“Aye. I have,” he answered.
“It will be good for her to leave. I’m here now and ye ken how I feel about her.” The look of disdain on Greer’s face was plain to all present. “The sooner she’s gone the better.”
Brenna wasn’t surprised that Greer spoke to Paddraig as if she wasn’t there.
“Did ye arrange this?” she snarled, standing and facing down her enemy. Brenna knew the answer before she even asked the question, but she wanted to hear it from the evil witch herself.
Greer cast a steely gaze at Brenna. “’Twas merely a suggestion, but one that yer Da agreed with. Yer well past marrying age.” Venom dripped from her voice as she continued. “I’m the lady of Castle Treun. Ye are merely here because I’ve been kind enough to allow it. Yer Da’s only wish is fer me happiness.” She glanced at Paddraig who was smiling adoringly at her as if he hadn’t heard any of the awful things she’d just said to Brenna.
Brenna couldn’t believe what she was hearing. Couldn’t believe that Greer was saying this in front of her Da and that her own father wasn’t coming to her defense. It was apparent. He wanted her gone.
Greer continued speaking, enjoying the full support of Paddraig MacRae and the obvious effect her words were having. “Yer no beauty, but no matter, Laird Munro will be happy to have ye. I told yer Da that he couldnae expect to do much better, considering, well…” She waved her hand up and down in front of Brenna. “Just look at ye. Ye look as if ye belong in the kitchen with the servants or the stable with the horses.” She barked out a harsh laugh, which was echoed by Gillian, and then placed a hand on Paddraig’s shoulder. “Ye’d be wise to do as Laird Munro says. I understand that he expects complete obedience from his wife.” She wiggled her way into the space where Brenna stood, forcing her out of the way and purposely sticking her foot out for Brenna to trip over. Unable to stop herself, Brenna hit the floor with a thud, but grabbed hold ofLady MacRae’sskirts on the way down causing Greer to lose her balance and to land atop her.
“How dare ye?” Greer began to pummel Brenna about her face and head. Brenna did her best to block her blows before her Da wrapped an arm around Greer and picked her up, placing her away from his daughter.
“Brenna. I cannae believe me eyes. I would never have expected such behavior from ye.” Paddraig seemed quite indignant with her.
“But Da, I didnae do a thing. She purposely tripped me so I fell to the floor.” Brenna thought surely her Da would’ve defended her. He’d seen what had happened with his own eyes.
“I’ll nae hear another word. To your room and stay there until Laird Munro comes to claim ye. It cannae be too soon.”
The disapproval in Paddraig’s voice was like a knife to Brenna’s heart. She began to speak, but her Da put up a hand to stop her. “No more argument. Ye’ll marry the man. Leave us now. I’d like to break me fast in peace.”
Getting to her feet, Brenna stood for a moment, in shock. She wanted to speak, but instead stuttered and mumbled, hurrying from the hall before anyone could see the tears forming in her eyes. She’d never give that shrew the satisfaction of seeing her cry. Once in the passageway, she slumped against the wall and let the tears flow. What was she to do? How could she escape her fate? The sounds of laughter coming from the great hall pushed her to move on. She climbed the steps to her room in a daze.
Wiping her eyes with the sleeve of her dress, Brenna sat numbly on the bed. She gazed about the chamber that had been hers since she was a bairn and a deep sadness overcame her as she realized that this was no longer her home. Other than Aunt Saundra, she was totally and completely alone. She didn’t even have a single good friend to confide in. Paddraig’s drunken ranting and raving saw to that. Everyone at the castle gave him a wide berth and because she was, until this moment, the lady of the castle, they’d done the same with her. Even the men avoided her, none wishing to incur the wrath of Paddraig MacRae, and so she’d never had a chance to fall in love, to share a kiss or to see a man gaze at her the way her brother Dougall gazed at his wife Helene. She’d received letters from him, always speaking sofondly of the people of Breaghacraig, of his many friends and the life he and Helene shared. It all sounded so exciting to her and so out of her reach. She didn’t know if she’d ever have a chance to be that happy, to experience life with the same freedom they seemed to have. Brenna picked up a small doll her Aunt Saundra made her when she was but a bairn and held it tight to her chest, all the while thinking she could not go through with this, but not knowing what she could do to stop it.
Chapter 2
San Francisco, California - 2017
Where on earth could she be? Zeke paced back and forth across his living room. His sister, Sara, was supposed to be back a week ago and he hadn’t heard from her. The river cruise she’d booked a spot on had returned to port, but she had not. According to the cruise line, she never made a reservation. He’d argued with them through several phone calls, but they stuck by the fact that she hadn’t made a reservation and had never boarded their ship. That meant only one thing. She lied to him. Why would she do that? What purpose could she possibly have had for making up a trip she never intended to take? Only one he could think of. She was doing something he wouldn’t have approved of and she was afraid to tell him because she knew how he’d react. Just great! Now he had absolutely no idea where she was or how to find her. His reflex was to call the cruise line again, but just as he was about to dial the number, his phone rang.
“Hey, Zeke,” Wade’s voice came across his speaker phone. “Are you coming in today?” Wade was Zeke’s right hand man at his medieval martial arts studio.
“No. I won’t make it today.”
“Is everything okay? You don’t sound right,” Wade observed.
“I’m worried about Sara. She’s still not back.”
“You haven’t heard from her?” Wade’s voice took on a concerned tone.
“No. Not a phone call or a text. Not even an email. I’m really worried about her, Wade. I’m about to call the cruise line for the hundredth time to see if they have any information on her. If they don’t, I don’t see that I have much choice, I’ll be heading to Europe to see if I can find her myself.”
“Can’t you call the FBI or something? What about Interpol? It seems like a daunting task to go to Europe alone to search for her. You might need some professional help.” Wade was making a lot of sense.
Zeke had no idea where she was, so he didn’t have a clue where to begin. “I’ll make some phone calls, but I’ve got to find her. I’m really worried. This is so unlike her.”
“If there’s anything I can do, just let me know,” Wade said.
“I’ll need you to run the studio while I’m gone,” Zeke said, while searching the internet for phone numbers for the FBI, Interpol, and Scotland Yard.
“If you go, I’ll be happy to do that for you. You never know, she might show up at home any moment now.” Wade’s voice conveyed an optimism that Zeke wasn’t feeling.
“Thanks for mentioning that. I just thought of something. I should really go check to see if she’s at her apartment. I haven’t done that yet. It’s possible she got back and went right home and something happened. She might be sick or something.” A new wave of worry washed over him. If she did make it back to SanFrancisco, why hadn’t she called from the airport for a ride home as they’d agreed.
“Let me know what you find out and what your plans are. I’ll be here at the studio all day.”
