Highlander's Reckoning (The Sinclair Brothers #3) (16 page)

She only hoped he’d tell her.

Rona woke from a restless night of sleep with a
headache throbbing behind her right eye. She sat up and glanced around the dim
chamber. Daniel must have already risen and left.

After she dressed and splashed water on her hands
and face, she peeked behind the furs covering the window. Yesterday’s storm had
abated to a dull, drizzly morning.

She tried to smooth the scowl on her face as she
trudged down to the hall, but her foul mood was too deeply entrenched.

She hadn’t gotten an opportunity to talk with
Daniel—more like demand information from him—yesterday, so busy were they with
their guests.

The evening meal had passed pleasantly enough.
Jossalyn and Garrick had joined them on the dais for the meal, which was a
simple affair. Jossalyn had told Rona the remarkable story of how she’d met
Garrick, escaped her horrible brother—Raef Warren, which still shocked Rona—and
pledged her healing skills to the Bruce and his rebel camp.

Daniel and Garrick had mostly talked to each other
during the meal, but every once in a while, Garrick would shoot Jossalyn a
look, sometimes tender, sometimes heated, always adoring. Rona had felt a
strange pinch each time she witnessed those covert looks. Garrick and Jossalyn
were truly happy.

That thought had her mouth turning down again as she
walked through the great hall, which was scattered with people finishing their
morning meal. It wasn’t that she didn’t want those two to be happy. Was
she…jealous?

She entered the kitchen and snatched a few honeyed
oatcakes left over from the morning meal. Her stomach felt too sour with ire to
eat, but she’d want the food later, once she was in the Galloway woods with
Bhreaca.

She still hadn’t seen Daniel or their guests yet
this morning, so she went to the yard to seek him out. She was going to pick a
fight, and she knew it. But she didn’t care. At least the drizzle had halted,
she thought sourly.

She spotted two large kilted figures standing atop
the battlements along the curtain wall and marched toward them. They appeared
to be deep in conversation, with Daniel pointing to the southeast as he spoke
quietly to Garrick.

“Good morning,” she said tartly as she stepped from
the stone stairs to the battlements.

They nodded to her without a word.

“Where is Jossalyn?” she asked with a brief glance
around.

Garrick gave her a wry look. “She’s still soaking in
the luxury of a real bed.”

“Oh. Well, I’m going to visit the Fergusons,” she
said, turning to Daniel.

He frowned. “I won’t be able to go today, so we’ll
have to find another time. The others will be here shortly,” he said, gesturing
across the loch toward the village.

Rona matched his frown. More guests—more of Daniel’s
taciturn, elusive, secretive family.

Garrick wasn’t so bad, and she was genuinely coming
to know and like Jossalyn. But meeting and hosting them left her feeling tense
and drained. She wasn’t exactly looking forward to another round of
introductions and explanations of all the things Daniel hadn’t bothered to tell
her. She just wanted to get away, to go to the one place she felt truly at
ease, truly herself.

“Well, I’m going. You can stay here,” she said
acidly.

Of course, she was going against what they’d already
agreed upon when they’d negotiated—and made love—that day in the study. But she
was in too foul a mood to care.

“You’re not going without me.”

Daniel’s voice brokered no argument, which only
annoyed Rona further. She crossed her arms and leveled him with a hard stare.

“Aye, I am.”

Garrick suddenly chuckled lightly.

She rounded on him. “What’s so funny?”

Garrick raised an eyebrow at her and met her stare
with one of his own.

“You remind me of Alwin,” he said simply.

That sent her temper flaring hotter, and she turned
back to Daniel. “I wish I knew what that meant.”

“I haven’t met Robert’s wife either, Rona,” he said
coldly. He turned to Garrick. “Can you give us a moment?”

The amused look lingered on Garrick’s hard features,
but he nodded in acquiescence and walked away along the battlements.

“What is this about, Rona?” Daniel said tightly to
her once Garrick was out of earshot. “I thought we agreed that I’d accompany
you to the Fergusons’ cottage. And now you’re mad at me for not telling you
about a woman I’ve never met?”

Hot tears of frustration stung her eyes. “Since I’m
apparently not invited to your secret meetings in the study, perhaps you are
uninvited from accompanying me to Ian and Mairi’s.”

She felt foolish, like a petulant child, but she
realized she was more hurt than she initially thought. Daniel, Garrick, and
Jossalyn had stayed in the study doing who knew what for hours yesterday, only
emerging to take the evening meal with her. Was this how it would be between
them?

Some of the anger drained from his face, and his
stormy eyes softened on her.

“I’m sorry, sweeting,” he said simply.

She started slightly. He’d never used an endearment
with her—unless “lass” counted.

He sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose.
Perhaps he hadn’t slept well either.

“I’d like you to please not go to the Fergusons’
cottage today, or any time without me, as we agreed,” he said slowly. “I’ll go
with you in a few days once everything is more settled here. I’d like you to be
here to welcome the rest of my family to our home.”

“Why?” she said cautiously. “Why do you want me
here?”

Perhaps this was the deepest aspect of her pain and
frustration. The fact that he was keeping things from her, excluding her, made
her feel untrusted—and unwanted.

He seemed to read the emotions that must have been
churning on her face.

“Because I want to show you off to my family.
Because I’m proud to be your husband.”

If his endearment had thrown her off-balance, this
admission sent her spinning. Before she fumbled her way to a question, he went
on.

“You are smart, strong, and capable, Rona,” he said.
“And you’re stunningly beautiful.”

“What…where is this coming from?”

He shifted on his feet, suddenly looking like a
contrite lad.

“Jossalyn mentioned something yesterday about my
communication skills, or lack thereof. She gave me quite the verbal lashing for
keeping you in the dark about—about several things.”

Her eyes widened. She’d have to thank Jossalyn
later. But then she narrowed her gaze on him.

“And did she convince you to tell me about whatever
it is you’re keeping from me?”

He sobered and pinned her with his eyes, which were
the color of the wind-churned loch behind him. “I’ll tell you everything
tonight,” he said. “After the feast.”

“Truly?” Anticipation coursed through her. No more
secrets between them. He trusted her.

“Aye, truly.”

She opened her mouth to tell him how happy his
decision made her, but a flicker of movement on the loch behind him caught her
eye. The same large boat that had transported Garrick and Jossalyn now moved
toward the castle from the village.

Her breath caught in her throat. “They’re here
already?”

Nervousness mingled with anticipation at the thought
of finally meeting the rest of Daniel’s family.

“Apparently,” Daniel said, turning to squint at the
boat as it drew nearer. “And they look to have brought a small army.”

The two of them descended from the battlements and
crossed out to the docks. As the barge docked in front of the castle, Rona
couldn’t suppress a gasp. Daniel was right. Though it was by far the largest
vessel that ferried between the castle and the village, the barge was nearly
overflowing with enormous kilted men. They all wore the bright red Sinclair
plaid, though beyond that they looked like a motley lot.

They poured off the boat and onto the dock, and Rona
guessed that there were at least two dozen of them. They nodded as they walked
down the wooden boardwalk toward the castle, some stopping to exchange a grin
or a forearm grasp with Daniel.

“Why are there so many warriors?” Rona asked in
shock.

“I’m sure it was just for…protection. They’ve had a
long journey, and Robert is very protective of his wife and daughter,” Daniel
replied cautiously.

“Danny!”

Rona jumped at the bellow, which came from behind
the thinning line of Highland warriors.

An enormous yet lithe-looking Highlander pushed his
way toward Daniel and embraced him in a hard hug, as Garrick had done
yesterday. As the man stood back to appraise Daniel with a grin, Rona got a
chance to look at him.

Another near-copy of Daniel, this man had darker
hair but the same firm jawline and large build. His eyes were pale blue and
filled with merriment, but Rona noticed a few more lines on his face than
Daniel’s. He had to be Robert, the eldest brother.

Daniel glanced over his brother’s shoulder.
“Cousin!” he shouted and went to embrace yet another tall, muscular Highlander.
Rona had to shake her head in amazement. How could one family have so many
strapping, brawny giants in it?

The man Daniel moved to hug was, blessedly, not
another dark-haired, hard-faced copy of the others. This must be Burke, she
realized. His light brown hair and dark blue eyes, which were filled with
warmth, set him apart, but he was dressed and built like the others.

“Oh no,” said a female voice from behind the
towering warriors. Then Rona heard retching. She pushed her way hurriedly
between the men.

Leaning over the dock and dry heaving into the loch
was an ethereally beautiful—if currently unpleasantly occupied—woman a few
years older than Rona.

Burke pushed past her and came to the woman’s side. He
gathered her dark chestnut hair in one hand, holding it back, while his other
hand circled her lower back.

“I’m sorry the loch waters are so rough. Your
passage must have been difficult,” Rona said by way of apology. Suddenly she
felt five pairs of eyes on her and looked around.

Daniel gazed at her, along with Robert. Burke and
the retching woman paused and glanced curiously at her. And then there was a
second woman at the end of the dock whose gray eyes assessed her. She carried a
bundle of blankets close to her chest, her light brown hair spreading around it
like a veil. The blanket made a noise and shifted.

That must be Alwin, Robert’s wife. She wasn’t sure
why Garrick had compared her to this woman—they couldn’t be more different
physically. While Alwin was short and femininely curved, Rona was tall and
willowy. Alwin’s hair was soft brown, while Rona’s was unruly and red. She
could only guess at what Garrick had meant.

“You must be Rona Kennedy,” Alwin said, “or rather,
Rona Sinclair.”

Rona nodded, suddenly feeling uncomfortable with all
those eyes on her.

“These oafs were too busy bear hugging each other to
properly introduce us,” she said crisply, though her eyes were warm. “I’m
Alwin, and this is Jane. Your niece.” She pulled back the blanket a little to
reveal a sleeping babe.

All Rona’s nervousness fell away now that everyone
was focused on the babe. Daniel approached and unconsciously put his arm around
Rona’s waist as he peered down at the child.

“She’s so…small.”

Alwin laughed. “She’s only two and a half months
old!” Then her gray eyes, which Rona realized had traces of blue in them,
similar to Daniel’s, flitted up to take in her brother-in-law. “What a joy to
finally meet you, Daniel,” she said.

“Sorry about that. It-it must have been the choppy
waters,” the woman who had been retching said behind Rona. “I’m Meredith.” The
woman’s kind brown eyes were disarming, and Rona instantly felt more at ease.

“Perhaps we can continue this inside,” Daniel said
pointedly. The men gathered the few bags that remained in the boat’s hull. Then
the group walked under the portcullis and toward the great hall. The small
Highland army was gathered in the yard, talking with each other and introducing
themselves to the castle’s wary men.

“How are we going to feed them all? And where will
we put them?” Rona whispered to Daniel as they passed.

“Don’t worry. Elspeth is more than capable, and they
can sleep in the hall with the other men,” Daniel replied.

Rona glanced dubiously at the rugged-looking band of
warriors but put the problem aside for the moment.

Just as they all entered the hall, Jossalyn hurried
down the stairs.

“I haven’t missed all the introductions, have I?”
she said breathlessly.

Another round of introductions was made, with
Jossalyn warmly embracing each of the women as she had with Rona. She seemed
genuinely overjoyed at the prospect of having sisters.

“You’ll be my sister, too, Meredith, if it’s all
right with you,” she said sweetly.