Page 42 of Highlander’s Lesser Evil

One look at him, and her blood froze. There was no mistaking who he was. His long mane had grown mostly white, but his beard was still dark. He had those piercing green eyes that she saw whenever she looked at Theo, only there was no regret in this gaze, no haunting pain or flicker of desire. Only cold and steel.

Not wanting to show any weakness, she pushed her shoulders back and narrowed her eyes. “You must be Patrick, Theo’s father.”

“So he has told ye of me?” There was a trace of surprise in his voice followed by annoyance. Gemma mentally cheered. The man had banked on surprising her and then obviously trying to twist her to his whims.

“I am his wife. He has told me a great deal.” Hoping that the guards were loyal to Theo, she walked closer to the bars and plastered a bored look on her face. “From what I hear, you don’t deserve your accommodations.”

“Nay, I doonae. This is my clan!” he hissed before he drew back and closed his eyes. There was an inner struggle, and when he looked at her again, he was back in control. “I apologize, my dear. I doonae mean to lose my temper with ye. ‘Tis been trying to have my own son lock me up. So he married an English lass. ‘Tis no surprise.”

“Because we are so lovely, brave, and intelligent?”

“Because ye are weak,” he said with a sly smile. “And easy to control. But there is spirit in ye. He will likely come to regret that.”

Her mind instantly wandered back to their most recent argument, and the doubts that made her wonder the very same. It must have shown because he chuckled darkly. “Oh, he already regrets it. I hear he is stowing ye here and returning to Loch Moran. I wonder if he will ever let ye out of the keep again. He doesnae plan on letting me out.”

“If you hope to cause me to doubt my husband, then you are wrong. He didn’t force me to marry him. I made the decision all on my own. When the threat against Loch Moran is over, I will return to see my friends.”

“But not to stay?”

It hurt, but she’d known the consequences of the choice she had made. “Of course not. I am now mistress of the MacDougals. My place is here.”

“Good.” He moved frighteningly fast for someone his age and wrapped his hands around the bars. “I suggest that while yer husband is away, ye take yer time to get to know the people. Hear the stories. I assure ye that when ye do, ye will realize what kind of monster my son truly is. I hate that I helped birth such a being, but I have my people to think of, and now so do ye.”

Snorting with laughter, she shook her head. “You are too late, you know. I already know that Theo was forced to do horrible things on your orders. I know the villagers fear him, but that will not be the case for long. You planned to manipulate me, but all you have done is encourage me to unite them with Theo.”

Just then, the gate opened, and Gemma could feel Theo at her back. It wasn’t just recognizing his scent, but she had begun to acknowledge his power whenever he was in the same room. It was that same power that had gently held her last night, working out the tightness in her body, silently apologizing for his actions.

“Gemma,” he said in a dangerous voice, “my guards tell me that ye are here to meet the laird.”

A slow smile curved over Patrick’s face, but she would not let him be the wedge between them. Turning, she handed Theo the note she’d found in her chambers. “I thought it was from you. I had no idea that it was leading me to your father.”

Especially since the man deserves to be rotting in the dungeons, but she didn’t verbalize that.

Theo glanced at it before slipping it in his pocket. The expression on his face was fearsome. “So, ye have still found some loyal to ye,” he sighed heavily. “When will ye learn, father, that it doesnae matter? The only other destination for ye is in the ground, even if I have to put ye there myself. Play yer games with me, if ye like, but the next time ye try and speak with my wife, I will end ye.”

Gemma’s heart skipped at the ice in his voice. Moving slowly, she put her hands on his chest. “Don’t let him put anger or fear in your heart,” she whispered so that only he could hear. “I will not be swayed by his false tongue, so you have no need to worry about me.”

He dropped his gaze to hers. “And when will ye learn, my dear, that I am always worried about ye?”

“How sweet,” Patrick said snidely. “I wonder if ye will give her a second thought when ye find her body broken and lifeless because of a decision ye made. Will ye wait long enough for her to bear yer heir, or will ye simply go out and find another?”

Taking Gemma’s hand, he led her out of the gate. His grip was painful, but he didn’t let up until they were clear of the last grouping of guards. “I should have told ye where he was the moment I got here,” he growled. “I doonae want ye to ever go there again.”

“I thought it was—”

He silenced her with a kiss. It was harsh and brutal, and it caused her to bloom pink from her toes to her cheeks. In the middle of the main hall, they had an audience of soldiers and servants coming and going, but in that moment, there was only Theo.

“I know what ye thought,” he said as he jerked away, “but I wouldnae have that man poisoning ye with his attempts at manipulations nor his words.”

“I’m sorry, Theo. Truly, I am. I won’t go back there again.”

“I would have yer word on this, Gemma.”

It wasn’t like she wanted to go back there. She nodded. “You have my word.”

Satisfied, he stepped back and nodded. “Then, come. I wish to spend the rest of my evening with ye and Hamish. He is leaving in the morning, but some issues have arisen that I will need to take care of before I return to Loch Moran, so I will be here a few more days.”

Her heart lifted even as she recognized the disappointment in his voice. Something was worrying him, but he didn’t seem to want to burden her with it. When was he going to learn that she could be his other half, to help him when he needed it?