Page 71 of Highland Storm

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Phoebe watched from the door of the infirmary as Hawke rode away into the night. She’d heard every word the men said, and she didn’t like this in the least.

“Phoebe? Are ye comin’ back to bed?” asked Osla, walking up behind her.

“Osla, dinna ye remember bein’ married to Hawke?” asked Phoebe, still staring out the door.

“Nay,” she said, rubbing her head. “Well, mayhap. I’m no’ sure. I had a bad fall off the side of a cliff about ten years ago. Euan told me I was close to death because I hit my head. I have trouble rememberin’ anythin’ from my past, but Euan has been helpin’ me.”

“Aye, he’s helpin’ ye remember but only what he wants ye to believe.”

“What do ye mean, Phoebe?” Osla yawned and pushed a long lock of hair behind her ear.

“Osla, the MacNabs and MacKeefes have been feudin’ for years. Ye were married to Hawke for an alliance. But supposedly, ye died on a hunt and the MacNabs blamed Hawke for it and the feud continued.”

“I’m sorry, Phoebe, but I really dinna remember.”

“Is Euan really married to ye?”

“Aye. Or, at least that is what he told me. Do ye think he lied?”

“I’m willin’ to bet on it.” Phoebe turned to face her. “Why does he keep ye and the children on a haunted isle while he lives back at Crookston Castle?”

“Crookston?” she asked, as if she’d never heard the name.

“It’s the MacNabs’ castle, Osla. I dinna understand why ye are bein’ hidden away on an isle that no one goes to. No’ unless Euan doesna want the rest of the clan to ken ye’re alive.”

“Euan told me he wanted to protect me. The children and I live in a little hut on the isle and we tend the sheep for the laird of the castle. It’s a guid life, Phoebe. I dinna mind.”

“It’s also a lie, Osla. Ye are Hawke’s wife.” She wiped a tear from her eye.

“Why are ye cryin’?” asked Osla. “Is it because ye wish ye were Hawke’s wife instead?”

Phoebe jolted in surprise. Her cousin’s mind might be addled and her memories of the past all gone, but she was still sharp enough that she could see Phoebe had feelings for Hawke.

“I have fallen in love with him, Cousin.” Phoebe held back the tears. “And now I ken that I will never be able to be his wife, because ye already are.”

“But I dinna even ken him,” she protested. “I dinna want him for my husband. I have Euan. He’s the one I love.”

“If ye kent what Euan is really like, ye would hate him, the same as me.”

“What are ye sayin’, Phoebe?” Confusion covered the girl’s face.

“Osla, the reason we were on the island was to collect herbs to heal my faither. He is sick and dyin’ and Euan has claimed the castle as his own. He’s just waitin’ for my faither to die. I wouldna be surprised if he already killed him.”

“Nay, Euan would never do that,” said Osla, obviously shaken.

“He would, Osla. He imprisoned my sisters and brathair. If Hawke hadna saved them, they would have died in the dungeon.”

“Euan put women and a child in the dungeon?” Osla seemed horrified by the thought.

“Euan is no’ the man ye think he is. And I’m sorry to say, he’s taken advantage of ye. Yer whole life is a lie.” Phoebe headed out the door.

“Wait! Where are ye goin’, Phoebe?”

“I’m goin’ after Hawke to try to keep him from bein’ killed,” she told her cousin. Then she looked down and patted the bag slung over her shoulder. “I’m also goin’ to heal my faither with the herbs I collected, so he can take back his castle and things can be made right again.”

“But ye are one woman. What can ye do?”