Page 24 of Highland Vows of Betrayal

Scarlett stared at the door mutely. She didn’t know whether to be angry or flattered by what took place, but she was certainly intrigued about the day to come.

Either way, she already guilted herself for consorting with Eloise’s betrothed.

CHAPTER TEN

“My laird? My laird!”

Noah sighed inwardly as he heard Trevelyan calling him. He was already heading toward the council room, prepared for their meeting.

Turning at the bottom of the stairs, he greeted the old council member with a firm nod of his head. Trevelyan offered a bow so deep Noah wondered how the old man’s old back didn’t crack.

“I merely wanted tae see how the meeting with yer bride went today.” Trevelyan’s usual stern manner was absent, and he offered a genuine smile.

“It was a meeting. We hardly ken each other well enough yet tae say much about one another.” Noah knew it was a lie even as he said the words, but he didn’t think Trevelyan would take kindly to him ranting about how his new wife tested his patience.

His eyes slid toward the stairs nearby and thought back to what had passed between him and Eloise that afternoon. It was an interesting meeting indeed, full of tension and sparks, yet she had cut him to the bone at one point, too.

Nae good man beds a mistress on the day his bride arrives.

He couldn’t argue with her on that score. It had him wondering what was truly in his own heart after all these years.

Protection, that is what it is, nae cruelty.

“Well, I am glad it has been a good start,” Trevelyan said with a smile.

“I didnae remember saying that, Trevelyan.” Noah noted.

“Oh, then ye are unhappy with yer new bride?” Noah pinched the bridge of his nose at those words, feeling his anger grow. “This is nae good news. Shall we talk about it with the council?”

“Nay.” Noah lowered his hand quickly. “Trevelyan, let me make myself clear on this matter. Ye and the council have indeed had a great hand in deciding who I should wed for the sake of the clan. I have agreed tae it reluctantly. But I have done my duty, and I will marry Lady Eloise. I dinnae need my marriage to be an issue raised every time we have a meeting. I willnae stand for that intrusion forever. I hope ye understand.”

There was a flicker to Trevelyan’s eyes, then it faded, as if he had been tempted by a smile but then thought better of it.

“Aye, sometimes ye sound very like yer father, my laird.” Noah felt tension coursing through his body at those words.

“I am nae like him.” Noah loved his father dearly, but he would never be him. He would not live out the life his father had suffered just to die in the same way. “Dinnae say such words to me again.”

* * *

Scarlett finished her letter to Eloise and sat back, reading what she had written so hurriedly. They’d agreed to write when they could, though Eloise was to have a pseudonym, just in case anyone in the castle was to read Scarlett’s letters.

Scarlett had gone on and on about her arrival at the castle. She'd told Eloise the truth about struggling with her fine gowns, falling over, and the embarrassment of having a maid assist her in dressing. She decided to leave out the part about stumbling across the laird without a stitch on him and the subsequent help he'd given her in tying her gown.

Eloise has nae need tae read of such things.

Scarlett signed the letter before she re-read the section that had particularly concerned her.

When ye have a chance, write tae me sister, and tell me what ye can. I ken ye told me much before of ye and our brother, Avery, but I find I wish tae ken more regardless. For such a great time have I longed for a family, and I wish tae ken ye both well now. We didnae even talk about what foods we like, and such silly things, when we first met each other. I look forward tae the day where ye and I can sit together without a care in the world and be open with one another.

I imagine us talking about our lives late into the night. Perhaps we’ll share a whisky as we did in the tavern the night ye first came tae see me. Such an idea makes me happier than I can say.

To think I have more family in this world, a brother too, thrills me. A life with family, aye, ‘tis all I have ever wanted.

Scarlett looked up from the letter, thinking of the closest thing she’d ever had to family.

Athol was no father figure, but he was the nearest thing she’d had. He was a guardian. He’d ordered her around, and always treated her as something rather than someone. His mind would change whenever it suited him. She was the workhorse, the one that applied herself to the tavern so he could spend his nights with courtesans.

“Aye, he was never family.”