Page 75 of In Bed with a Highland Brute

When it came time to make their vows, Murdoch said his with surprising ease, all the more shocked when it was Eloise’s turn. Her voice did not sound like her own, and she barely whispered it, as if she was so nervous that she had lost her voice completely.

“Eloise, is all well?” he whispered to her in a quiet moment as the vicar began another prayer. “Ye can tell me.”

She said nothing but nodded at him, clearly reluctant to talk at all.

Murdoch made a plan in his mind. As soon as they were free of this ceremony and led the way back to the great hall ready for the feast, he would draw Eloise aside. He had to know what was plaguing her mind so much. If it was all nerves about the wedding, then he was sure in the comfort of their own chamber he could remind her of the good things about a marriage between them.

He had every intention of leaving her in that beautiful gown as he made love to her the first time. He thought of entering her from behind, watching as she tossed back her head with that auburn hair wild. He could reach forward, tangle his fingers in those locks as he entered her repeatedly. The second time, he wanted her completely bare, without that gown at all. He pictured entangling their bodies together completely on the bed, until there was such heat between them, they were both sweating.

I just have tae get rid of that ridiculous veil first.

The vicar cleared his throat and closed the final prayer with a deep ‘amen’, that was echoed by the entire congregation across the church. Once complete, he turned a vast smile on the pair of them.

“Please, welcome me in joining your newly married husband and wife. Murdoch and his lady, Eloise.”

Great cheers went up in the church behind them and the pipers began at once. Murdoch smiled and turned back to see the pipers practically standing on the church pews in order to be heard. Fergus was on his feet, clapping warmly, beaming with pride. Clyde at Murdoch’s side was clapping too, the mirror image of their father.

Murdoch turned to face Eloise and bent a little toward her. It was tradition in his clan for the groom to kiss the bride after the wedding, but she showed no sign of lifting the veil at all.

“Eloise?” he whispered.

Subtly, she shook her head, that veil twitching with the movement. Disappointed, he pushed his arm toward her, silently asking her to take his arm again. They slowly left the church with people standing up to congratulate them all the way. When they were halfway down the aisle, Murdoch glanced back and caught sight of Avery and Callie whispering together in low tones. Neither one of them was smiling. They both seemed to be staring at Eloise, with perfect mixtures of bafflement in their expression.

I ken how ye feel. She is clinging tae this veil a little too much, is she nae?

Everything he knew about Eloise suggested she was confident. She may have had a habit of sometimes hiding her expression, a nervous one at that, but when challenged, she would stand tall with her chin lifted. It made little sense why Eloise would hide now of all times.

It is like I am nae marrying me Eloise…

CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX

Eloise’s eyes flickered open. She jerked her head upward, feeling a strain in her neck as she looked around at her position. That heaviness was leaving her head but with some difficulty, and as she blinked her eyes madly, she found them sore, as if they had been closed for a long time. Her mouth even tried to yawn, but something tight across her jaw restricted her movement, making it almost impossible.

“Mmhm!” she raged against that binding, shifting as she realized that it was not the only binding across her body. She sat in a chair, with her ankles fastened to the chair legs, and her arms behind her back fixed to the rear of the chair. The rope around her mouth cut into the sides of her cheeks, gagging her, though she tried to bite down onto it to get some sort of purchase on it. Her whole body felt bruised and sore, as if when she had been dragged across the floor, she had struck every rock and step on the way.

Where am I?

Eloise jerked her chin upward, trying to make sense of her location though that soreness was leaving her eyes. The stench of mold grew strongly in the air, the dampness making her skin shiver. She glanced down, noting that she was no longer in her wedding own. She only wore her chemise and her corset, along with the court shoes she’d put on that morning.

She took my gown. Why would she take my gown?

Nothing made sense to her.

Eloise leaned forward as best as she could, trying to pull at the ropes around her wrists and force herself free, yet as she tugged, she simply made those ties somehow tighter, so the coarse material cut into her skin.

“Mmhm!” she complained loudly again. Realizing it could be her best chance of an escape, Eloise tipped back her head and attempted to scream for help around the gag. It merely came out as muffled and strangled cries, not half so loud as she hoped they would be. With no words capable of being distinguished from one another, her breathing became gasping and labored.

She took a break, resting forward and pulling at the ropes around her wrists once more.

None of this should be happening. Nay, what is going on?

She was supposed to be marrying Murdoch. Today was to be a happy one. She was not supposed to be in some cell or dungeon, fighting for an escape.

Her eyes darted across the room once more as she became increasingly confident that it was indeed some sort of dungeon. She was blocked in by four high stone walls. In one wall was a door with a hatch that was barred in iron. There were marks on the door, scored there by former prisoners. She saw names, even dates where people had inscribed their marks, determined to be remembered. They can’t have been tied down as she was now.

“Mmm,” she bent back, lifted her chin, and cried out again. She fought harder now, trying to get her teeth around the gag to make some sort of sound. At last, she managed more volume, but it didn’t yield any results. All she heard was the jangling of metal beyond the door.

She gave up, breathing heavily as she realized that there had to be others in the dungeons too. After the attack by the Douglas clan, some of their soldiers had been thrown into the Gordon cells. If she was amongst them now, there was little chance of anyone paying attention to one of her cries. Most likely, the Douglas soldiers had been calling for help for days and had received none.