She had gathered up the shawl and was about to leave the room when suddenly he was in the doorway and blocked the exit in front of her, stretching out his arms so that she could not move around him.
“M'laird?” she asked, as politely as she possibly could. What she would rather have done was slap him. She was indignant, but she was also scared. They were alone in this suite of rooms, and so far away from everyone else that if he attacked her and she screamed no one would hear her.
“Yes, Lorna,” he replied huskily. “You can be my wife.”
For a moment she was breathless with shock, then she recovered her wits. “No, M'laird,” she replied with a nervous laugh. “You must first speak to my father.”
Lockie stepped forward so they were almost touching, and she stepped back. She tried to sidestep him but he matched her step for step. Then he grabbed her and pulled her against him and gave her a hard kiss that crushed her lips against her teeth. She pummeled his chest, but she did not have enough power to do him any damage.
He let her go at last. He was tempted to press his advantage but decided against it. Any number of things could go wrong. However, he was not prepared for what happened next.
Lorna was smoldering with rage inside. She was a small thin woman, but strong, and now she bunched up her fist and hit Lockie squarely on the point of his jaw. He staggered backward and she marched past him, then went downstairs with her shawl. Lockie pretended to have a toothache, which was now true, and left early.
17
Looking Back
“Ido not understand. Lockie wanted more wealth? He was already wealthy. And how did you agree to marry him?” Alex said, frowning.
“First of all, my father had to approve him,” Lorna continued. “I would not have done anything against his wishes. My father is depressed, not dead. However, I have my self-respect, and I just did not like the man. In fact, at first he repelled me. But don’t forget your wife agreed to marry him before me too. It is not that easy for a woman to say no.” Her pretty face creased with distaste. Alex could now see the point Robina was making about how women are treated unequally. They have no say in marriage and they can only marry one man and hope that he is honest. That was indeed not fair.
“He followed me around everywhere...it was very frightening. But perhaps if another decent laird had proposed to me I would have accepted that man outright.”
Robina was baffled. “But you did marry Lockie,” she pointed out, frowning in puzzlement.
“It was not by choice,” Lorna said heavily. “My father, as I told you, is suffering from melancholia, and Lockie took advantage of it. He befriended my father, he listened to all his woes, humored him, pretended to be his friend, till at last my father was convinced that he was the best man who ever lived, then he thought he would be a good husband for me. I knew that if I did not marry him Father would be plunged into a fit of depression and might kill himself, as he had often threatened to before. I am not stupid. I knew Lockie wanted to marry me for my future inheritance. But that would be the case with any man for me. Lockie seemed to like me too, and…I was hoping we would fall in love. And that he was not after my wealth. We had fun together; he can be very humorous.” Tears came to her eyes.
Robina felt her pain. “Yes he can my dear.”That scumbag. “He played with you as he played with me.”
“The man is a monster,” Alex said heavily.
Lorna looked at him, her eyes full of tears. “M'laird, Milady, I cannot go on, and what I have to say would be better said with Lockie in the room anyway. But there is one more thing I have to tell you.”
“Can it be any more astonishing than what we have heard already?” Alex asked, his eyes wide with amazement.
“Those riders that came upon you the other day, the ones who were going to ride over you,” she began. “I know who they were and I know who rescued you.”
“Who?” Alex jumped up, his hands bunched into fists and his jaw clenched. “I will kill them!”
“No need.” Lorna shook her head. “We killed them all. Not one body survived intact.”
There was a stunned silence.
In the dark, Alex had not seen the figures of the riders.
“That was you?” Alex’s deep voice rose higher. “But how did you know where they were?”
“Because my friends followed them,” Lorna answered.
“Followed them from where?” Robina asked fearfully, because she knew the answer before Lorna told her.
“From my husband’s stables,” Lorna answered miserably. “I knew he was planning something. I listened outside his room when he called in those horsemen to attack you. They were not really horsemen, just a band of criminals who could ride, but they underestimated you, Laird Alex.” She gave a twisted little smile. “Any man who fought at the Bannock Burn and lived to tell the tale is made of strong stuff.”
“Your friends must be very loyal men.” Alex was impressed.
“Trust a man to say that!” Lorna laughed. “All those ‘men’ were women, and I was one of them. I must be a very evil woman, M'laird, because I am not ashamed to say that I enjoyed every moment of it! I enjoyed hacking their limbs off and spilling their blood.”
Once again there was silence, only this time Alex did not break it with words. He pulled Lorna to her feet and kissed her cheek and her forehead. Then he knelt down in front of her and kissed her hands.
