Page 64 of A Bride for the Kilted Beast

“Aye, I told ye all this in me letter, did I nae?” Diarmaid growled through gritted teeth, itching to beat the man to death with his bare hands.

“I like tae make sure of the details,” Murphy said, grinning at him, clearly enjoying the situation. He looked at Odhrán. “So, lad, it looks like ye have yerself a wife after all.”

CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE

Lillie felt dead inside. She had ceased caring what happened to her at this point, for she knew nothing could be worse than Diarmaid’s betrayal. Not even the vile old man pawing at her. She did not even bother to look at him or his son.

However, something changed when the old laird asked Diarmaid if they were married and if she was still a maid. She did not know what she had expected him to say other than the truth, for she had been so distraught by what had happened between her and Diarmaid on the journey, she had not even thought about it.

So, when he lied so blatantly about such important details, she was inwardly amazed. It was that amazement that warned her to hold her tongue and not give the Lennoxes any cause to doubt his outrageous lies. While the horrible old laird leered over her, she continued to ignore him and silently tried to fathom what Diarmaid’s lies could mean.

On the last leg of the journey, stunned and heartbroken as she had been, there was a part of her that simply found it impossible to believe that after everything that had passed between her and Diarmaid, he would simply give her up like this. And now his distinctly odd behavior was once more giving her cause to think so. She sensed something was afoot.

Stay quiet. Listen. And see what unfolds.

“Was it nae part of the agreement that ye would tell me if ‘t’was ye who was responsible fer the murder of me parents and me braither?” Diarmaid asked.

The old man laughed like a broken hinge as he continued to circle her. “Aye, ’t’was us, was it nae, Odhrán?” his father said with an air of pride, looking to his son for confirmation.

“Aye,” Odhrán said, nodding his head. Lillie remembered him now from the auction. He was nice looking, tall and well-built, with pleasant, youthful features and long, dark hair. But clearly, his heart was as black as his father’s.

“Why?” Diarmaid demanded to know.

“Revenge, of course,” the laird said lightly.

“Revenge? Fer what exactly?” Diarmaid asked, sounding mystified.

The old laird turned to him. “Are ye tellin’ me ye dinnae ken the reason?” he asked, his expression disbelieving.

Diarmaid scowled. “I’d nae be askin’ if I kent, would I?”

“Well, ’tis simple. Yer maither was promised tae me as me bride but she ran away from me and married yer damned faither instead, and he gave her three sons. Sons that should have been mine,” Murphy said with relish, his eyes glinting evilly at Diarmaid. “So, I had her killed, then him, and then their firstborn.”

“Ye blackhearted bastard,” Diarmaid growled.

The laird shrugged insouciantly. “I’ve been called worse.” Unfortunately for Lillie, he now returned his attention back to her. He put an arm around her waist and pulled her to his side. “Will ye nae give yer faither-in-law a nice kiss in greeting, lassie?” he asked with a repulsive leer.

“I’d rather kiss a snake,” she replied with haughty curl of her lip, turning her face away.

Scowling at the girl who was to be his son’s wife for her disdainful reply, Odhrán’s father said, “That’s nae way tae talk tae me, girl. Mind yer tongue, or I’ll have tae teach ye some respect.”

Odhrán admired the way she was refusing to let his father see that he had any effect on her, despite the way he had been leering over her and pawing at her the whole time. The lass was even more beautiful than he remembered from the auction.

She was graceful and perfectly proportioned, with long blonde hair and large gray eyes. There was an air about her that spoke of intelligence and good breeding. It was hard for him to imagine that old Caelin McIrving had sired her.

She must take after her mother.

He regretted the fact he could not have Maddison for his wife, but this Morin McIrving would do. Her round hips said she would give him many fine bairns, and they might even come to care for each other in time, he supposed.

I’ll have tae make sure tae put a stop tae Faither’s shenanigans first, though.

“Son, get the Kincaid lassie,” his father suddenly barked at him, still squeezing Morin’s waist in a way that sickened Odhrán and hardened his resolve to prevent his father from showing any further disrespect towards his future wife.

As he left the room to fetch Maddison, he glanced at Kincaid. The giant’s glare was focused on his father, and his expression suggested he was likely to explode with rage at any given moment. Odhrán was somewhat surprised he had not already done so, in the face of his father’s provocation.

He ran down to the dungeons, not because he felt light of heart, quite the opposite, his heart was aching to know he had to say goodbye to Maddison, that she would finally find out who he was and despise him as much as she feared him. But the sacrifice would be worth it, just to know she was safe and could return to her happy life.

He hurried because he wanted her to be reunited with her brother and to leave the castle for good, to be out of harm’s way. He fully admitted that such feelings as love and sacrifice had been unknown to him before she had come into his life. He would always love her, and even on his wedding day, he knew it would be her he would be thinking of when he stood at the altar with Morin McIrving.