“Then we will deal with it then,” the elder laird replied evenly, nodding to the guards. “Have care with Malcolm, or else ye will answer tae mah sword, not that of yer laird’s.”
Both guards seemed stricken by the laird’s words, and Edna saw their grip ease a bit as they escorted Malcolm out of the study. When Edna tried to pass, Neacal grabbed her upper arm.
“Dinnae think this is a way tae get out of wot ye have already agreed tae.”
“Let her go,” her father growled. “Ye arenae her husband yet.”
Neacal chuckled, but he did as Erik asked.
Erik escorted her out of the study, well behind Malcolm. “We will get through this,” her father mumbled to her as they moved through the stunned clansmen in the great hall and up the stairs to the second landing. “He’s not going tae win.”
“Aye,” Edna replied, watching as Malcolm was moved into a chamber. “I want tae see him.”
Her father moved her past Malcolm’s chamber. “Nay, lass, dinnae worry. I will have mah own guards watch the Belshes. No harm will come tae him this evening.”
Edna felt the sudden rush of tears, but she didn’t fight her father, realizing he was right. They would protect Malcolm.
After she was inside her chamber with the door shut, Edna wasted no time tearing the dress off her body, wanting to rid herself of what the dress meant. It was the dress of a lady, one that would be wed to Laird Belshes unless they could find a way out of it. No matter that Malcolm had admitted to killing Declan.
Sliding on her night rail, Edna sat on the bed. Neacal wasn’t going to give up, but they couldn’t kill him. The moment they did, there would be battles to settle the score, and lives would be lost.
So they had to beat Neacal at his own nefarious game. Irvine was likely on his way to defend his second-in-command, and could he be the one that would save Malcolm and give her the future that she so desperately wished for?
Or was there no hope? There had to be. They had to find a way to keep Malcolm from a noose and her from wedding such an evil Scot.
If they didn’t, then Edna would die right along with Malcolm.
That night, Edna had a dream about James.
He was standing in their wildflower field, his hands clasped behind his back as he regarded the brightness of the sun before him. This time, Edna found herself walking slowly toward him, savoring what likely would be the final time she would see her beloved. When he turned, she drank in his wide smile, the breadth of his shoulders in one of his favorite tunics, and how his breeks clung to his muscular thighs.
“Edna, love,” he breathed, his eyes roving over her simple dress. “Oh, how I miss ye, lass.”
“Malcolm told me,” she stated, feeling nothing but peace at seeing him this time. “He...I am in love with him, James.”
James chuckled, shaking his head. “Aye, I had hoped that someone would take good care of ye, Edna, and I cannae think of another Scot than Malcolm.”
Not that she needed his approval. After all, he was gone and no longer walking this earth.
“Then I will fight for him.”
James’s mournful eyes met hers. “Aye, fight for him, Edna. Fight for him like yer life depended on it, or all is lost.”
“’Tis going tae be hard,” she admitted, running her hand over the wildflowers and barely feeling the tickle on the palm of her hand. “I dinnae know if I’m strong enough.”
“Ye have been and will always be the strongest lass I know,” James added, his voice already faint. “Dinnae give up on yerself, Edna.”
Edna didn’t wake until the sun was filtering through the small window in her chamber, rising slowly and thinking about James’s parting words. She was stronger than she had been months ago, doing things that she hadn’t planned on ever doing in her life.
Now she needed to be stronger still. Malcolm needed her. Her parents needed her. Edna needed to find a way out of this marriage with Neacal, or like James had said, all would be lost.
But how could she do it and not cause a battle for her family’s clans? How could she protect them all?
Or was it not just her that needed to protect the clans? Edna had attempted to take everything on her shoulders, but in truth, there were others that could help.
A knock sounded on her door, and Edna opened it, finding Finlay on the other side, the guards in the distance.
“Hurry!” her mother stated, eyeing Edna’s night rail. “Ye are needed in the great hall immediately.”
