Page 26 of The Highlander’s Gypsy Temptation

“The men you fought with, they seemed to be very angry with you,” she said, breaking him out of his own thoughts. Bran had been staring at the pier without a glance at her. She knew he had most likely been thinking of Mahala and how long it would take for him to return to her.

And then there was the matter of the men she doubted would leave them be. August Raymond was not the type to simply give up and admit defeat. That much was evidenced by how long he had waited to snatch her up once again, when many men would have moved on from their obsession.

“Aye, they were,” Bran confirmed, finally looking up at her. Idalia stared at him, wondering whether to continue with her line of questioning or simply let him return to staring off into the distance.

“They seemed to feel that you had betrayed them for some reason,” she said after a few minutes of silence. As she watched him, he paused his rowing and sighed before he began again.

“Aye, and they had every right tae. While we were nae the best of friends, I was nae exactly on unfriendly terms with them either,” he said. “We worked together for months, and, for good or for bad, we had gotten used tae each other. Most of us were nae with August by choice but fate.”

Idalia understood what he meant, and her heart flew to her sisters, and all she was ready to do to save them. She was sure Leonor was angry she had chosen to go away without her. Her family must have searched everywhere they could think of for her, with the limited information Leonor could have given them.

Idalia sighed and tried to redirect her thoughts.

“I had a close relationship with August’s sister that soon led tae an affair between us. She was nothing like her brother, and I was quite entranced with her. We were together in secret until she told me she was with me child. I tried tae do the right thing, and together we went tae her family, in hopes they would give us their blessing tae marry However, August refused every appeal I made. He wanted his sister tae marry someone of their kind,” he looked at her. “Yer kind.”

Bran ran his hand down his face, and Idalia watched him quietly, taking note of every change in his expression. He seemed to be trapped in the memory he had clearly carried with him for years and years.

“She asked me tae leave after August spoke with her and I had nay choice but tae go. I hoped I would have the chance to watch her from a distance, but it seemed even that was nae tae be allowed me. August had hidden her from me, and no matter how long I searched, I could nae find her. I kenned nothing of what had happened tae her either. Nae one seemed tae ken, or if they did, they did nae want tae tell me due tae their fear of August and what he would do tae them. Then August told me that I had a daughter. Since then, August has been keeping her hostage and using that tae get me tae work for him as his slave.”

Bran shook his head and let out a humorless chuckle, almost as if he could not believe the standard he had been reduced to because of situations beyond his control.

“I am only very rarely allowed tae see her but, somehow, those moments I have with her are the most precious things tae me. She brings brightness intae me life. It is like everything is beautiful once again whenever I am around her. It is because of those few moments that I continue tae let August dictate the circumstances of me life. He has never let me be alone with her, there are always guards around, so escaping with her is out of the picture. For the first few months I tried everything tae get her away from him, but nothing worked. I soon learned it would not happen so easily, so I took the moments with her that I could. It made being tied to August and working for him not as terrible. Still, I never gave up trying tae get Mahala away from the camp, nae matter how impossible it seemed.”

Idalia looked at his face, which was contorted by sadness.

“It seemed that August Raymond always showed up tae remind me that he was watching, and m

ey plans never succeeded. I feared for her life and what would happen if he decided he did nae care tae keep her alive. So I chose tae bide my time until I was presented with the perfect opportunity tae take her and run off. I have strayed far in carrying out the tasks August has given me. I ken it makes me a terrible person to be so willing tae risk the lives of many for a few moments with my daughter. It eats at me soul all the time.”

Idalia felt her heart break when he uttered those words. She could not hold on to any anger she had left inside now that she knew why he had done all of this and had been willing to stay by the side of such a terrible man as August Raymond.

She took note of the broken man before her. It would be clear to anyone who saw him just then, even without hearing all he had said, that he was indeed the shadow of a man, riddled with guilt for the things he had done. It would have been easier on him if he had been the type to shrug off guilt, but he was not of that breed. He was an honorable man caught in a bad situation he had not known how to deal with.

Idalia wished she could reassure Bran that he had not lost all the things that made him who he was. No one who had lost themselves and their humanity would feel the guilt that so clearly ate at him. No one who was beyond redemption would care so much. Despite his words, Idalia could see a fearful hope in him, a hope that he was indeed not beyond saving, that he could still make up for the crimes he had committed. She could see he was struggling, barely holding on to that hope, and he did not want to let it go. It gladdened her heart.

Without hope we are nothing.

“You are a wonderful father,” she said, suddenly wishing she was sitting closer to him so she could take his hand in hers for comfort. “More than that, you are a good man, and your daughter is lucky to have you.”

“I am nae a good man, Idalia,” Bran snorted, looking away from her. “How can ye say that?. Have ye forgotten so soon that I was ready tae take ye tae August despite knowing the fate that awaited ye if placed in his arms?”

CHAPTER TWELVE

Idalia raised her hands as if to brush away his words. She looked him directly in the eyes so he could see how sincere she was as she spoke.

“You were not going to take me to him, do not lie to yourself. You might have believed you were, but a part of you knows the truth. You brought me here, away from his reach, and you are running away with me right now because you never planned to take me to him. If you had, I’d have been there with him, fighting for my life right now instead of being here with you.”

Idalia could see she was getting through to him. His stern expression, filled with internal torture, had shifted to a look of uncertainty and confusion. Bran had spent so long being hard on himself for the role he had played in August’s camp, he could not see that he was as much a victim of circumstances as she had been, or as her sister whom he had saved had been all of those years ago.

“I am so conflicted,” he groaned suddenly. He rested the oars on his thighs and ran his hand across his face and hair. Here was a man who was plagued by the choices he had been forced to make. Of course, he was conflicted. She would feel the same if she was in his shoes. “I want tae save me daughter, but what is right? Is putting my daughter in danger tae betray August the best way tae do the right thing? All this time, all I ever wanted was tae make sure she was safe and happy, and now, here I am putting her life in danger.”

“Your daughter will be fine, Bran and we will certainly save her,” she told him with conviction. When they got back to her family, they would jump into action to get rid of August Raymond before he could escape once again and make another plan to abduct her or to carry out his vengeance. Idalia hoped they would be as quick as possible in reaching their goal.

“Thank ye. Ye have been kind tae me despite the role I played in this charade we’re participating in.”

“Do not worry about that anymore. You had your reasons, and they were very important ones. Besides, since August Raymond had you followed, I still would have been abducted if you had let me go. The only difference is that you would have been punished alongside me.” Bran smiled at her, nodding at her words. There would have been no way to save her if he had been so hasty as to let her go.

Idalia sighed and leaned in, moving closer to him as they continued to float in the water. She reached out to hold his hands that lay motionless on the oars resting on his thighs. She squeezed his hands when he looked up at her, smiling at him as much as she could muster.