Page 66 of Tales of Highland Loyalty

Irritably, Will pushed away, but anger got the best of him. So when Trenton came forward again, smugness wrapped all around his silly face, Will could not stop himself.

"I do not, Brother," said Trenton maddeningly.

Will pushed him away. That was when it started. Trenton swung at Will and missed. As quick as a flash, Will had punched him, sending him skedaddled on the floor. It did not take Trenton long to nurse his wounds and get up from the ground.

"It may be news to you, Will, but I happen to care about Lissie. And I care not for the way you treated her. You know, I only came to you today to persuade you to do the right thing."

Trenton's eyes glared, laying bare their disdain. Will shuffled uncomfortably. Despite his easy put-down of Trenton, he had him on the backfoot.

"Right thing?" snapped Will. Cold fury welled up in his veins.

Yes, he was wrong, and he knew it. But a lecture from Trenton was more than he could take.

"You wouldn't know the right thing if it bit you on the codpiece," he hissed.

Trenton did not react. Instead, he stared straight ahead at Will.

Then, he added. "And anyway, it is too late. I am betrothed to Lettie. There is nothing I can do."

But even as he said it, Will felt a tug in his heart.

Maybe...

Trenton faced him coldly.

"Very well. I have told you. But Brother, be warned. If you do not act, then I will!"

Trenton's face did not move, and he held Will very closely in his sights. Will had never seen his brother like this before and was unnerved. However, he did not show it.

"Act? What do you mean? Trenton?"

Will was out of patience. He paced cagily about the wooden flooring.

"Here you are, pretending to care. But we both know you have never cared for anybody but yourself. Am I to believe that you suddenly developed feelings? Or a conscience?"

The thought of Trenton and Lissie burned deep. It could not be true. He was only doing this to spite him.

Trenton fixed him with a tight look. "I mean, you are a coward, Will. But if you do not stop Lissie from leaving, then I will."

Will stopped dead. He could not believe what he was hearing. However, Trenton was not finished. Halfway out of the room, he turned to Will before leaving.

"If you don't act, then I will ask her to stay, and marry me!"

CHAPTER 16

"Elisabeth, my dear, is there anything I can do to help?"

Lissie did not know whether to feel irritated or touched. Ever since she had announced she was leaving, Cousin Annice had been nice to her.

"Dinnae fash," said Lissie cheerfully. At least, as cheerfully as someone who had to leave town in haste could do.

Of course, her heart still ached. She could not bear to be around as Will announced his engagement. So the letter from home had come at just the right time.

"'Tis all in hand. I dinnae have a muckle lot to take with me!" she announced, trying her hardest to roll a full-length chiffon houppelande into a haversack.

Watching her, Annice tutted. And behind her, Jane, as gray as ever in the shadows, took on the look of a fox spotting an injured rabbit.

"Here. Allow me," Annice took the garment and expertly folded it so it fit into the rather small knapsack that Lissie was trying to make it fit.