The Condemned Highlander by Donna Fletcher
16
She regretted her jealous thought when she met the old man and woman who worked the croft. They were kind and generous and she was more surprised when Brogan asked them if they required any help while he was there.
The man was reluctant to say, not so the woman.
“He is too proud to admit we do not have the strength we once had. I am not, since I worry what the years will bring when we cannot work the land anymore,” the woman said.
Annis hurried to say, “There is room in our flourishing village. You both are welcome there where others can offer help when needed.”
The older woman got teary-eyed and looked to Brogan and Annis understood she looked to him for permission. Strange how she did not see him as others did… a noble to be obeyed. It struck her then, Brogan may have eased her worries some of being his wife, but the magnitude of being Lady Annis cast a sudden doubt as to whether she wanted such a life.
Brogan smiled at the couple while wondering over the sudden change in his wife. No one probably noticed it. Even the slight nibble to her lower lip could barely be seen as could the tension in her squared shoulders. He would find out as soon as they were alone.
“It would be a pleasure to have you, Cala, and Phineas, join us in the village. Various dwellings are being built, the village is taking shape and preparing for winter. I will send my men to collect you when a dwelling is available for you.”
“That is most kind of you, my lord, and we accept your generous offer with much gratitude,” Phineas said, worry wrinkling his brow. “But I fear your father, Lord Balloch, would not want us deserting the croft.”
“You have nothing to worry about from my father, Phineas. I will see to that. And while your gratitude is appreciated, do not forget that it is my responsibility to protect and provide for all in Clan MacRae. Now before the skies open up and drench us, it is best my wife and I seek shelter.” He turned a quick glance on a small dwelling that had seen better days.
“Your wife?” Cala said with a clap of her hands and a joyful smile. “Good gracious, my lord, that is wonderful news. Congratulations.”
“It is,” Brogan said with a wide grin. “Lady Annis let me know that even though I have many flaws she wed me anyway.”
Annis jabbed him in the side with her elbow and realized her mistake when the couple’s eyes turned so wide, she thought they would pop from their heads.
“He needs a good poke every now and then,” Annis said, and her face turned scarlet when the older couples’ mouths dropped open, and Brogan laughed.
Brogan’s arm shot around her, and he hugged her to his side. “It is priceless to have a wife who keeps a smile on a husband’s face.” He realized how his remark sounded as soon as the words left his mouth and Cala’s cheeks blossomed with a deep blush. Words rushed out again hoping he would not put his foot in his mouth again. “I am blessed that Annis agreed to wed me.”
Cala’s eyes softened as she smiled, and her hand went to rest against her chest. “May you both be blessed with much love. It is the one thing that helps you celebrate the good and survive the bad in this life.”
Phineas wrapped his arm around his wife. “Cala is right. Love is one thing that endures in the most difficult times. May you both know enduring love and much happiness.”
Their generous blessing touched Annis’s heart. They obviously loved each other deeply to speak so generously of love. But Brogan and her marriage had not been forged in love. Could they find love regardless? Was she falling or had fallen in love with Brogan? Could he possibly feel the same? And why was love so confusing?
“Our cottage is yours for the night, my lord and lady,” Phineas offered.
“Nay, Phineas. While it is generous and gracious of you to offer us your home, Annis and I will seek shelter in the dwelling like I have done before.” Brogan raised his hand when the old man went to argue. “It is the way it will be, and I will hear no more on it.”
Phineas nodded. “As you say, my lord, but please let us provide you with some food and drink.”
“That I graciously accept and one other thing, Phineas. Have either of you seen a woman with a limp pass this way? We have a message to give her.”
Annis was impressed with how graciously he treated the older couple and that he gave them a reason for why they were searching for a woman with a limp. It put them at ease to answer.
Cala looked to her husband. “That woman who stopped here requesting a drink for her parched throat, she had a limp. When was that two or three days ago?”
Phineas rubbed his chin. “I do not believe it was more than two days.”
“She was a pleasant, quiet woman, not saying much, but with her pronounced limp it surely could not be easy walking any distance.”
“Did she mention her destination?” Brogan asked.
“She said the strangest thing when I asked her where she was going.” Cala shook her head. “She said she was following the ravens.”
* * *
Annis saton the blanket she spread on the ground in the far corner of the shed. She had gone over the place with a keen eye and decided the corner was the best spot where they would not get wet when the rain started, and so far, they hadn’t.
Brogan sat beside her munching on the fresh bread Cala had insisted he take along with a small jug of cider. “Do you think the ravens guide the woman to her destination?”
“Guide her, keep her safe, it is curious as to what they are capable of doing,” she said. “Though, right now, my concern is the information the woman can give us, and I believe that information will lead us to the MacWilliam lass.”
“Find the lass and all will come to pass,” Brogan repeated what the witch had told Annis. “Will it all come to pass on its own? Or is there more for us to do? And does the MacWilliam lass know her heritage or is she as blind as the rest of us?”
“Never-ending questions that can only be answered one at a time or they will overwhelm us and cause chaos. Take the ravens, they helped me to protect you. They give direction to the woman with the limp, so she knows where to go. I would say the ravens are our friends and we’d be wise to pay them heed. I suppose with that in mind we can surmise that the witch helps us.”
“Does she? Why help you break a curse that she helped create? Or does she lead me, Odran, and Rannick to our doom?”
Annis had not given that thought and his suggestion disturbed her. Could she be leading him into a trap? Could finding the MacWilliam lass bring more harm than good? What then would be her sister’s fate?
“I wish I had all the answers,” she said, frustrated. “I want you and Bliss kept safe. Is it possible to have both? I do not know, and I will not know unless I try. Hopefully, the woman with the limp can help enlighten us.”
“I want to believe, to trust,” he said, though skepticism marred his every word. “But I still have doubts, so I say we remain cautious. Enough talk of that for now, tell me what troubled you when speaking with Cala.”
A crack of thunder startled her, or was it that Brogan had noticed her worry? Was he that preceptive or had he gotten to know her far better than she had realized?
Brogan moved the food and drink that sat between them aside and planted himself beside her. “Is it the thunder or me that frightens you?”
“I do not frighten that easily.”
“I know, so what frightened you?” he asked, tugging playfully at one of her springy curls. He did not need to remind her to be honest with him, he knew she would be.
She gladly let him know her concern. “The magnitude of being Lady Annis. You were born a noble, not so me. You were taught what you needed to know in your world as I was taught what I needed to know in mine. The difference between our worlds is like a great chasm that is impossible to merge. I fear I will be completely inept as Lady Annis and while you might think it will not matter to you, what if a day comes that it does? What do we do then?”
He took her hand in his, giving it a firm squeeze. “You and you alone is what matters to me. Anything else can be seen to and dismissed without worry.”
She relished the way his warmth and strength seeped into her. “It is a far different life than I am accustomed to.”
“We do well together. We will see that it does,” he assured her.
She felt comfortable enough with him to voice her other thoughts. “I suppose it would be wise of me to remain wed to you. You do not discourage me from my interests. You let me be me.”
“Always,” he assured her, then grinned. “And do not forget how much you like my kisses. It is good to have a husband who knows how to kiss well.”
“There you go singing your praises again,” she said with a soft chuckle.
“You cannot deny that you enjoy my kisses,” he said with a nudge of his elbow to her side.
“I do not deny it, but… I have nothing to compare it to.” She meant it as a playful tease, but the sudden scowl that surfaced on Brogan’s face told her he did not find it amusing.
“No one, not a soul, will kiss you, only me,” he ordered and tapped her lips with his finger. “Your lovely lips belong to me and no other. I was the first to kiss you and I will be the last man to kiss you.”
Annis did not know quite what to make of his words. Could it be a hint at love? Or was he being overly possessive? Or was it a sign of a demanding husband? He surprised her again when he shot to his feet and ran his hand through his hair as he paced in front of her.
“I have little to offer you being a cursed man and if we fail to break the curse, I will have even less for you are aware that I refuse to father any bairns and see them suffer. The only thing I can give you is more love than you ever thought possible.” He raked his hair with his fingers again. “I never thought love truly existed. I never saw it between my parents or with many other couples, but then noble marriages are arranged, and how does one fall in love with a stranger. I discovered the answer when I found you. You were like a light in the darkness to me and I could not help but be drawn to it—to you. But does an honorable man make the woman he loves suffer a marriage to him when he is cursed?”
Annis’s heart began to beat wildly.
Brogan dropped down beside her, not able to contain himself any longer. “I am selfish. I know I offered you freedom, but I love you too much to let you go, Annis. I love you with all my heart. This time spent with you has made me realize that I do not want to spend a day without you, even though you do not hold your tongue as you should, but I can rectify that. OW!” he cried out with a laugh when she punched him in the arm, not that he felt it. “I am teasing you.” He snatched her around the waist and settled her in his lap. “I would not change a thing about you. I especially love your fiery red hair.” He buried his face in the soft curls and smiled when he lifted his head. “It is wild like you and soft like you, a perfect blend for a wife.” He kissed her gently. “I love you, Annis, with every beat of my heart and every breath I take, and I do not ever want to lose you, for without a heartbeat and a breath I would die.”
He cupped her face and kissed her gently, then rested his brow to hers for a moment.
Annis felt his reluctance to move his face away from hers, but he did, giving her a chance to respond. “Never, ever, would I have thought in my wildest dreams or nightmares,” —she chuckled— “would I have given thought to wed you, but now your love has stirred in me something I have tried to ignore or deny.” She shook her head. “I believe I have fallen in love with you, and I do not have the slightest idea how it happened. I only know that I miss you when you are not near and my mind thinks more on you than anything, and when I am in bed at night, I wish you were there beside me, your arms around me.” She sighed. “My concern is that how can I love and remain wed to you when Bliss sacrificed for me, so I was not forced to wed you? How can I hurt her like that?”
“Bliss wanted you to wed a man of your choice. She would be happy and relieved that you wed me because you love me and chose to wed me, not that you were forced to wed me. And I give you my word that I will do everything I can to see that no harm comes to Bliss. But you know yourself that your sister would be happy you wed a man you love and who loves you with all his heart.”
Brogan was right. Bliss would be happy for her and yet she could not help but feel she betrayed her sister by falling in love with Brogan.
He took hold of her face again. “We can have a good life, Annis. You can oversee the building of our home and the village. Our home we build together, and if Rannick refuses to take Bliss as his wife, having sworn never to wed again, she will have a home with us in the village.”
The thought that she could provide a home for Bliss filled her with joy. “That would make me so happy. Elysia and Saber could join us as well and my sisters and I would be together again.”
Brogan made no remark about Saber and Elysia. In time she would learn the truth about Saber, but it was not for him to say. He had given his word.
“Then it is settled,” Brogan said, making it clear, leaving no doubt. “We remain wed.” A scrunch of her brow had him asking, “You do not agree?”
“You will not try to tame me.” It was not a question.
He laughed and kissed her. “The last thing I want to do is tame you, wife. I love you for who you are and always will.” To his surprise and disappointment, she wiggled out of his arms to stand. What she did next shocked him.
Annis slipped off her tunic. “We need to consummate our vows so nothing or no one can separate us.”
