Chapter 4
Half-blinded by tears, Shona stumbled through the woods toward camp, ducking branches whipped by the wind and becoming more furious every time she had to rip her dress free from where it snagged on a twig or bramble. How could Angus accuse her of trying to trap him into marriage? She didn’t want to marry at all! Not yet. Not ever. Not even him.
Did she?
Knowing her uncle’s plan to force her into marriage, Angus had seemed to her to be the better of two unwanted alternatives. He was right about that, though she’d given no thought to being found with him. Compromised by him. And after this, she wanted nothing to do with him, either.
Why had he agreed to remain with her? Did his tale of the healer mean he suspected her own abilities? Had he been trying to draw a confession from her? If so, he’d failed, and he’d put her on her guard.
While they’d…talked…the wind had kicked up and the sky had darkened again. Though it had yet to rain, another storm fit her mood perfectly. How dare Angus take advantage of her! She’d told him what her uncle intended, but telling him didn’t mean she participated willingly in her uncle’s scheme, or the laird’s. Angus’s accusation stung, but the way he’d treated her hurt. A lot. She was new to the clan. An outsider. Some level of suspicion might be natural, still that did not give him the right to paw at her, even after his simple, romantic, gesture. She’d crushed the flower he gave her, just as he’d crushed her trust.
She didn’t know what to do with these feelings coursing through her, but after tripping more than once and nearly sprawling on the forest floor, she knew this headlong, furious rush would not achieve anything but for her to return to the village filthy and bruised. She scrubbed at the tear-tracks on her cheeks. When she reached a burn, she paused to calm her breathing, then knelt to splash icy cold water on her face. People had seen her leave with Angus. She could not be seen returning in a state she had to explain.
No one needed to know how he’d broken her heart. How much his accusations hurt. She would be no man’s whore. She’d rather wander these woods, living alone, than be reduced to that. She’d only told him her uncle’s plans hoping he’d help her avoid being forced to marry or leave, yet again, another village.
Yet, her future seemed dim without Angus. Without anyone. But she would face it. And find a way to have the kind of life she wanted.
The village stood empty when she returned. Where had everyone gone? She paused and finally heard voices coming from the trees on the other side of the glen. They sounded strained. Something was wrong. She couldn’t tell if they were angry or upset—or both. Before she could cross into the trees, Christina ran from the woods, tears streaming down her cheeks.
“Shona! Och, ’tis terrible. Craig canna do a thing to save him.”
“What are ye talking about? Who is Craig?”
“Craig is the healer. He canna help Colin. The new laird. The wind broke a branch. A tree. I dinna ken. It fell on him. Crushed him. He’s dead!”
Dead? The new laird, dead? Suddenly Shona couldn’t catch her breath. Christina must be mistaken. Then the other women came pouring out of the woods, shocked and tearful expressions lending credence to her statement.
Shona looked about, the women’s upset adding to her own caused by Angus. And where was Angus?
“Dinna go in there!” her friend called to her as she took step after hesitant step toward the forest. “Another tree might fall!”
She ignored the warning and all the shocked faces she passed as she entered the woods, looking for the men—and the laird’s body.
One thing haunted her. If she had been nearby and could have prevented Colin’s death, would she have shoved the branch aside and kept it from falling on him? Or would her uncle’s schemes have kept her from saving the man he planned to marry her to? Did her uncle know Colin was dead? What would he do when he found out? Guilt filled her, even though she hadn’t been anywhere nearby. Knowing she could have prevented this tormented her.
When she arrived, several men turned from their circle around the body on the ground and regarded her. Between them, she could see a heavy tree trunk, easily as thick as her arm was long, and the bloodied lower part of a leg and a foot. No more. Either the rest of his body lay under a branch, or on the other side.
“Is he—”
“Aye, lass. Get ye back to the village,” the council elder, Luthais, said, casting a nervous glance upward. Wind lashed the branches above them. “We’ll take care of the laird’s body.”
Numbly, Shona nodded, turned away, and collided with Angus’s solid chest.
“What is this?” he demanded even as he gripped her arms and steadied her. His touch reassured her, but a chill coursed down Shona’s back at Angus’s demand— the same words Colin had used when her uncle had presented her to him. Then Angus set her aside with a softly-voiced command, “Aye, go on back, lass. We’ll talk later. I’m sorry.”
She stared at him in surprise at his gentleness, but his gaze was fixed on the men behind her—and the one under the tree. She felt battered by the conflicting impressions he gave her, but now was not the time to examine them. Shona backed off a few paces and paused to watch the circle open to admit Angus and reveal more of the laird’s ruined body. No one could doubt MacAnalen needed another new laird.
In a flash of clarity, Shona regretted telling Angus what Colin had promised to do. He might adopt Colin’s plans to marry outside the clan. If so, would he make a match for her in another clan? Before they’d argued, she would have been devastated at the thought. Now? Now, she didn’t know how she felt, except relieved she no longer had marriage to Colin in her future.
“No’ even Healer Aileana could fix this,” Angus’s friend, Brodric, muttered. She couldn’t see Angus’s face, but the way he stiffened told her he didn’t appreciate Brodric’s comment.
She glanced up at the storm-tossed trees and decided to stay near so no further harm would come to anyone. Just as she made that decision, a sharp crack split the air and a heavy branch broke loose near the circle of men. Shepulledit downwind and let it fall harmlessly to the ground. Her pulse raced with the urgency and effort it took to use her power. She slipped further into the trees, away from the men’s view.
“We’d best get out of here,” the elder advised. “We can return when the storm is over.”
Shona breathed a sigh of relief as the circle broke up, and the men moved back toward the glen. All but one.
Angus stayed behind, regarding the man on the ground. He stood utterly still, seemingly oblivious to the danger heralded by the leaves and twigs flying free in each gust.
