Sacrificing his Highland Heart by Kenna Kendrick

Chapter Twenty-Four

Euan walked away from the doorway and pocketed the key, even though his legs felt like lead. He heard it, and he couldn’t deny it. Rose loved him. His wife loved him, or so she said, and yet she’d betrayed him. She would have to return to England to live with her traitorous people once he defeated her brother and made an example out of him. It was the only thing left to do.

For a brief second, at the sound of her words, his heart fluttered in response, but he pushed all happiness away. There was no longer any happiness between them, and he was right to have been so wary. He was bloody right! As soon as he got back down to the main entryway, Walter was there, looking pale and breathless.

“What is it? What has happened?”

“I shall tell ye, lad. That bloody traitorous wife of mine has told her brother how tae enter the castle. Now he is attempting tae do so in order tae take his vengeance upon me.” Euan snorted, and Walter’s mouth dropped open in shock. “Bloody bad vengeance. He means tae slit my throat in the night, nae doubt.”

“This cannae be true. Her brother comes here, and she was the one who directed him here?”

“Aye,” Euan grumbled, neglecting to mention the other details. Rose asking for forgiveness, telling him that she loved him. He pushed it away again. No use of thinking of all that now. It was all finished. “Come, we have got tae prepare, get the weapons and head tae the sluice gate. But ye, I need ye tae do something specific.”

“What is that?” Walter asked.

“Some men are guarding inside, for the servants are here as well as my wife,” Euan’s expression darkened again. “I need ye tae watch her. Guard her door. Donnae let her out. Henry is here for her, and I willnae give him the satisfaction of winning and breaking our deal.”

Walter, his friend and ally on the battlefield, and unafraid of anything, shifted on his feet and paled even more. “I donnae think I can do that, lad. She is yer wife and lady, and I respect her. We are friends now, of a sort. I donnae think I will be able tae do such a thing.”

“There is naething tae do.” Euan’s fists were clenched at his side. He couldn’t wait to wield his blade against the young Sayer fool. Euan was ready and aiming for a fight. “She is already locked in, and she kens what she has done. How can ye respect her now? As soon as the fight is over, she will be on her way back tae England. I have nae use for her here any longer. Go and do as ye are asked. Ye are a friend and ally. Ye must help me in this. There is nae one I trust more tae do what I need tae be done.”

He turned to leave when Walter grasped him by the arm. “Ye will send her back tae England?”

“Aye, she has been a traitor, and she deserves her family, and tae live in her country of traitors. I nae longer have any use for her.”

“But ye love her. I ken that ye do. Surely she does as well.”

Euan pulled out of Walter’s grasp, and he pointed to the stairs. “Go. Go and guard her. I donnae want tae discuss it any longer. There is much tae be done.”

Walter nodded somberly and turned to leave. Angrily, Euan called after him. “Remember this, Walter. I was right tae be wary. I will nae longer so disregard my instincts as tae be played for such a fool. Never again will I think of love.”

He tossed Walter the key, turned away, and left down the hallway searching for the weapons room. He wanted only his best sword to slay Henry Sayer. This time, he would not have mercy. The Englishman doesn’t deserve it. He didn’t want to think about showing mercy to his traitorous wife. As he walked, he thought back to when he first fell in love.

He was only ten years old at the time, and he’d been in love with Siobhan’s friend, Sara, the baker’s daughter. However, Sara was a couple of years older than him and had her eyes set on some older boys. But Euan hadn’t cared. He was the laird’s son, and he was proud to tell Sara just what he thought about her.

He remembered the day he’d mustered enough courage to head to the baker’s house and knock on the door. When Sara came out, she had been covered in flour, wiping her hands on her apron and looking at Euan with a smile.

“Euan, what are ye doing here, lad?” she asked in her drawl. She always spoke slowly, as if there was never any hurry for anything. Euan had found that endearing about her.

“Sara, I just came here tae tell ye that I love ye, and I think we should get married.”

Sara had been speechless for a few minutes, but after that, she burst into laughter. “What? Ye love me?”

She laughed again, and Euan put his hands on his hips, staring down at her with anger. “Why are ye laughing? I told ye that I loved ye, and I want tae marry ye. Ye will be a laird’s wife.” He remembered puffing himself up with pride, pushing his little chest out as best he could to show her just how much of a man he was.

In response, she merely mussed his hair and laughed again. “I think that ye are far too little, lad, tae be thinking about getting wed just now. Ye might want tae wait a few years, and then ye can ask properly. But I must tell ye. I have nae thoughts of getting married just yet either and definitely nae tae ye.”

“But—” Euan had remembered arguing, his heart falling in disappointment and embarrassment. Sara had shaken her head.

“Go on with ye, lad. Donnae think of love just yet.”

She laughed as she walked away, and Euan, fuming and red-faced, had turned around and practically stomped all the way back to his castle. He had avoided Sara after that. Once they were grown up and Walter and Euan philandering about town, he still avoided her. Sara married anyway, and now, his pride was still a little hurt and embarrassed by what he’d said all those years ago.

He wondered if that was another reason why he’d kept away from thoughts of love and intimacy all this time. He didn’t ever want to feel the way that Sara had made him feel that day. Now that he knew he was in love with Rose, he feared that she would do the same to him. Laugh and make him feel like a fool, and now she had done it, but in a completely different way. She had humiliated him beyond anything he could have expected. She had charmed her way into his life and his heart, and then she betrayed him.

He had never felt so foolish in all his life. Never again would he let it happen. He finally made it to the weapons room and pulled his father’s sword from the wall. He hadn’t been able to use it all these years since his father’s death because he thought it would be wrong somehow. But now, he needed it. He needed to use the former laird’s sword to defeat Henry and bring peace back to his clan. There would no longer be an alliance, and he needed the sword to remind himself to focus on his clan’s well-being. He turned out of the room, and at the sound of men shouting and horses approaching, Euan made his way to the back of the castle. It was time for victory.

* * *

Rose closed her eyes and felt tears stream down her cheeks softly, slowly, silently. She didn’t have the energy to cry out or give voice to the pain in her heart that grew with each passing second that Euan was away from her. She had told him everything, bore her feelings, laid her heart out in front of him, and all he had done was walk away. She loved him. She knew that now. She loved him more than she thought that she could ever love anyone, and now he was gone, and all hope for a happy life with Euan was gone forever.

All because of her stupid choice to stir up Henry’s plan for vengeance. Feeling heavy and dejected, she slid from behind the door and moved to the chair, slinking into it. All energy was sapped from her. Even if Euan had listened to her, he could be on the brink of death. So could her brother. Both were now so filled with anger and hatred that there was no knowing what would happen next, how much bloodshed would occur as a result.

If only Euan would let her out, she could talk sense into Henry; she was sure she could. She could tell him that everything was different now, that she wanted to be with Euan and act as a wife in the true sense. That would at least save the clan from battle, even if Euan never forgave her. She knew that he wouldn’t.

“I have betrayed him in the worst possible way,” she said to the empty room. Her tears had stilled, and her hands gripped the chair tightly as she stared into the cooling hearth. It was late, late enough that the fire had burned down to a pile of embers. They seemed to wink and stare at her accusingly, reminding her of how she had ruined the chance of happiness. It seemed silly to be in love with the man who had forced her into marriage. To want to spend the rest of her days with the man who had threatened her father’s life. But she was too tired to care about the why or the how. All she knew was that it was true. And once she returned to England, hopefully with Henry and Euan both still alive, she knew that it would feel like her heart was being torn from her chest.

It was little more than she deserved. Rose leaned her head into her hands, remembering how she felt at seeing Euan on the cusp of jumping over the flames at the festival. It was the first sign that she cared about him just a little more than appreciating him as a handsome man. She had the same feeling now, but she couldn’t be there to try to stop him from putting himself in danger.

“Rose?” Walter’s voice called from the other side of the door. Rose’s heart leaped with hope, and her energy was restored, if only briefly.

“Walter!” she said and hurried to the door, leaning her cheek against it so that she could hear better. “Please, Walter, you must let me out. I need my chance to explain things to Euan, to help stop him and my brother from fighting.”

Walter’s voice sounded pained. “I cannae. Euan has told me that I must guard ye. The battle has already begun. I just wanted tae make sure that ye are all right. I will leave ye tae yer peace and watch the door from afar.”

“But Walter!” she cried out and hit the door with her hand, and amidst her raging, she could hear his boots walking a slight distance away. It was infuriating that Euan had used his friend to watch over her while he was one of the few at the clan that she knew, liked, and trusted. Her tears came afresh, and she knew that she had to convince Walter somehow to listen to her, to let her out.

“Walter, I know that you can hear me, so I am just going to keep talking and telling you the truth until you see reason and open this door.”

There was silence on the other side, but she hadn’t expected him to reply. Not yet anyway. “Listen to me, Walter. I know my brother is being foolish. I wrote to him of my anger and pain, and it only fueled his desire for vengeance against the man who played him for a fool. I take responsibility for that. But I also know that I can get Henry to stop this nonsensical fight. And even if not, I know that Euan might listen to me if he knew the truth. Well, if he would listen to the truth, that is!”

She took a deep breath; she was speaking so fast that she felt lightheaded with the speech she was making. She knew that Walter was listening; she just knew it. She had to continue before the battle grew too dangerous.

“I know you understand love, Walter, or at least you understand the plight it puts those who experience it in. I am in love with Euan, and I know it in my heart to be true. Even though I came to Scotland with my heart full of anger and prejudice, it is gone now. I love this land: its beauty, its people, its traditions. I want to be part of it, and I feel lucky to be part of it. I know that Euan wants to send me back to England as a traitor, but I have a feeling that he might care for me as well! Why can he not put his anger aside so that we end this battle and live in peace as man and wife? As laird and lady? Surely you can understand that. And if my brother or one of his men kills Euan, then I do not have a chance at this, and I do not have the chance to at least explain it to him, to give him the chance to accept me wholly and truly as his wife!” She paused and placed a hand softly on the door. She knew that she was practically begging, but it had come to this now. She would do anything to get that life that she could so perfectly clear as if it was already set firmly in place.

“Please, Walter. See reason. I beg of you. We are friends now, and I will do nothing to endanger Euan in my quest to stop this battle.”

“But what of ye, Rose?”

Rose nearly fell to the floor in relief in happiness at the sound of Walter’s voice at last. She grinned at the door, and she could tell by the sound of his voice that quietly, Walter had crept back towards her without her hearing. “That is what concerns me. Your safety. I know that my best friend loves ye and loves ye dearly. That is why this betrayal hurts him so deeply. He would kill me if he kenned that I was the cause of yer injury or death.”

“But Walter, no one from either side has a wish to kill me. My brother’s men know me well, and Euan’s men also consider me their lady. I will be safe from any sort of purposeful violence.”

“But an accident could certainly happen,” he said nervously. Rose knew that she was getting to him. That he soon would let her out, but she just had to keep calm and bide her time. “That is true, Walter. An accident could happen. But I do not plan on that happening. I know my goal, and once Henry and Euan lay their eyes upon me, they will stop their fighting, if at least for a few moments, to hear my voice. I am so confident that I will be able to convince them!”

Silence again. The seconds ticked by, and Rose held her breath in anticipation of his agreeing. “Please, Walter,” she whispered.

A few more seconds passed, and then she heard the sound of the key in the lock. When it opened, and she saw Walter on the other side, she jumped into his arms. “Thank you! You have done well this day!”

“I hope I have, or else I shall reap terrible consequences. My one condition is that ye allow me tae come with ye. Tae keep ye safe as best I can.”

“Agreed! Let us go!”

“Aye. Onward tae whatever fate comes tae us.” His face was grim and determined, and she could see his sword twisting in his hand.

Yes, to the new and better fate that lies ahead.