“I need tae let mah parents know I’m alive at least,” Edna spoke up.
Her cousin looked in her direction. “Lass, they know. Neacal made it clear that he knows ye are alive.”
Edna slumped in her chair. “Perhaps I should just go tae him,” she said quietly. She didn’t want anyone to be hurt, and if she didn’t turn herself in to Neacal, that would be what would happen.
“Nay!” Malcolm bit out, his expression angered. “Ye wilnae go tae him while I still take a breath.”
Edna rose from her chair, her eyes flashing. “Ye have no say in wot I do, Malcolm Lennox!”
Malcolm stood as well, glaring down at her. “Aye, lass, I do. And I will lock ye in yer room if need be tae keep ye safe!”
Edna snorted, crossing her arms over her chest. “Ye are starting tae anger me with all this protecting. Ye cannae stop this, Malcolm. Ye cannae keep Neacal from coming after me.”
“Why dinnae I show ye tae yer chamber?” Irvine interrupted. “And Malcolm, a word when I come back.”
Edna dropped her arms. “Fine.” Without another word to Malcolm, she stalked out of the study, with her cousin forced to follow behind.
“Edna, please,” Irvine stated as they moved down the dimly lit hall. Edna slowed her steps so that he could catch up with her. “I need for no one tae know ye are here.”
“Aye, I’m sorry,” she sighed, feeling some of her anger dissipate. “He just, he makes me lose mah temper sometimes.” He was trying to tell her what to do, but Malcolm had nothing to do with this. Sure he had killed Declan, but it was obvious to everyone that Neacal wanted her and her alone.
Irvine chuckled. “Is there something I need tae know aboot the two of ye?”
“Nay,” Edna replied quickly, hoping that her cousin wouldn’t see the flush of her cheeks. She wasn’t about to share in the fact that they had kissed or that they both had offered marriage to each only to pull their proposals back. “There’s nothing.”
Irvine hummed under his breath, but he led her up a set of stairs away from the great hall to the second landing, choosing one of the chambers down a clearly unused hallway. “Either Malcolm or I will attend tae ye, lass,” he answered as he pushed open the door. “Please stay out of sight until we can deal with this situation.”
As much as Edna wanted to push back on her cousin, once she saw the bed, there was no way that she could walk away now. “Alright.”
He nodded and shut the door behind him, leaving Edna to gaze about the room, her mind whirling with the information she had just received. Her cousin was laird. Neacal had visited her parents and told them that he wanted her hand in marriage still. Now he was threatening them in order to get this time.
How much more could she hold him off? Edna didn’t know what the laird could want with her now, especially since he wanted to hold her personally responsible for his brother’s death.
Sighing, she sat upon the bed, running her hand over the furs and feeling the weariness settle into her bones. Now that they were separated, Edna detested that she found herself missing his gruff countenance. She had gotten so used to having him beside her, even if no words were exchanged.
It mattered not. He thought that he needed to continue to protect her, but in her mind, she needed to handle this herself.
Even if it meant giving herself to Neacal in the end.
Malcolm was standing in front of the fire when Irvine returned to the study, shutting the door behind him. “Whiskey?” he offered as he walked to the table that held the decanters.
“Aye,” Malcolm replied, wishing nothing more than to go to the warrior barracks and get out of the soiled clothing he was wearing.
His friend poured them both a glass and handed one to Malcolm, smirking. “So wot is going on with ye and mah cousin?”
“She’s infuriating,” he growled, clenching the glass. “She doesnae listen. I have already told her that I’m going tae turn mahself in to Neacal, not her.” He didn’t want to think about what the laird might have in store for Edna, more than just having her as his wife. It would be a horrid life for the lass to be with a man who had threatened her own family in order to win her hand.
“Of course she is,” Irvine responded, swirling the whiskey in the glass. “She’s a McGregor. They are all infuriating.”
Malcolm threw back the contents of his glass before setting it on the table. “I dinnae believe she’s going tae stay in her chambers.” Edna was not one to follow orders, and even though her cousin had asked her to remain out of sight, Malcolm wouldn’t be surprised to see her dancing in the great hall before dinner.
“She will for me,” Irvine sighed, still clutching his glass. “But she won’t remain there for long. I have tae send out some correspondence, find out wot we are up against.”
“It isn’t going tae be easy,” Malcolm admitted. He had been thinking all the way while they had walked here, wondering what he was going to do himself to keep his laird and his clan safe.
Not to mention Edna. Right now, his normal order of who to protect was all jumbled up because of her. Hell, he didn’t even like being separated from her. Though she had been upset with him, having her presence near had given him a small measure of peace and relief.
Now that she was gone, he felt as if something or someone was missing.
