Page 50 of The Highlander’s Kilted Affair

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

The book lay on her lap as Evelyn gazed out of her bedchamber window. She had been sitting and reading for a while, if one could call sitting in a dazed state reading. In fact, she was certain she had tried to read the same page more than three times.

But how could she really concentrate now? Her father’s words had brought her whole world crashing to the ground. The hope she had experienced at a chance for happiness was now dashed into a thousand pieces. She was going to have to marry Audor, and there was not a thing she could do about it.

After her tears earlier, Yvaine had sat with her for a long time. Evelyn had remained silent. Not only was there nothing to say, but she also did not have the energy to engage in conversation. Wisely, Yvaine had not spoken either, as though she knew Evelyn needed to just sit there in her silence with her sister’s comfort.

Nevertheless, while she did not speak, Evelyn’s mind would not quieten its chatter.

It isnae fair. None o’ this is fair.

Fer the first time in me life, I have felt love. And yet, fate, being the cruel master it is, has dangled a future in front o’ me that I cannae have.

I will never love again. I can never love again. It isnae possible tae love another, when me heart is bound so tightly tae someone else.

While Yvaine had gone down for breakfast, after much encouragement from Evelyn, for her sister did not want to leave her, Evelyn had stayed in the bedchamber.

It was just too difficult to look upon Benedict under the circumstances. How could she sit at the same table as the man she could never be with? It would be torture, and suffering enough already, Evelyn chose to remain alone. Later, Yvaine had returned with some bread and meat. That same plate still remained on the dresser, untouched.

She had been sitting at the window now for several hours, gazing across the rear gardens and beyond the wall. Soon, this would be her home. A home where she was married to a man she neither loved nor cared for. But that wasn’t the worst part.

Not only would she be married to a man she didn’t love, she would be forced to live with the man she did love by her side. She would have to see him every single day. Somehow, though Evelyn could not begin to imagine how she was to manage it, she was going to have to swallow her feelings, suppress the aching of her heart, and learn to live with the fact that they could never be together.

It would have been better fer Laird Keith’s soldiers tae have taken me and killed me.

Dinnae say such things. Ye dinnae mean them.

Of course, she didn’t, and yet, would death not be a blessing when faced with a lifetime of heartache?

A soft knock came on her door, but Evelyn did not respond. She didn’t care who it was. She did not want to see anyone. After a second knock, the door opened slightly, and her father’s voice carried across the bedchamber.

“Evelyn? Are ye in here?”

The fact that it was her father was surprising. This was now two visits in one day. Perhaps he had returned because she had not joined him after breakfast, like he had asked earlier. But what was she supposed to tell him if he asked about the reason for her absence? He just wouldn’t understand her feelings. Besides, he was too concerned with the alliance to care about how she felt.

“I am here, Faither,” she said, closing the book she had hardly read.

She stood to face him as he moved further into the room, eventually coming to a stop a few feet away.

“Where is Yvaine?” he asked, looking around the room.

“She is at the bathing rooms with the maids.”

“Ah, I see. Well, I have exciting news,” he said eagerly. “Now that Benedict has returned, the laird wants tae bring the wedding forward.”

For a second, Evelyn was stunned. She gazed at her father blankly, while her mind attempted to assimilate the information.

Audor is back?

When did he arrive?

The wedding is going tae be sooner?

Her mind raced as those thoughts tumbled over each other, and struggling to unpack them all, Evelyn did not react. Clearly, Audor had only returned this day, or her father would have mentioned it earlier. It was also likely he who had decided the wedding should be brought forward. He had heard about the attack and was now hurrying things to enable the alliance to be put in place.

She had thought she would have more time. But evidently, her time with Benedict had now come to an abrupt end, which sent a panic through her entire being.

Her father seemed to take her silence as permission for him to continue, and then said, “The laird thinks it is fer the best. After the attack yesterday, he is determined to confirm the alliance between the two clans, and the sooner ye are married, the better.”