CHAPTER 14
It seemedridiculous that Helena was the one giving Skyea tour of Keep Bryden when Skye was supposed to be Lady Bryden.
Lady Bryden.
The title weighed heavily on her shoulders.
Of course, she’d known that she would become a laird’s wife one day. Her brother was a laird, and her father had been one. It was not as if she could just marry whoever she liked.
Still, hadn’t there always been a niggle of hope that maybe, just maybe, a marriage of convenience couldalsobe something else? Something that mattered?
Apparently, I decided to choose plain good sense above me careless desires,she thought, chewing on the inside of her cheek.Evander and I are just friends. Even if… even if he did kiss me in such an intense way.
Her cheeks heated at the memory. She could still feel the warmth of his palm against her hip, his hand pressed against her thigh, seeking the heat of skin on skin. She shivered.
Just as well that it went no further. Our marriage isnae like that. It’s what we both want.
He’d kissed her, yes, but that was probably just because he was confused. He had thought she was dead, and then she was back, and yet the clans were still all on the brink of war.
Me fault,she thought with a stab of fear.I have to fix this. And me first task is to find out why I was taken. Then, if I ken the why, I’ll ken the who.
“It’s true, then,” Helena remarked, breaking the silence. “Ye remember nothing.”
The two of them had chosen the gardens to roam in. Skye couldn’t help but wonder if her mother had picked it so that they wouldn’t be overheard.
“I’m nae feigning it,” Skye murmured. “Me memory loss, I mean. I imagine that some people might think that.”
“Nae me,” Helena answered firmly. “I ken that ye arenae feigning anything. But there are serious questions to answer. First, did Laird Bryden have anything to do with yer disappearance?”
“I daenae believe that he did.”
Helena shot her a long look. “Can ye be sure of that, with yer memories gone?”
Skye hesitated, but only for a moment. “Aye, I can.”
“Well then, I shall take yer word for it. But ye have been in danger since ye set foot on Bryden land, by me reckoning. Because of yer disappearance, the peace treaty was violated.”
Skye flinched. “What?”
“Well, the terms of the agreement were that both brides wouldnae be harmed. Creighton kept Nora safe, but yedisappeared on the day of yer wedding. The treaty, then, was void. It would have been void even if ye had consummated the marriage, just because ye werenae safe.”
Skye’s cheeks reddened. The consummation, of course. That was the final step to cement a marriage, and she had disappeared before she and Evander could share a bed.
Whether anything would have happened in that bed was another matter, but it would be acceptable in the eyes of their clans. She thought of herself and Evander lying side by side, just like they had before, only with him underthe covers this time. She imagined his hand, warm and searching, sliding between the sheets, looking for her?—
Enough.
She swallowed. “There is no need to break the peace treaty,” she said. “I’m safe, as ye can see.”
“Safe? Lass, ye were missing for atwelvemonth,or near enough. Ye have no idea where ye were, how ye were treated, or what had been done to ye. Nay, this has gone too far. I am here to speak yer braither’s mind. He thinks that it would be best for ye to come back with me. Now, today, or as soon as we can manage. The wedding can be annulled. Hunter is waiting for yer call, lassie. It’ll be as easy as?—”
“Nay!” Skye blurted out, much more loudly than she’d intended.
Helena shot her a surprised look, and silence fell between them.
“Well,” Helena said, eventually. “Ye are very emphatic about that.” Her eyes narrowed. “Any particular reason why ye daenae wish to leave him?”
I made a mistake,Skye thought, swallowing hard. She should have known better than to try to deceive her mother.
