Page 104 of Wedded to the Devilish Highlander
“Och, that’s nae fair!” Reid shouted from the table. “But possibly true, too.”
Eileen laughed.
“We’ve got ourselves a family reunion here,” Thomas drawled. “I’d like to catch up, but I have to wrap up some business with Laird MacLennan first. We have some things to discuss.”
“About O’Gunn?” Eileen asked.
Thomas looked at Archer before looking back at his sister with a smile. “Aye, him and some other things.”
“She’s far too brilliant to let anythin’ slip by her,” Archer noted.
“I should leave ye men to it,” Eileen said. “I’ll be in the solar.”
“I’ll come find ye when we’re done,” Archer offered.
Eileen smiled and was about to leave when Thomas called, “I spoke to Piper—she’s packin’ yer belongings as we speak, although I ken ye didnae leave with much. Did ye,lad?”
She smiled, then her lips tightened. “We’re leavin’?”
“Aye, that’s why I came,” Tomas said. “I promised Maither that I’d come here to escort ye and Reid back home. I willnae let anythin’ else happen to ye. Ye are both too important to me.”
“Aye,” Eileen muttered. “When?”
“Most likely in the morn,” Thomas replied. “Reid insists that he’s strong enough to leave now, but ye ken how he is.”
“Aye, I do,” Eileen said tersely. “I’ll leave ye both to it.”
She quickly left the room.
“Go grab yer sword then,” Reid challenged their brother. “A wee bit of sparrin’ and we’ll see who’s fit to ride home.”
“Good sirs, I would ask for nay quarreling in me castle,” Archer interjected, “but when it comes to braithers, there’s often nay stoppin’ it.”
“Aye, Reid kens how the fight will end, but he has his injuries to blame when it does.”
Reid laughed and stood up when his brother got back to the table. He clapped Thomas on the shoulder, and they both laughed together.
Archer enjoyed the candor.
“Ale!” he called to the footman. “And a bottle of whisky from the cellar.”
The footman nodded and hurried out of the room.
“Gentlemen, we have a lot to celebrate,” Archer declared as he made his way to the table. “I ken this is a new togetherness between the clans, especially ours. O’Gunn’s been a threat for a long time, but he willnae be anymore.”
“On that topic, I’d like to talk about yer betrothal,” Thomas said. “I ken these are tryin’ times, but I’d have liked to receive a letter about it. I’ve nay quarrel with ye, but I needed to get that off me chest.”
“Aye, that’s fair,” Archer conceded. “Truth be told, the betrothal was a sham from the beginning.”
“Aye?” Thomas asked, raising an eyebrow.
“Aye. And we couldnae tell anyone what was happenin’, or it would have weakened us.”
Archer thought about how much he should tell the two brothers. Looking back on it now, it seemed a little selfish to ask Eileen to pretend so he would look for her brother. It had made sense at the time, but it felt a little unfair, now that he knew her better. Still, another reason had emerged.
“I needed time to look for Reid after I discovered he’d come to speak with me, and I assumed O’Gunn was behind it, which turned out to be true. With all of that goin’ on, I couldnae hand over Eileen to O’Gunn after I kenned he wanted her hand. I thought it was the best way to keep her here. And I willnae lie—it also kept me maither and council off me back.”
“Aye, maithers can be persistent,” Reid said. “To be honest, I dinnae care for yer reasons; I only care they ye saved me life. And ye might have put Eileen in danger by keepin’ her here, but ye saved her life when it was threatened. Who kens how O’Gunn would have treated her if he got his hands on her?”
