Page 38 of Wicked Kilted Highlander

Lara swallowed hard, fighting the urge to protest. Instead, she focused on the uneven rhythm of her own breath, the sensation of her heartbeat pounding against her ribcage. She had to keep calm, to maintain the appearance of innocence.

"Understood, Faither," she managed to say, forcing a small, strained smile. It tasted like ash on her lips, a bitter reminder of the lies she'd spun to keep Darragh safe.

"Good," Harris replied gruffly, his expression softening ever so slightly. "Now, finish yer breakfast and go about yer day. I have matters tae attend tae."

Harris strode towards the door, about to depart. Lara thought quickly, unsatisfied with her father’s decision about house arrest. In her view, her father should have been rewarding Darragh for saving her, not treating him like a prisoner.

"Faither, Darragh and I are married," she said, her voice firm but her heart in her mouth as the laird paused and turned his steely gaze upon her once more. "Yer behavior towards him is unacceptable."

Laird MacLean regarded her with narrowed eyes, his jaw set as he responded tersely. "Unacceptable, is it?" He seemed genuinely astonished that she was daring to challenge his decision. The tension in the room rose palpably. The others stopped eating to watch, but Lara lifted her chin, holding their father’s gaze, until he finally shook his head and said, "He’ll nae be locked up, Lara. That's the best I’m prepared to dae fer now."

"The best ye can dae?" Lara scoffed, the words slipping out before she could contain them. "Darragh has done nothing wrong, Faither. He deserves better than this."

"Enough, Lara!" her father barked. "I've made me decision, and it's final."

How can I make him understand when he’s so blinded by prejudice?

"Faither, please, 'tis nae fair," Lara implored, desperation coloring her tone.

"Life isnae fair, lass," Harris replied gruffly, his expression softening again. "But I'm doing what I believe is best fer our family."

"Our family,” she continued doggedly, imagining Darragh laying in the dark on stinking straw, “includes Darragh now."

What fer heaven’s sake are ye I’m saying! Stop yer lying, Lara!

"Perhaps," her father conceded reluctantly.

With a final stern glance, Laird MacLean turned and left the room, leaving Lara to grapple with the weight of his words and the suffocating pressure of her own guilt.

Lara barely noticed Elsie fidgeting nearby. It was only when her sister cleared her throat that Lara's attention shifted from the fire to Elsie's nervous smile.

"Ahem, I've got a wee bit of news myself," Elsie began, her cheeks flushed with anticipation. "There'll be a celebration tomorrow for mine and Gregor’s betrothal. That is what Faither’s decided when he thought… ye were nae comin’ back." She said to Lara.

"What?" Lara was flabbergasted, her eyes wide. How could that have happened?

"Gregor is a braw man and it is Faither’s wish." She said, looking down at her feet. "Gregor will protect our clan. Ye have nae idea what happened after ye were gone, and the state we were in. We were lucky we didnae fall. Are ye nae happy for me?"

Lara scrambled for an explanation. " I-I am just surprised, 'tis all."

Elsie stopped, her brows furrowed, and her nose crinkling in thought. "Well, now that I ken you have married Darragh, I admit I feel better about all of this," she said.

"Ye ken I always had odd feelings regarding Gregor. Are ye sure about this, Elsie?" Lara asked, taking her sister’s hands in hers.

"I dinnae ken him well, but Gregor has no fault in any of this, so we must trust Faither’s choice. He has been nothing but kind tae me," Elsie said.

Lara had to agree. "Aye, but—" she said with a nod.

"And tae be fair," Elsie interrupted her, "he did everything in his power tae find ye, and he told Faither that he almost died searching fer ye," Elsie concluded, getting up.

Unable to shake her deep-rooted doubts about him from before, Lara’s stomach clenched at the thought of Elsie marrying him.

But I can dae naething tae stop it.