The Highlander's Curse (19 page)

“Boars.”
She tsked. “Ye’ve still no’ learned, I see.”

“Ailsa,”
Conall drawled. “Dinna give him grief. He did it tae protect the lass.”

“Ye ken
how Cailen is, he prob’ly angered it on purpose.
Emily!
” Ailsa barked,
looking at the woman who made my bed. “Go fetch Stewart McCrary. Tell him tae
bring his bag.”

The
servant bobbed a curtsy and scurried out of the room without a sound.

“Ye
should prob’ly hae a seat, dear,” his mom added, more or less pushing me down
onto the partially made bed. She sat down next to me and glanced up at her son.

“Now,”
Conall said, folding his arms as he, too, eyed Cailen. “Since we’ve some
privacy at the present, what was it ye wanted tae speak wi’us about then?”

“Dae ye
bring news o’ Kieran?” Ailsa asked, her voice hopeful.

Cailen’s
face hardened and he shook his head. “Nae. I’ve no’ seen him. I’ve come home
because o’ Elizabeth.”

Again,
his parents’ eyes fell on me, both with mixed expressions of uncertainty and
hope. I wanted to sink into the bed, not really knowing exactly how Cailen was
about to tell them that he and I had to get married because I had no family, no
money, and nothing to my name. Oh, and why not add in the bit about how I
wouldn’t be born for over two hundred years and see how his parents took it
all?

My
Highlander peered at his dad, the two of them standing in identical poses with
their arms folded and their feet shoulder-width apart. “Ye ken the clan better
than anyone, so ye may ken who might be willin’ tae help her.”

I
narrowed my eyes, wondering just where he was going with this. It definitely
didn’t sound like anything I’d imagined.

Conall
snorted. “Yer mam has more knowledge o’ ev’ra clan member in Ardmoir in one
finger than I dae.” He smiled, winking at his wife. “What does the lass need
our help wi’?”

Cailen
glanced at me, his gaze falling to the floor for a brief second before he
returned it to his dad. “She nae longer has family.”

Ailsa’s
hand immediately covered my own. I couldn’t take my eyes off my Scot though,
not with the rock forming in my gut. This really didn’t sound anything like “Hey,
Mom and Dad, we’re getting hitched”.

“Okay,”
Conall replied slowly.

“I need
ye tae find her a husband.”

CHAPTER ELEVEN

I was stunned. And so
freakin’ pissed off.

I could
have spit on that Highlander, and punched him in the face, and kicked him in
the balls.

After
Cailen had dropped the bomb about me needing to find a husband—because
apparently he wasn’t going to marry me—the doctor had shown up, so he and his
parents had left the room. I knew they could see how pissed off I was. They
might have even tried to talk to me, but I was so dazed that I couldn’t even
care enough to listen. The doctor checked out my foot and gave me something
else to keep on it, but he thought it was likely healing since it itched like
crazy. He’d left quite a while ago, and I’d been in the room by myself ever
since.

A knock
sounded at the door, but I ignored it, just like I had the two times before.

“Elizabeth,”
Cailen’s voice boomed through the door. “Open the door. I’ll break it doon if I
must.”

I stood
and paced by the bed. Damn him. Damn that man for everything: for making me
want him, for making me crave his touch and his kiss, and for making it so that
even the sound of his voice was enough to bring tears to my eyes. And to make
my heart simultaneously flutter with desire and rip into two.

“Elizabeth,”
he barked again. “I’m no’ jokin’. Ye hae three seconds tae open the door, or I’m
comin’ in.”

I
gritted my teeth and stared into the fireless fireplace. He counted to three
and must have punched the door, because it rebounded off the wall with a
crack
.

“What
dae ye think yer daein’ in here, holed up like some sort o’ prisoner?” he
growled. “We’ve come all this way tae find ye a husband. How dae ye expect tae
find one if ye’re locked in here?” There was a brief second of silence. “And
when did ye put yer clothes back on? Ye canna wear those here.”

“Fuck
my clothes, and fuck you, too.” Yeah, there was no more holding back what I was
feeling.

“I
dinna ken what ye meant by that, but I gather yer feelings behind it.”

Still,
I didn’t look at him. “Oh, you gather my feelings, hmm? About time, I guess.
Too bad it’s a bit too late for that.”

“Elizabeth.”
He sighed.

“Stop
calling
me that!” I yelled, turning toward him.

I
thought he’d step back, but he didn’t. He swallowed though, as his eyes
searched mine. “What would ye hae me call ye?”

“How
about ‘that girl you once knew’, or ‘that one girl, who somehow got thrown two
hundred years into the past, fell into your lap, and you threw her away’, or
better yet, ‘that girl that you made fall in love with you, the one that you
gave hope to, only to rip it away’. Yeah, any of those would do.”

He
squeezed his eyes shut as his fists clenched repeatedly.

“The
stupid thing is, I normally wouldn’t let this get to me, but I let my guard
down because you made me think you were falling in love with me.” All of the
anger and frustration I’d been accumulating over the last week hit me at once,
and I let it fuel me. “Where I’m from, it’s well known that most men are pigs.
Women are raised knowing that we’re bound to get hurt by guys who think they’re
King Shit, and that they have every right to go after however many girls they
want. I expect guys from my own time to act like pricks, but you…You make the
guys I’m used to look like amateurs. I’ve
never
been played like what
you did to me.”

“Played?”
he gaped. “I didnae play—”

“Why
didn’t you tell me you weren’t going to marry me?” I interrupted.

“God,
woman. It’s because I couldn’ae say it!” he yelled, darting in and taking my
mouth roughly as he held me to him.

I
pushed him off of me, wiping the back of my hand across my mouth. “You don’t
get to do that! You don’t get to reject me and think you can still kiss me!” A
tear fell down my cheek and I flicked it away with my hand. “I loved you.”

“I ken,”
he said quietly. “Or, at least, I’d thought ye might. I should’ae done somethin’
tae keep it from happenin’, but…I couldn’ae tell ye that we couldn’ae be
taegether.” His face morphed to one of pain and sadness as he gripped my arms. “I
couldn’ae e’en say the words tae ye.”

I tried
to look away from him, but he angled his head so he was always in my direct
view.

Searching
my eyes, he continued, “I didnae want them tae be true. Ye made me feel like a
man, a good one. One that could take care o’ ye and build a life. I let myself
believe that we could make it work, but I was just kiddin’ myself. Ye ken I
want ye, but I canna hae ye. Nae matter how I wish it were different.”

“You
won’t marry me because of who I am.”

His
face had hardened, some of that sadness being replaced by irritation. “I canna
marry ye because o’ who ye are not.”

The ‘T’
rang out with finality, and I stepped back, feeling like he’d slapped me.
Because
of who I’m not?

“You
have someone else,” I breathed, feeling the truth of it. “All along, you’ve had
someone else. You said it wasn’t likely you were going to get married, but you
were just buttering me up to get me here and marry me off to one of your
hard-up friends. Let me guess, it’s for the same reasons that Donnan wanted me:
I look well fed and healthy, and let’s not forget that I’m not related to any
of you. I know how pesky blood relatives can get when matchmaking. Well, good
job, Barbarian, you’ve done your duty to your clan.”

Cailen’s
jaw tightened, his eyes dark and ominous.

“I don’t
even know why you bothered to bring me all the way here. I wish you would have
just let me get shot that first day. It would have saved me a hell of a lot of
pain. Kinda surprised you didn’t find what out Donnan MacDougall was willing to
pay.”

The
second I saw his mouth open to speak, I lifted my hand, stopping him.

“You
know what, Cailen. I think you should just leave.” He didn’t move, so I took a
step toward him. “I’m serious. Get. Out. Of. Here. I don’t want to see your
face for another second. I don’t even want to waste another thought on you.”

It felt
like an eternity—an eternity that I was forced to stand there, holding back from
letting anymore tears fall, and getting a sore throat from the effort—but he
finally backed away and left through the door. I sat down on the chair in front
of the fireplace and started to cry as I listened to the sound of his boots
clomping
down the stairs.

****

“I’m verra sorry Cailen
broke yer door,” Ailsa said. She stood by the fractured door, peering at me
from a safe distance. When I didn’t say anything, she stepped inside and
clasped her hands together. “We’ve planned a banquet in yer honor. I dae hope
ye’ll join us for supper. Cailen mentioned that ye dinna much care for fish, so
our cook has been preparin’ a lamb.”

“Thanks,
but I don’t really feel like eating.”

“But ye
haven’ae eaten a thing since ye arrived. Surely ye must be starvin’.”

Not for
what she was offering. No, I had to stop thinking that way. I couldn’t let
myself think about him anymore.

I
blinked hard, trying to keep tears from pooling in my eyes.

“Oh
dear.” Ailsa frowned and sat beside me on the bed. “I ken how ye’re feelin’.
The men in this family are verra stubborn. I’m afraid Cailen takes after his da
in that regard.” She chuckled and fell silent before adding, “I heard the two o’
ye arguin’ earlier. I dae hope ye realize that he is tryin’ tae dae right by
ye. He’s no’ had the easiest life the last few years, and I believe wi’all ma
heart that he feels he’s daein’ what he must for ye.”

Alright,
so not thinking about him wasn’t working. I refused to cry in front of Cailen’s
mom, I just couldn’t break down in front of her. Instead, I rubbed a hand down
my face.

“Ye’re
in love wi’ him.”

I
peered over at Ailsa, blinking as I took in the features that seemed so vaguely
familiar. Probably because I could see a part of Cailen in her. “I thought I
was. Seems I was wrong.”

“The
heart is rarely wrong, lass. Sometimes it just falls for someone we canna hae.”

But why
didn’t he love me? And how had I fallen into this rut where I just felt like
giving up? I’d never given up on anything in my life, always refusing to be one
of those girls who thought their life was over because their boyfriend broke up
with them.

“Why
dinna we get ye ready for supper?”

I
chuckled. “I’m surprised you’re not asking me where I got these highly
inappropriate clothes. Everyone else who’s seen me in them has asked.”

“It’s
no’ ma business. Cailen spent a good deal o’ time today tellin’ us about how
special ye are, forby. I’ve ne’er heard him regard a lass the way he does ye.”
She patted my knee. “But, we should prob’ly get ye dressed in a proper gown. I’ve
had ma seamstress preparin’ somethin’ special for ye for the banquet.”

“Oh,
you really don’t have to do that. We bought that one just a couple days ago.” I
hiked my thumb at the brown dress that was tossed over the edge of the bed.

“And it’s
filthy.” She tsked. “Ye’ve traveled a great distance in that poor dress wi’out
so much as a break tae care for it.”

Yeah,
like I even knew how to take care of it without the help of Tide and Downy.

“Mum?”
a servant said from the hall. “I’ve boiled some water for Miss Elizabeth’s
bath. Will she be acceptin’ one?”

“Aye.”
Ailsa stood and approached the servant as she squeezed through with two buckets
of water. “I think a warm bath is just what ye need, dinna ye?”

I met
Cailen’s mom’s light blue eyes, and smiled. “I think you’re right. A bath is
exactly what I need.”

A while
later, I was clean, dry, and wearing a brand new dress that actually fit me.
The hot soak washed away some of my tribulation, which opened me up to actually
talking with Ailsa MacKinnon. As far as moms went, she was pretty cool. She
carefully avoided mentioning Cailen’s name. Instead, whenever she talked about
her family, she referred to them as her husband and sons. Mostly, she talked
about their home and their clan. Conall and Ailsa were the Laird and Lady of
Ardmoir, which meant that they maintained their small village and surrounding
area, and collected taxes from clan members who were sworn to the MacKinnon
Chieftain, who was now with the majority of the MacKinnon Clan on a different
isle.

We’d
left their home a short time later, me in my cream and green dress, and Ailsa
wearing one that was equally beautiful, which was trimmed with tartan. By luck,
they had planned an outdoor banquet under a sky that was cloud-free and just
starting to show a few stars in the waning light.

I
guessed that every member of their village was in attendance, working hastily
to bring chairs and tables from their homes and placing them in a big square
around the spit that held the body of a lamb as it cooked over the flames.
Women buzzed around, placing food and drink, plates, bowls, and cups on each
table.

“Is
there anything I can help with?” I asked, stepping out of the way as a speedy
woman rushed past me.

“Nae,”
Ailsa replied. “As one o’ our honored guests, we’d like ye tae hae the opportunity
tae speak wi’different members o’ our clan.” She steered me toward Conall, who
was among five other men, all of which were decked out in their matching kilts.

“What
do you mean ‘one of’ your honored guests?”

“Oh.
Well,” she said uncomfortably. “We’re also celebratin’ Cailen’s return. I hope
ye can find it in yer heart tae forgive him, at least for supper, since the two
o’ ye will be sittin’ next tae each other.”

I
gritted my teeth, only forcing myself to lessen the pressure as a twinge of
pain worked through my mouth. Did I really have to spend an entire meal sitting
next to the man who threw me away? “Fine. I won’t say anything mean to him, but
don’t expect me to play nice.”

Ailsa’s
mouth twitched. “Right then. Why dinna ye meet some o’ the men Conall is talkin’
tae? They’re verra nice, and quite excited tae make yer acquaintance.”

It
turned out that I’d already met two of the five men standing around Cailen’s
dad. They’d been in the hunting party that had returned with us earlier that
morning, and all five were friendly, bowing formally to me.

I
spotted Cailen out of the corner of my eye. He stood probably thirty feet away
from me, conversing with Gregor, his best friend and one of the men I
recognized from the hunting party, as well as a few other men I didn’t. He
glanced over, his eyes meeting mine and holding. I hastily turned away,
pretending to be completely engrossed in the man who was talking about herring.
Ailsa gave me an apologetic look, and I smiled in return. No brownie points for
herring boy. I hated fish, and based on the way he lit up while talking about
all the ways to fillet them, I knew there was zero chance I was marrying that
guy. If I was signing my life away to a loveless marriage, I wasn’t also going
to get stuck eating fish every day.