Highlander’s False Betrothal by Alisa Adams

8

The days that followed flew by at an alarming rate, as the halls and ramparts were draped with marvelous wreaths, sashes, and garlands in preparation for the ceremony. All of the servants seemed to be working around the clock scrubbing, polishing, decorating, cooking, baking, sewing, and weaving.

Caroline spent much of that time directing everyone involved (but most especially her father) with regard to the elements she wanted, down to the smallest detail. To her delight, Freya was by her side for most of it, weighing in with her own ideas and exchanging notions for how to make the entire affair as magnificent as possible. They laughed, played with the floral arrangements, and took turns modeling the wedding gown and veil. Although Caroline had several dear friends back in England, she chose to ask Freya to be her Maid of Honor. Freya accepted, which made Caroline very happy indeed.

However, as the appointed day rapidly approached, one thing was making Caroline tremendously uneasy: Aodh refused to concern himself with any preparations for the event whatsoever. Not only that, he was barely present at all during those three days. On the rare occasions when she happened to catch him for a handful of moments, she would ask where he had been or where he was going, and he would simply respond that he was “walking the hillsides.”

As answers went, it was somewhat short of satisfactory.

Finally, she was able to catch him long enough to clamp a hand on his forearm and drag him into a secluded corridor. The bewildered expression on his handsome face made her all the more irritated with him.

“Given that we are attempting to convince people we are genuinely betrothed,” she said through gritted teeth, “perhaps you might like to show a touch more enthusiasm with regard to the wedding preparations? Being present for even an hour of them might be a reasonable start!”

“Are my attentions truly required for such trivial things?” he replied. “I have more pressing matters to see to.”

“I know well enough what ‘pressing matters’ you refer to,” she shot back.

“And what, precisely, is that supposed to mean?”

“You have been sneaking off to see Ainsley!” Caroline retorted indignantly. “‘Walks along the hillside,’ yes, I suppose that’s one way of putting it!”

“Ainsley said you would react this way,” Aodh grumbled, folding his arms over his chest obstinately.

Caroline’s eyebrows shot up. “I beg your pardon?”

He let out an exasperated growl. “Now look here, woman! I agreed to this plan of yours, and I intend to follow through, but I did tell you about Ainsley and my situation with her. I have certain responsibilities to her, and I have had to spend additional time helping her come to terms with this…agreement we have made. I have had to give her constant reassurances with regard to your lack of interest in me. It has not been easy, but it has been necessary.”

Caroline was stone-faced. “You told her, then. What we have planned. Even though I asked you not to say anything to anyone. Even though you knew how much is at stake. Still, you took that risk, and without consulting me.”

“I had no choice!” he hissed. “Did you want her standing up and objecting during the ceremony? Or worse, doing harm to herself because she has lost hope in having a future with me?”

Caroline rolled her eyes. “I cannot claim surprise that she has broached that topic before when she has not gotten her way.”

“You do not know the first thing about her!” Aodh countered. “I will not allow you to cast aspersions upon her, especially when…”

“When what?”

“When she warned me that you would immediately try to drive a wedge between us,” he finished with a distrustful scowl.

Caroline was at a loss for words. Finally, she said, “Very well. Do as you will. The last thing we should be doing right now is quarreling with each other so soon before the wedding. We don’t want anyone to sense any disharmony between us. Besides, you have already told her, so there is no point in fighting about that now either. We shall simply have to see how things turn out in that regard. However, before you decide to go and see her again, I beg of you: Consider the damage it would do if your rendezvous with Ainsley were to be found out. It would rob our deception of its credence. And…” She paused, then went on: “It would shame me needlessly, Aodh. It would make me look like a fool.”

Her words touched Aodh, and for a sharp moment, he regretted having betrayed her trust by telling Ainsley about their agreement.

But she was right. What was done was done, and there was no sense fretting about it or wasting time with regrets. All that was left for him to do was nod. “I will keep that in mind. And for what it’s worth, Caroline, I am sorry that I had to tell Ainsley.”

She sighed wearily. “I understand. It was a difficult position to put you in, and I should have thought that part through more carefully before asking for your silence. So I apologize as well.”

There was a kind of magic in the strange stillness following their explosive conflict, like the perfect gray calm following a violent storm. The air between them seemed to hum with invisible lightning—a force that seemed to reach into both of them, grabbing hold of their hearts and pulling them closer.

She is so strong and fiery, he marveled inwardly. Smart, sure of herself. If only she were not English. If only she were not the daughter of my enemy. If only she did not hate me with every breath she can muster…

“Well, then,” he breathed, “I am relieved that we were able to come to a resolution, then. I should probably, um…”

“Yes,” she answered simply. “Go. Only please, remember what I have said.”

Aodh nodded and turned to leave, feeling vaguely ashamed that he intended to continue on his way to Ainsley’s once more. But he had already told her the previous day that he would return, and if he did not keep his word, he knew that he risked having her show up at the castle unannounced again, which would hardly keep things calm between him and Caroline.

Caroline returned to the preparations. However, she felt uneasy and distracted, knowing where Aodh was headed.

Was it only that she was worried he would be seen and that it would make people believe he was being unfaithful to his bride-to-be? Was it just that she fretted about the blemish on her own reputation?

It would have been easy for her to tell herself that.

But the truth, no matter how hard she tried to deny it to herself, was that she couldn’t bear knowing where he was and what he was probably doing while he was with her. The thought of them kissing, embracing, making plans for how they’d be able to be together properly once the false marriage was over… It turned her stomach.

Why, though?she asked herself as she was being fitted for her dress. What difference would that make to me?

Because it’s a dreadful shame watching a man like that be manipulated by a self-absorbed harridan such as her, that’s why. Here he is, a laird to his people, and he’s being jerked and danced about by this woman like a puppet on a string. I might not enjoy his company overmuch, but even I can see that the man deserves better treatment than that.

She kept trying to convince herself that this was the true reason for her discomfort.

Unfortunately, successfully lying to herself had never been her forte, and deeper down, she knew full well that it was jealousy that burned within her. She wanted to be the one held in his strong arms, the one looking up into his solemn eyes. She found him frustrating and infuriating, but somehow, she despised the idea that his affections belonged to Ainsley.

There is simply nothing for it,she thought firmly. I shall get through this wedding and the short period to follow, and then all of this might be dismissed as a brief and unpleasant episode…one gladly forgotten.

At last, the day of the blessed event arrived. The guests flooded into the courtyard of Campbell Castle, including plenty of visitors from England—none of whom, it must be said, seemed especially happy to be there. Half of them kept looking over their shoulders queasily, as though they expected Celts with blue-painted faces to spring out, howling, and attack them at any moment.

As Caroline walked down the aisle with Lord George, there was a strange moment when she wondered whether Aodh would even show up at all. For all she knew, he had made one last trip to see Ainsley before the ceremony and lost track of time.

Then she saw Ainsley in the crowd, looking at her with eyes cloudy with tears.

And gleaming with sheer venom.

Eyes that said: I see what you’re up to, and I won’t have it.

A sharp chill ran down the length of Caroline’s spine despite the warmth of the day, causing her father to glance at her, concerned. But Caroline’s eyes were fixed straight ahead once more, and she was determined to keep them that way for the rest of the walk to the altar in order to block out any additional distractions.

She was feeling uneasy enough about this undertaking. The last thing she needed to concern herself with was the envy of spiteful creatures like Ainsley.

Aodh stepped up to the altar and stood next to her before the clergyman. They signed the documents together, and Caroline could not help but scan them to ensure that the deliberate error had been included. Sure enough, there it was: a subtle mistake in her name.

One that, hopefully, no one would notice until it was too late.

Aodh had arranged for the detail to be improperly penned on the certificate, and she knew that keeping such a thing secret had been extremely difficult for him. If her father chose to give the document a close look, their entire subterfuge would have been for nothing—and worse, they would no doubt be forced to have a real ceremony to make up for it.

Then they would be well and truly stuck together.

As they recited their vows, the words tasted sour and metallic in Caroline’s mouth, like a heavy coin sitting on her tongue. Like most women, she had fantasized about her wedding day her entire life, ever since she was a little girl. And in many ways, it was very much as she had pictured it—the decorations, the dress, her father at her side, her friends looking on happily. Even the handsome face and strong physique of the man whose hand was in hers.

But knowing that none of it was real ruined it. It made her feel as though she was being unfaithful to herself. Or, more specifically, to the girl she had once been, the one who had been promised the marriage of her dreams someday and had to settle for this sham instead.

Within a few moments, though, it was all over with. Their kiss—the first they had ever shared—looked convincing enough for the crowd to applaud, but it felt cheap and perfunctory to Caroline. For all the passion in it, she may as well have been kissing a statue.

She knew that if everything went as planned, she could still look forward to a real wedding someday. She tried to take some small comfort in that, but the endeavor left her feeling hollow.

A woman was supposed to have one wedding day in her life, not two.