Page 10 of Highlander’s Vengeful Seduction

“My family is doing well…as well as they can,” he said. “We all loved Ronald dearly. We still do, and his death was hard for everyone, but I told them Ronald would want us tae keep on living. He would want us tae remember him, but not end our own lives before they are due to end. My mother is the one who has suffered the most. The Lord only kens what she had been through, and there is nothing I can do tae fix it, tae make her feel whole again.”

“I dinnae think ye can fix this, Donal,” Vika said. She pushed herself off the windowsill and approached him, taking his hand in hers. “Some things ye simply canna fix, no matter how much ye try.”

Donal knew that Vika was right, of course. There was nothing for him to do, nothing other than avenge the death of his brother and hope that it would be enough to fill up a part of the hole that had torn through his family.

“I’m sorry for Ronald, for what happened to him,” Vika continued, her hand tightening around Donal’s own. “I always cared verra much for ye, ye ken. It breaks my heart to see ye like this. And to think about what ye have gone through.”

Donal looked up at Vika and gave her a small smile, his other hand coming to lay on top of hers. She was a sweet lass, and Donal needed her friendship then more than ever.

“No need to be dwelling on such things now,” he said. Thinking about his brother was one thing; talking about him and his death made a wave of emotion crash over him, one that he didn’t know if he could even control. “I ken my brother would want us to be happy for the time we had with him, not mourning the time we lost.”

Still, just as the words left his mouth, Donal knew that what he was asking of Vika and of himself was impossible. There was too much pain there, too much loss for him to be able to celebrate Ronald’s life instead of grieving his death.

Vika didn’t press him, though, and for that, Donal was grateful. He didn’t want to be subjected to another attempt at consolation, and he certainly didn’t want to have anyone’s pity.

“Weel…in that case, perhaps we should go and do what Ronald loved to do,” Vika said, as she pulled on Donal’s hand, urging him to stand up.

It could be a million things; riding horses, going to the loch, drinking, and singing, and dancing. Donal tilted his head to the side in a question, only to have Vika laugh at him.

“Eat!” she said as she began to pull him towards the stairs. “Mrs. Gallach could barely feed him fast enough.”

Donal laughed, but it was more forced than he would have liked. It was true; Ronald used to have a voracious appetite as a young man, as the baby fat disappeared and replaced itself with muscle. That was the Ronald Vika remembered—but in Donal’s mind, Ronald was frail and thin after weeks of not eating, lovesick and heartbroken.

There was no reason for him to tell Vika that, though.

Donal simply stood and followed her down the stairs and out of the tower, heading towards the hall. What he saw there didn’t surprise him in the slightest. Mrs. Gallach had practically prepared yet another feast. Donal was certain that such extravagant dinners would be the norm in Castle Sween until he left.

Donal sat at the laird’s table once more, surrounded by Angus, Vika, and Vanora. He kept stealing glances at the latter, and the more he looked at her, the more he had the urge to drink and forget. He drained cup after cup of wine, while an excited Angus matched him cup for cup, thinking that the drinks were a means to a good time.

For Donal, they were anything but.

By the time the dinner was over, Donal was intoxicated, alcohol lingering on his breath. He was just drunk enough to have the courage he couldn’t have while sober, but not so much so that he would make a fool of himself, stumbling down the hall.

It was the perfect moment to approach Vanora once more. She had been drinking, too, after all, and that would make her more pliable, more susceptible to Donal’s veiled interrogations.

“Would ye accompany me on a walk?”

Donal didn’t miss the look that Vika gave him as he extended his hand to her sister, though he paid it no mind; he had more important things to focus on. He also didn’t miss the look that Angus gave Vika, and that was important enough to him to give him pause for a moment.

Did Angus have feelings for Vika? It was something that Donal would have to investigate, but it would have to wait.

It took Vanora a few seconds to accept Donal’s invitation, but once she did, she did so gracefully, if a little reluctantly.

She was always reluctant to be alone with Donal, it seemed to him, and that only added to his suspicion of her. Still, as she followed him around the castle, Donal couldn’t help but marvel at her radiance, at the smile that never once seemed to fade from her face. A part of him wished that things would be different. Had he arrived at Castle Sween under different circumstances, then he would have already proposed to that beautiful woman, hoping to make her his wife.

“Donal…why did ye come here?”

The question caught Donal by surprise. He thought that the reason he had given previously, that he had simply missed his former teacher and everyone who had been a part of his life for months would be enough. It didn’t seem like enough of an explanation for Vanora, and Donal didn’t know what to tell her.

“What do ye mean?” he asked. “Can I no’ simply visit?”

Vanora narrowed her eyes at him, and for the first time, Donal saw her mother in her eyes. She had the same look when she thought she was being lied to, one that made Donal want to tell her everything.

“Yer lying, Donal Cameron. I ken when ye lie.”

For a moment, Donal thought that Vanora had somehow found out his true intentions. He could feel the blood rushing away from his face, and a cold sweat began to run down his back within seconds. The night breeze striking his now-drenched shirt chilled him to the bone.

Then Vanora spoke once more. “Ye came here tae get away from yer own home, no? It must be hard, staying where yer brother once lived. I dinnae ken what I would do if Vika died. I dinnae think I could stay here a moment longer.”