“But if I do, he may go after Alasdair.” Caitrin crossed her arms over her chest. “He’d be killed. That’s the last thing I want. Nay, I canna show him. But what can I do?”
“He canna fight the MacGregor in his condition. He kens it and he wouldna try. He’s no’ a fool, lass.”
“But if he did—”
“Caitrin, he willna.”
“And if he still doesna believe me?”
“Then we dinna have any choice. We must get ye away from here.”
“Against both MacGregor’s and Fletcher’s wishes? Ye would risk Lathan in a clan war?”
“I ken the possibility.” Jamie’s head came up, and he looked her square in the eye. “Ye are worth it to me.”
“To ye, perhaps. But to Toran? He thought me trouble at fourteen. I canna imagine what he’d think of me if ye got him into a war over me. He sent ye here with a peace treaty, for the love of God!”
“He’s changed, lass. And given the danger to ye, he would support my decision.”
“Nay, Jamie. This is no’ why he wanted ye here. Ye’re no’ thinking straight.” She reached for him, but pulled her hand back. She dared not confuse him or herself any further, and touching him would distract them both. The longing for him burned within her. Yet guilt, or frustration, ruled him at the moment. “Ye canna do such a thing. There must be another way.”
“Kyle and I and the others are planning ways to get ye out of MacGregor, should the need arise. If yer da willna concede the truth. If I come for ye, ye must be ready to go. Can ye do that?”
Caitrin’s heart sank. How had things gone so wrong?
“Let me talk to Da. Perhaps he will see reason when he sees my face. There must be an honorable way to end this. To leave here in peace. I am no’ worth a clan war. I would marry MacGregor before I let that happen.” She almost believed her words.
“I canna let ye do that.” Jamie’s tone was flat, determined.
“I remind ye, ye dinna have any say in it. If both lairds sign the agreement, and if I agree to it, my fate is sealed.” Jamie nodded, but did not appear convinced. Catrin wondered if her bravado sounded as false to his ears as to hers.
“Kyle will escort ye. I dinna want ye going anywhere in this keep alone, but if yer da sees us together, he’ll be furious and he willna listen to ye.”
“He may no’ listen to me, whether he sees me with ye or no’. He forbade me from the company of any of ye Lathans. But I have to try. And I will let my bruises speak for me. He canna be fool enough to believe they are the result of eager wooing.”
“I hope ye are right, lass.”
“I hope I am, too.” She grabbed her shawl and wrapped it over her head, hiding the side of her face. “Very well. Kyle may as well take me now.”
****
Jamie, Kyle, and the other Lathans sat by the fire in the great hall a few hours later, cups of ale in hand. Jamie could see from Kyle’s expression Caitrin’s meeting with her father had not gone well.
“He told her to stop being fearful over nothing,” Kyle reported.
Jamie’s jaw clenched. He’d hoped the physical evidence of MacGregor’s cruelty would be enough to awaken Fletcher to the reality of the life he was condemning Caitrin to.
Kyle’s aggrieved tone made clear what he thought about the Fletcher’s lack of understanding for his daughter. “I stood by, outside the door, waiting to escort her back when they were done. I could no’ hear all they said, but he got loud enough at one point for me to hear that much.”
Jamie knew where this was leading, but he let Kyle continue his report.
“Ye shouldha seen her face when she left him.”
Jamie’s heart dropped at the thought of how Caitrin must feel, betrayed by her father, her pain insignificant to him.
“He canna see beyond his aspirations to his daughter’s bruises,” Kyle complained. “Instead of walking away from a bad situation, he seems determined to make it worse. So, Envoy,” Kyle continued, leaning forward in his seat “how do ye propose to settle this conflict?”
Jamie sighed and wished he had MacGregor or Fletcher to toss on the fire instead of a just a stick of wood. Either one would do. At the moment, he would gladly eliminate them both. He slapped the arm of his chair with an open palm then did it again, thinking. “I’m too close to this situation. I dinna trust in my judgement where Caitrin is concerned.”
