“Aye, I do!” He spat on the ground. “That’sa promise, Gunn.” His red face twisted into a sneer. “My heir Jamestells me you took a wench to wife. ‘Twas her basin they emptied onthe borderlands! ‘Twould be a shame if your battle prize was takenfrom you and wed to a Campbell.”
“You threaten my wife?” Lachlan bit out.Every muscle in his body tensed. The old bastard had no idea howclose he was to being struck down with The Gunn’s sword o’er hisbedamned taunt. Veronica belonged to him and him only. Let everymon ken as much.
“Father,” he heard James whisper to the oldlaird. “Mayhap—”
Euan held up a palm, silencing his son andheir. Lachlan was itching for a fight now. Every mon save Euanseemed aware of that fact. The deuce of lairds stared each otherdown, both of their nostrils flaring.
“Mayhap I should do your clan a favor andkill you here and now!” Lachlan roared. “Threaten my wife again,bastard, and I’ll do just that!” He smiled without humor. “Not thatmy wife needs protected from the likes of you. She could kill youherself with a quickness.”
Euan’s face flushed at Lachlan’s perceivedinsult. Finn and Ramsay chuckled. The old bastard broke Lachlan’sstare and threw out an insult of his own. “I dinna desire yourbride,” Euan grumbled. “Mayhap she stinks verra badly did you needto empty her bath water so far from your keep.”
Lachlan rolled his eyes again. Now TheCampbell had the sound of a petulant child. “We are done here,Euan,” he said, wanting to return to the lilac-scented wife of hisin question. “You have not been poisoned. I dinna take actions insecret like a coward. If ever I decide to strike you down, ‘twillbe to your face and by my sword.”
*****
Her reunion with Victor was especiallysentimental. Both of them shed a lot of tears—a fact Veronica madehim promise nobody else would ever find out about. They had beenraised not to be criers after all and some lessons just weren’tforgettable. Veronica spent the entire morning with her brother inhis bedroom, both chastising him for his role in her marriage andrepeatedly hugging him to ensure they were actually together. Ithad taken four years and more close calls than she cared to dwellon, but the siblings had finally been reunited. Their parents, sheknew, would be pleased.
“We’re going to have to go down to the greathall soon,” Victor said, looking out the sole window in his room.“For their lunch—or nooning meal—as they call it.”
Her nose wrinkled. “How do you know whattime it is?”
“The position of the sun.”
Ahh. Stupid question. She should have knownbetter than to ask.
“What happened to your watch?” Victorasked.
“I’m wearing it. It’s hidden under thesleeve of my gown.”
Victor frowned. “I’d find a better hidingplace if I was you. Nobody except Lachlan, Finn, and Ramsay shouldever be permitted to see it. Anyway, we really need to godownstairs and join them for lunch pretty soon here.”
“I don’t know, Victor,” Veronica saidquietly. “I feel very uncomfortable. I know what our cover storyis, but I don’t know anything about being a lady. It’s hardly arole I’d ever thought about or aspired to.”
He kept his voice to a hush. There were eyesand ears everywhere in the castle he’d told her earlier. “Just beyourself. Well, be yourself minus the weapons and the sailor’smouth.” He sighed. “Look, sis, you have to be someone here. Thereare much worse fates than being a lady.” At her raised eyebrows, heclarified, “Do you wish to be the one shitting into a bedpan or theone who has to clean it?”
“I don’t want to be either,” she saidhonestly. Veronica was accustomed to a nomadic lifestyle—a fateworse than death to her brother. That had caused some less thanideal situations when it came to relieving herself, but this? “Andwhile we’re on the subject, why can’t you figure out how to build abidet-toilette here anyway?” she grumbled. Good grief.Bidet-toilettes were part and parcel of everyday life in thefuture. On the run she’d had to make do with what she could, butshe wasn’t on the run anymore. “Like I want the humiliation of somepoor woman seeing my waste.”
“I’m actually working on the prototype forone.” He cheered at the subject. He pushed his glasses up thebridge of his nose—an endearing affectation of his, Veronica mused.“It’s just a matter of getting the proper pieces built and creatinga sewage system. That’s the good news. The bad news being I expectit will take a lot of time to get this done unless the laird lendsme some of his men to do the requisite digging.”
“I’ll try to talk him into it when the timecomes. If he says no, it’ll be totally worth the wait though.”
“Agreed.” Victor looked at her intently ashe took off his glasses and set them on the desk Lachlan hadprovided him with. “Is he really that bad, sis?” he asked, changingthe subject. “Laird Gunn I mean.”
She sighed like a martyr. “No, but also notthe point, Victor.”
“Nica,” he returned pragmatically, “In thisworld, well, let’s just say a woman cannot make it on her own.Neither can a man for that matter. We both need the security thatonly a powerful group like this clan can provide. And just so youknow, I did my research before choosing which clan we’d go to.There were other possibilities, but our calculable odds with theGunns were best.”
“You really think we couldn’t make it on ourown?”
“No, I honestly don’t think we could. And doyou really want to try?” Victor shook his head. “I know you’reaccustomed to doing your own thing, but how happy have youeverbeen while doing it?”
Veronica frowned. He had a valid point, butstill. “I don’t know that I can ever be who he wants me to be,” shequietly admitted. “I’m not gowns, lace, and frills, Victor.”
“Just because you need to dressappropriately in order to fit in does not mean he’s looking tochange you. Truth be told, I could tell just from watching himwatch you on the AI scanner that he fell for who you are, not whoyou think he wants you to be.”
She didn’t know what to say to that, but shehoped it was true. She’d consider the matter later. “So whathappens at the ‘nooning meal?’” she circumvented. “Who will bethere?”
“The ladies of the castle and Lachlan’sfavored warriors. Not to mention his best…” His face flushed. “…Uh,wizard.”
