Highland Vengeance (6 page)

Olivia was certain now that her cousin
the prince was behind this. She was not afraid of him like most
everyone else was. Olivia did fear, however, that if she strangled
him like she wished to, she would pay greatly for the sin. The last
time the countess had spoken with Prince Henry, it was more of an
argument. He had been astounded at her maturing beauty and wanted
to know why she was not married yet. Olivia stood up to the young
prince and told him to mind his own affairs.

The women were quick to help Olivia out
of her simple gown and began to comb her long auburn hair to be
pinned up. She was very tall for a woman and most of the
aristocratic women thought she was much too large to be a real
beauty. Olivia had been taught that a woman must be delicate and
petite, much like her new sister-in-law Ella. Olivia was grateful
for her size because it gave her strength and endurance. No one
knew that under the chemise she wore, there was the powerful body
of a goddess. Olivia was muscular and lean with ample breasts that
she kept bound for she found them annoying and always in the
way.

Time seemed to be racing by when
suddenly the steward came to escort Olivia to the see the king. The
countess was never afraid of anything but at this moment she was
terrified and she wanted to run. Olivia wondered how she would
endure the endless chatter of the courting men. As she entered the
great hall, Olivia saw the king and prince seated at the far end of
the magnificent space. She never understood why everyone found the
inside of a castle so beautiful when one could be outside in the
splendor of nature.

“
Presenting Olivia, the
Royal Countess of Lansington,” the herald announced loudly as she
walked toward King Henry.

Moving gracefully towards the men
seated on the thrones, Olivia stared down her cousin Prince Henry
and the closer she got to him, the angrier she became. The countess
saw the amused smirk on his face and if she were not in the
presence of the king, she would tell the prince just exactly what
she was thinking. When she reached them, Olivia bowed to the
royalty as she had been trained with great poise.

“
Ah, Countess Olivia, it is
wonderful to finally meet you. I have heard nothing but great
things of your beauty from my son Henry. He was certainly true in
his statements but I think you are even far greater a beauty than
he described,” the king said, becoming entranced with
her.

“
Thank you kindly Your
Majesty. It is a pleasure at last, to meet my father’s favorite
cousin. From all that I remember of him, he spoke highly in your
favor,” she said with a soft and gentle voice.

The king turned to his son. “Henry,
where is this temper driven woman that you spoke of? Olivia seems
to be quite the gentle lady.”

Prince Henry burst into laughter as he
listened to his father’s description of Olivia. He knew the other
side of her and she was anything but a gentle lady.

“
Come now Olivia, putting on
this show for my father must be torture for you. I told him how you
are full of strength and fire. I have never met a woman as brave
and fearless as you are. You must let my father see this side of
you or else I’m afraid, I will look like a liar,” the young prince
said with a smile.

“
I assure you that I know
nothing of what the prince speaks of,” Olivia replied to the
king.

“
Well father, if you would
like to see a great reaction from the woman, you must tell the
countess why you have summoned her here. I am sure she is anxious
to know the reason why,” the prince grinned, taunting his
cousin.

The king continued to observe Olivia.
“My dear, do you know why you are here today?”

“
Your Majesty, I assume it
is because the prince thinks I should be courted by the noblemen so
that I may choose a husband,” she answered.

“
Beautiful Olivia, you are
not here to be courted.”

Relief flooded her entire body as she
heard the wonderful news. Olivia was immediately grateful that she
would not have to deal with all the men and their wandering hands.
She was curious then as to why she had been called to see the
king.

She curtsied slightly. “Thank you
kindly Your Majesty. I am afraid I am not the type that would enjoy
being courted.”

“
Countess, do you know of
your inheritance from your father?”

“
Forgive me Your Majesty,
but I don’t know all that it entails.”

“
Your father was given a
beautiful piece of land in Scotland, in the Highlands no less. I
have spoken with your brother and the land was given to you on your
sixteenth birthday. Living on this land are hundreds of unruly and
lawless men that need a laird to guide them. I have said that you
are not here to be courted and that is because I called you here to
be married,” the king announced.

Olivia had a difficult time processing
all of the words that the king had just spoken. She thought he said
something about her owning land in Scotland and then something
about her being married. When she looked at Prince Henry, his
amused face suddenly made everything make sense.

“
Countess Olivia, you will
be married in a matter of moments to Laird Camden Sinclair of the
Highlands. Your inheritance will then become his and he will take
control over the disorderly land. He is here to claim his English
bride.”

She was speechless, which was unlike
her, and she continued to stare at the young prince while she
started to piece together the king’s command in her mind. It took
everything in her power to control herself and not attack her
cousin for finding her misery so humorous.

“
Father if I may interrupt,
it seems the countess is a bit overwhelmed at the moment,” the
prince said looking at Olivia. “My dear cousin I know you must
think me to be horrible and spiteful but I do have the best
intentions. I know you rather well and I believe you will enjoy the
natural beauty of Scotland. Also, I think you should know that your
future husband believes his bride to be a delicate and timid little
English woman,” Prince Henry said with laughter.

As Olivia heard what her cousin had
said, she too found the humor in his statement. She was anything
but delicate and timid and the countess could not help herself from
smiling at the young prince. The king watched as Olivia’s smile
transformed her into a stunning beauty. She was captivating and her
eyes sparkled like bright emeralds.

“
Bring in Laird Sinclair and
let us begin this marriage ceremony before nightfall comes,” the
king announced.

Olivia suddenly stopped smiling when
the king made that statement. Fear overcame her body and she tried
to gather every bit of courage she had to face what was about to
happen. The large wooden doors opened behind her and she turned to
see three enormous muscular men standing at the entrance.
Describing them as giants, she thought, was not nearly correct
because they seemed to make the castle doors look
minute.

The countess watched as they started to
walk towards her and maybe it was her imagination but the floor
felt as though it were shaking from their movement. Olivia had
heard tales of the Highlanders and the way they dressed but now she
could see their bare powerful legs as they approached. Most women
would have been frightened at the sight but Olivia was immediately
jealous that they were allowed to wear such clothing. She had
always wished of being that free and not having to wear such tight
and binding clothes.

All three of them looked as though they
were angry about something and that made Olivia furious. She
decided the front man in the center, with the brooding eyes must be
the laird and the closer he got, the more upset Olivia became. If
anyone here has the right to give deadly glares it is I, she
thought to herself.

Camden walked towards the king and he
was sure the woman in the large billowing gown was to be his bride.
She was certainly far more beautiful than he expected. The countess
also seemed a bit older than the child Camden thought he was going
to marry. He was pleased as well with the fact that she was not as
tiny as the other English women he had seen. This would hopefully
help his future wife endure the harsh Highland weather with greater
ease. None of that mattered now because the land he needed would
soon be his. Camden wanted to find a secure place to leave the
woman until his battle with the McKay clan was over.

As the bride and groom came face to
face and their eyes met, Olivia felt her heart beginning to beat a
little faster. She was not sure if it was terror or not but the
look he had in his eyes made her body tingle all over. Camden
wondered why this enchanting beauty was leaving all the comforts of
a wealthy royal lifestyle to live in the Highlands with him. She
obviously had no choice in the matter and the laird actually felt
sorry for the poor girl as they continued to look at one
another.

The king inspected both of them
thoroughly and thought that the match he made looked like the
perfect couple. King Henry only hoped that he was doing the right
thing by sending this gentle woman into the rugged Highland country
to live with these brute warriors.

The ceremony was over in a matter of
minutes and Olivia barely remembered any of it. The only thing that
she was grateful for from this whole ordeal was making the wedding
part short and simple. The countess never dreamed of having any
sort of elaborate wedding but she also never thought she would
marry anyone but Brenton. He was a distant memory now as Olivia
stared at the man that had just become her husband.

“
We shall have a celebration
feast now while my servants prepare your marriage bed,” the king
announced.

The small group of court attendants
that were in the great hall, cheered for the married couple and
Olivia started to have a panic attack as the words “marriage bed”
raced through her mind. She was extremely talented at acting demure
and gentle when she needed to be but now her patience for the king
was being sorely tested. The countess was not sure if she would be
able to continue this charade much longer.

Olivia could not eat a bite of food as
she sat next to her new husband and the two other warriors that sat
with them. She watched the three men consume more food in one
sitting than most ate within several days. Olivia never felt petite
in her entire life because she was always the tallest woman but
sitting with Camden at her left and Broderick on her right, she
felt insignificant. Olivia was still overwhelmed at everything that
had just happened but something about her new husband gave her a
strange feeling of comfort.

As everyone finished eating, Camden
glanced at his new wife and he was upset that she had not eaten
anything. He wondered if she was too repulsed by him to stomach any
food. They had a long journey ahead of them and Camden knew she
would need her strength. The laird did not want to be weighed down
by the burden of a woman. The men were already going to have to
ride slower than normal because of her.

The king loudly commanded his steward
to show the newly married couple to their room. Olivia felt as
though everyone were watching them and she was certain she heard
several giggles coming from some of the women. Camden was
definitely handsome but Olivia had no interest in sharing a bed
with him. The nuns taught Olivia what would occur on her wedding
night and she was not looking forward to the unpleasant
chore.

As the door to their room shut behind
them, Olivia stood by the hearth unsure of what to do next. She
knew what her duties as a wife included but no one had asked her if
she wanted to be his wife. Camden took the draped plaid from his
left shoulder and then lifted the tunic over his head, placing it
on the chair beside the bed. He took off his knee-high deerskin
boots and then dropped the plaid from his waist just as Olivia had
turned to speak to her new husband.

Olivia’s mouth dropped open while she
continued to stare at the fully nude man in front of her. His body
was sculpted to perfection and his deeply tanned skin was glowing
from the fire light in the room. Camden’s golden shoulder length
hair made his squared jaw seem even more powerful and his eyes had
a hint of humor. Olivia continued to gape at her husband and then
she suddenly had the urge to touch the small dip in the center of
his chin.

The look on her face made Camden want
to smile but he did not want to embarrass the girl on their first
night. He wanted to put her mind at ease for surely she was nervous
about the marriage bed. Camden knew she was not a common wench that
would warm his bed and he needed to treat her with respect. He
thought maybe someday he would even care for the woman but for now,
he was exceedingly grateful for receiving her land.

“
Young wife, you can come to
bed and sleep. I will not touch you tonight. You will need your
rest for the hard journey we have ahead of us,” Camden said
calmly.

“
I am not so young. I have
just turned nineteen years,” she said quickly and then realized
that sounded very childish.

Camden smiled. “Aye, you are but an old
woman, forgive me. You are also not as shy as I thought maybe you
would be.”

“
I am afraid if you think
that I am like all the other timid English women you will probably
be disappointed. Having a husband is a new experience for me but I
assure you I am not a fearful woman,” she boasted.