Page 5 of Secrets of a Kilted Seduction

CHAPTER ONE

Castle Lennox, the Highlands of Scotland, October 1586

Four years later….

Alana hated being alone with Tadhg. Especially in her healer’s cottage, where the space was so scarce. He was seated on a chair, his left hand stretched out flat on the table. Alana was bending over it, using a cloth and hot water to clean a nasty gash across his knuckles which he had acquired during that afternoon’s training session. A tense silence that was almost palpable hung in the air between them.

She was uncomfortably conscious of his eyes upon her as she worked and was doing her best to ignore his gaze. “Is it always gonnae be like this?” he asked suddenly in his low, rumbling voice, sounding mournful. “Bein’ in the same room, nae speakin’ or even looking at each other?”

Annoyed that he should even dare to speak to her at all, she shot him a punishing glance before resuming her task. “What d’ye expect after ye went off and left me without so much as a word, disappearing fer four whole years just a month before we were supposed tae wed?” she asked tightly, feeling afresh the painful betrayal of his unexplained desertion.

He did not reply, and a silence full of unspoken words fell once more between them.

“But I’m back now. I’ve been back for six months,” he said after a while.

She paused and looked at him sharply. “Oh, so I should just forget what ye did then, should I? That ye walked out on me. Nay note, nay letter, nay word, fer four long years. And then, just after Laird Murphy died, ye suddenly turn up here again, as bold as brass, as if ye hadnae been away. And with nae explanation as tae why ye left or where ye’d been all that time. I’m just supposed tae welcome ye back with open arms, am I?”

Tadhg opened his mouth to speak, but she stopped him with a raised hand, casting him a scornful look. “I havenae finished,” she said, dabbing at his wound ferociously and making him wince. “Ye honestly think I could ever trust ye again after that?”

“I can see yer point of view, but⁠—”

Again, she cut him off. “I thought ye loved me as I loved ye. When ye went off like that, it broke me heart. I dinnae care that yer braither forgave ye without any questions asked. I’ll never forgive ye, never. And if ye think I’m ever gonnae let ye put me through that another time then ye can think again.”

Tadhg’s massive shoulders slumped, and he said nothing while she dressed the wound. Silence fell once more as she carefully wrapped a bandage around his hand to keep it clean. Angry and hurt as she was, secretly, she could not help still caring about him. And while she told herself she was being stupid for it, she nevertheless made sure to do a thorough job on his wound, worrying that he might get an infection despite herself.

“There, ’tis done. Dinnae get it wet. I’ll check it in two days. Ye can go now.”

Tadhg stood up, rolling down his shirt sleeve and taking his coat from the back of the chair. Taking care with the bandaged hand, he shrugged it on. “Thank ye. Alana, I wish ye would just hear me out, just listen tae what I have tae say,” he said sadly, his voice persuasive. But she knew there was danger in those dark eyes of his, and she refused to look at him.

“There’s naethin’ ye can say I want tae hear.” She turned away, carrying the bowl filled with bloody water and cloth over to a counter, giving her back to him. The tension crackled in the air between them, and she was unsure how much longer she could stand to be in the same room as him.

“Please, can we nae just? Like friends?” he tried again.

“Nay, we’re nae friends, and please dinnae speak tae me about it again.”

The following silence was suddenly shattered when there came a sharp rapping on the cottage door. Tadhg strode over to it and opened it.

“Maddison?” he said, sounding surprised, holding the door open for their good friend, Lady Lennox, to enter. “Is everythin’ all right? Ye seem in a bit of a hurry,” he added, frowning at her.

“Hold on, let me get me breath. I ran all the way here,” Maddison panted, her hand to her chest as she composed herself. She was a willowy, pale-faced beauty with long, dark hair. Her husband, the latest Laird Lennox, Odhrán, the deceased Murphy’s only son, was Tadhg and Liam’s closest friend since Alana could remember.

Alana went up to her. “Has someone been hurt?” she asked, expecting to hear that someone needed her help. “I’ll pack me things and come right away.” She made to fetch the medicine basket she always kept ready for emergencies, but Maddison put a hand on her arm and stopped her.

“Nay, ’tis naethin’ like that, Alana,” she told her, her breath returned to normal.

“Why d’ye need me then?” Alana asked, puzzled.

“A delegacy from Clan MacIver has arrived at the castle, and they’re demanding tae speak with ye and yer maither. They didnae ken she’s been gone these past two years. They’re talking with Odhrán right now, and they insist on speaking with ye.”

“Me?” Alana was flummoxed. “Why on earth would they want tae speak tae me? I dinnae even ken anybody from the MacIver clan.”

“I have nae clue, but maybe they need a good healer, and they’ve heard of ye by repute. Whatever it is, I think ye’d better come now and hear what they have tae say,” Maddison replied urgently.

“Aye, I suppose so. All right, let me get me shawl, and I’ll come with ye right away,” Alana agreed. “I suppose it’ll dae nay harm tae hear them out, though I cannae think what they might want with me.” She went to fetch her shawl from a peg by the door, and while she was doing that, Tadhg quietly asked Maddison, “Are ye sure they’re from Clan MacIver?”

She nodded. “That’s what they say,” she replied. A few moments later, she and Maddison left the cottage. Tadhg followed them, and Alana could not help but notice that a change had come over him. His whole demeanor had shifted. His expression seemed cold and closed off, his jaw set, and his dark eyes were unreadable. As they hurried through the gardens to the castle, she felt a familiar ache in her heart.

’Tis sad tae say, but he’s nae the man I used tae love.