connected with Niall’s jaw.
Niall didn’t attempt to block the blow and groaned as something akin to the force of a sledgehammer snapped his head back. He blinked stars as he tried to lunge out of the way to evade the next blow.
He didn’t quite make it, and an equally powerful left fist connected with his stomach—and a few ribs. Niall’s thick leather jack probably prevented bones from breaking, but it didn’t stop the air from being expelled from his lungs in an “oof” or the grunt of pain that followed.
Christ, Annie’s brother’s reputation for nearly inhuman strength was well earned.
Niall was bent over from the second blow when Patrick paused before him. Only the fact that Niall wasn’t fighting back probably stopped a third blow from knocking him out cold. Instead, Patrick lifted Niall up by the scruff and held him a good foot off the ground. The irony of Niall being in the opposite position with Robbie a short while before didn’t escape him.
“Give me one good reason why I shouldn’t thrash you within an inch of your life. I told you to stay the hell away from her!”
“I did—or I meant to,” Niall explained. “But as I was leaving, I saw her on the ground with someone on top of her. She was thrashing around and trying to get him off.”
Patrick let him go. “Someone attacked her in the castle?”
Niall shook his head. “I assumed the man was hurting her and almost killed him before I learned they were training.” It was his turn to be furious. “What in Hades were you thinking, allowing a lass to train with a knife? She could be hurt—or killed!”
Patrick’s expression lost some of its fierceness. “The man on top of her was Robbie.” It was a realization not a question. He muttered a coarse curse.
Niall agreed. “Apparently Annie forgot where she was for a moment and didn’t realize it was Robbie.”
Patrick swore again. “Is that why she was so upset?”
Niall grimaced and wisely took a step back—out of range of Patrick’s fist. “Not exactly. I took the opportunity to apologize and ask her to marry me, but it didn’t go as I planned.”
Patrick’s expression darkened again. “Meaning she refused you. Damn it, I told you she wasn’t ready.”
“I guess you were right. I just thought if I explained…” Niall’s voice dropped off, and he finished with a repentant shrug.
“What? That she’d forgive and forget and jump back into your arms? You’re either an idiot or an arrogant arse.”
Niall wanted to argue, but he feared the other man might be right on both counts. His shoulders slumped, all the fight going out of him. “I don’t know what I thought, but you were right: Annie has changed.”
She was harder and far more serious—almost solemn. The spirited, slightly mischievous girl whose smile had filled him with instant joy was gone. He probably should have expected it after all that had happened, but he could never have anticipated the cold indifference in the way she’d looked at him. He was so used to seeing her heart in her eyes he’d taken it for granted that it would always be there.
Itwasstill there. It had to be. He just had to find a way to convince her to give him another chance and forgive him for failing her so miserably.
Patrick’s anger was directed at him again. He took a step toward him, fists clenching at his side. “There is nothing wrong with her.”
Niall stood his ground. Patrick had obviously misunderstood his words and taken them as a criticism. It made him wonder whether her brother had heard something like that before. The idea that Annie might have been the subject of comment and gossip infuriated him as much as it did Patrick.
“Of course there isn’t. My estimation for her has only increased. I always knew she was as strong and tough as she was beautiful, but I didn’t realize the depth. I was just taken aback by the change in her temperament. She used to be so…”
He didn’t need to finish. Patrick understood. He appeared just as saddened by the change as Niall. “Given what she’s been through, can you blame her? All things considered, I think she’s doing remarkably well. You just have to be patient.”
Why did Niall suspect that Patrick had said the same thing to himself many times?
“I’m trying but…” He stopped.
“But what?”
Niall debated how to respond. He didn’t want to put Patrick in a bad position with his Campbell brothers-in-law. “I might not have much time. My circumstances are a little… uncertain.”
The other man’s eyes narrowed. “I thought Argyll intended to look the other way about your killing Colin Campbell.”
