Page 57 of Married to her Kilted Enemy

“He sent men tae me home and slaughtered me parents and me elder braither in their beds, in cold blood. He intended tae kill all me braithers, and he left that letter ye told me about, tellin’ Rollo tae complete the job of chemi’ out me whole family and takin’ over our clan. That included me, and if it were nae fer ye, I would be dead too.”

She paused to catch her breath, feeling the old anger for Murphy Lennox rising inside her. Odhrán leaned up on his elbows, about to speak, but she held up a hand, saying, “I’m nae done yet. He sold women, respectable daughters of lairds, at an auction as if they were cows! An auction of human flesh! Have ye ever heard of such a thing. What sort of beast does such a thing?”

“Ach, God,” Odhrán suddenly moaned and sat up, putting his head in his hands.

“What is it?” she asked, putting hand on his shoulder, concerned she had upset him. “Are ye all right?”

“That auction, it was me idea,” he admitted.

“Yer idea?” she echoed, removing her hand, shocked at the revelation. “What d’ye mean?”

“Ach, I kent it would come tae this,” he said mournfully. “Now ye’ll go back tae hatin’ me again, and I’ll lose ye. This is me punishment.”

“Tell me what happened,” she demanded.

He sighed heavily. “It was after ye’d been locked up in the dungeons for nigh on a year. Faither kept on and on at me every day tae find a wife and give him some grandbairns. He even gave me a list of lassies he thought would be suitable, based on the poor state of their faither’s finances, of course. He kent he only had tae wait ’til the lass’s faither died tae take over his clan too. All he cared about was land and money, and he didnae care how he got them.

“But I was so in love with ye, Maddy, and I couldnae stand the thought of marryin’ anyone else. That was just a stupid dream, and I kent it well. How could ye dae cheming’ but hate me? But cheming’ inside me, it just wouldnae let me give up thinkin’ of ye bein’ me wife. So, I had tae scheme and plot tae find a way tae save ye.”

“Och, Odhrán,” she whispered, her pity overcoming her shock.

“Faither just kept chemin’ on the pressure fer me tae marry,” he said, with anger in his voice. “But at the same time, he kept threatenin’ tae kill ye. I could nae stand it. I had tae come up with an idea tae stall him. Since I kent ye’d never be mine, all I wanted was tae return ye safely tae yer braithers. If I could nae have ye, then I’d be miserable, but at least I could breathe easier if ye were back with yer family. What the bastard left of it, at any rate,” he added in a growl, his fists clenching.

“Dinnae say anymore if ye dinnae want tae,” Maddison told him, hating to see him so tormented. She was gaining a terrible insight into how truly miserable his life must have been under his father, and her heart went out to him.

He shook his head. “Nay, I want tae tell ye. I’ve never told anyone about all this before, and I want ye tae ken who I really am.” He took a breath before continuing. “Tae keep faither sweet, tae stop him from killin’ ye, and tae buy me some time to figure out a way tae free ye, I had tae accept tae marry another lass. But I had tae come up with a plan I could be sure he’d agree tae, cheming’ that would appeal tae his greed.

“I had the list of daughters of the impoverished lairds who were prepared tae sell their daughters tae the highest bidder. I figured out that an auction would work best since we could keep a cut of the money raised by the sales of the lassies. I kent that would please Faither, and I was relieved when he took the bait and agreed. So ye see, it was all me idea. I organized it all,” he paused, his eyes full of sadness, before going on.

“But it all went wrong. Diarmaid got in before me and bid fer the maid I believed tae be Morin McIrving. Only it turned out she wasnae.”

“It was Lillie,” Maddison supplied.

“Aye. I was furious at the time because Diarmaid outbid me fer her and upset all me plans. I kent Faither would take it as yet another sign of me failure as a son, and that would put ye back in danger. I was at me wits end by then. But then, I realized it could nae have turned out better as I could convince Faither tae make a deal with yer braithers…”

“Tae exchange me fer Lillie.”

“Aye. If I could pull it off, ye’d be free at last and back with yer family. It was the only way I could think off tae get ye out without I’ us both killed. Then I’d wed Lillie, and Faither would nae be able tae blackmail me any longer because as soon as I put a bairn in her belly, the lairdship was as good as mine.”

“Poor Lillie. She must have been terrified.”

“Aye, she was. I felt sorry fer her, although I didnae even ken the lass. It sounds terrible tae say it, but shchemingaethin’ more tae me than the means tae set ye free, Maddy, I swear.”

“I believe ye. But by that time, she and Diarmaid had fallen in love,” she observed, casting her mind back to that dreadful time.

“It seems so, aye. But when I made the deal with yer braithers, Diarmaid assured me they’d nae consummated the marriage. That was good enough fer me. I had nae clue he was lyin’ and intended only tae use Lillie as bait tae get ye back. He never meant tae let her go at all. That was where me plans all went wrong.”

CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN

“Because ye didnae ken that yer faither never meant any of us tae leave the castle alive.”

“Correct. I was too stupid tae realize he was just usin’ me tae carry out his revenge, and he was gonnae kill ye all along, despite achemingchemin’.” He grimaced, his fists curling and uncurling. “But I told ye before that I’d already thought of killin’ him when I found out what he’d done tae yer family. I hated him before, but when I saw him with that blade tae yer throat like that…” He shook his head, his voice trailing off, and Maddison knew he was once more reliving that awful moment when he had killed his own father.

“I’m nae a good man, Maddy, I’m nae the good man ye describe, that ye deserve. But ye’re stuck with me now, and I understand if ye cannae forgive me fer the terrible things I’ve done. I dinnae deserve forgiveness.”

Almost in tears herself, she moved close to him and placed both her hands on his shoulders.

“Look at me, Odhrán, will ye?” she said quietly. He looked up, his eyes stormy gray and full of misery. “Odhrán, ye have tae forgive yerself fer whatever it is ye think ye’ve done. Nae good man would have stood by and watched his own flesh and blood slit a woman’s throat in front of his eyes, whether he loved her or nae. A good man would have done exactly what ye did. Yer faither was that in name only. He failed ye, nae the other way around.