Page 17 of Married to her Kilted Enemy

Intrigued, Maddison scrutinized her friend’s’ expression. “I’m sure he is.” She paused for a moment until her curiosity got the better of her. “Alana, I hope ye dinnae mind me askin’, but is there somethin’ of a romantic nature goin’ on between the two of ye?”

“How did ye ken?” Alana asked, giving her a sharp look. “Has anyone said anythin’?”

“Nae, it’s just the way yer face changes whenever his name is mentioned.”

“Am I so transparent?” Alana let out an aggrieved sigh.

“Aye, ye are,” Maddison told her with a matter-of-fact shrug as they walked along the broad, busy track leading back to the castle.

“Well, I suppose ye might as well ken the story,” Alana said with a wry smile. “Everyone else does.”

“Only if ye want tae tell me,” Maddison insisted, secretly desperate to know.

“Well, Tadgh and me had been in love since we were bairns. We’d even talked about getting’ married. But then one day, about four years ago, he simply up and left the castle without so much as a word.”

“What, he didnae even leave ye a note tae say where he was goin?” Maddison asked, shocked.

“Without a word, nae note, nothing,” Alana assured her. “Nae even Laird Murphy or Odhrán or Liam kent where he went. At least, that was what they said. Remember, this was four years ago, and I did nae get so much as a letter from him the whole time he was away.”

“When did he come back?”

“Just a few months ago, nae long after Laird Murphy’s death.”

“So, what did ye dae fer all that time he was gone?”

“Fer the first two years, I was a mess. I felt like a dead woman walkin’. I had no idea where he was, and it hurt tae think he could just walk out on me like that. But at the same time, I was terrified he’d been hurt or killed and was lyin’ in a ditch somewhere. Ach, the pain, Maddy, it was terrible. I couldnae sleep nor eat with worry fer ages.”

“Ye poor thing, Alana,” Maddison sympathized, moved by her friend’s suffering. “So, did ye wait for him tae come back or did ye find love with someone else?”

“Well, I think I would have just waited and waited, but then me maither fell sick, and her one dyin’ wish was tae see me happy.”

“Settled, ye mean?”

“Aye. Settled with a good man. So, I found one. His name was Sloan, and he was serving as a soldier in the Clan Lennox army. He was in love with me, and he’d proposed to me more than once before I finally agreed tae wed him.”

“So, ye were nae in love with him, but ye wanted tae grant yer maither her dyin’ wish,” Maddison said, understanding at once.

“Aye. Nae long after the weddin’, me maither passed away. And less than a year after that, Sloan was killed in battle. He was only twenty-six, and he really was a good man,” Alana explained sadly. “After that, I could nae think of havin’ another man in me life. It was all too much loss tae take. But then, another two years passed, and I was goin’ intae the keep tae see a patient when I saw Tadgh. Just standing there, talkin’ tae Liam and Odhrán, just as if he’d been there all the time! I nearly fainted, I can tell ye, Maddy.”

“And what did he say? Did he tell ye why he went away like that?” Maddison asked. She was surprised when Alana shook her head vehemently.

“Nay, and I’ve nay asked him. He keeps tryin’ tae talk tae me, but I’ve sent him off with his tail between his legs. I’m over it now. I’ve made a life fer mesel’ without him, and I’ve nae wish tae ken what he was doin’ all that time.”

“So, ye’ve nae got back together?” Maddison asked, a little disappointed.

“’Tis enough tae ken he could walk out on me at any time. I can find nae future in a man who can just up and leave me when he feels like it, with nae explanation.”

“I see. So, ye willnae even talk tae him?”

“I just try tae avoid him as much as I can.”

“Well, that is a shame. He seems like a really kind man. I’m sure there must have been a very good reason fer him leavin’ like that,” Maddison could not help saying.

“Mayhap, but I’ll never forgive him fer what he did, any more than ye can forgive Odhrán fer his lies.”

“Aye, I understand how ye feel,” Maddison assured her, for it seemed to her that their troubles with men were similar. She trusted Alana enough to have confided in her some of the truth about her hatred for Odhrán, but not all of it, especially not that he had killed his own father to save her life. She sympathized with Alana’s attitude towards Tadgh because it mirrored her own towards Odhrán, but seeing it from the other side... Was it right?

That being the case, she could not understand why she kept wishing Alana would give Tadgh a chance to speak and explain himself. Was it the romantic in her that wished they could rekindle their old love? She did not know. By the same reasoning, if she was not to be a hypocrite, then ought she not give Odhrán a fair hearing too… Of course, that was out of the question, yet she found herself feeling rather torn about it.