Page 3 of Never Kiss a Highlander

Growing irritated at how the questioning was going and resenting the inference that he and his brothers were not honorable men, Finn leaned forward, his voice tight. “Craig made no commitment to ye about this position.”

“That is true. But yer brother, Robin, dinna honor a betrothal agreement.”

“As I said, I counseled him against that.”

The laird sat silent for a moment, continuing to study Finn. “So ye doona think it was a wise decision for The Mackay to make e’en though I understand ‘twas a great deal of feeling on his and his wife’s part. Ye doona believe in love?”

“Nay,” he answered quickly. “My brothers are both halfwits over their wives. They lack control. ‘Tis dangerous.”

The laird seemed surprised by his answer but was apparently ready to move on.

“There is currently a betrothal agreement between my daughter, Lady Alison, and the first Sinclair laird’s son. I want the match for two reasons. One, it will join the Mackays and the Sinclairs. Along with the connection yer clan has with the Sutherlands through Robin’s marriage, it will make the northern clans the most powerful in the Highlands.

“A second reason is since I no longer have an heir, and doona wish to marry again to produce one, The Sinclair’s son will take over the lairdship with Lady Alison as his advisor when I die. Hopefully, he and my daughter will produce many sons to continue the line.”

Almost shocked into silence, Finn took a deep breath and studied the man. “Excuse my disrespect, my laird, but with all the Mackay sons from yer chieftains, why no’ chose one of themto become Clan Chief upon yer death—that we hope willna be for a long time?”

He waved his question away as a small matter, making Finn consider that the man might be losing his faculties. “I doona want to cause conflicts among my clans,” the Clan Chief said, “and it was part of the agreement with The Sinclair.”

It took a bit of mental chewing to swallow what the man had planned for his succession. He could see more issues among the Mackay chieftains than what The Mackay considered a good way to avoid conflict by handing such an important position to another clan.

While Finn continued to dwell on this, Foster said, “My question to ye is, would ye have a problem swearing yer fealty to Sinclair when the time comes?”

Without hesitation, Finn said, “Nay.” There was no doubt that Sinclair would have a problem with the entire mess the Clan Chief had arranged, but he still wanted the job as second-in-command.

The laird stood, as did Finn. He stuck his hand out and Finn took the older man’s grip. Not as strong as it used to be, he noted. “Welcome to Castle Varrich, Finn. Get something to eat, get settled and we’ll meet back here tomorrow morning at first light.”

Lady Alison Mackay stared out the window of her bedchamber at the setting sun. One of the Mackay brothers had arrived a while ago and, since he hadn’t left, she was assuming he would be here in the morning.

She couldn’t tell completely which brother it was, but she had reason to believe it was Finn Mackay, the youngest of the three brothers.

And the handsomest.

He’d heard her da vehemently arguing with the council about taking another wife. That was what had led to her betrothal agreement.

Then when questioned by the council members about the lack of a strong second-in-command, Da had said he planned to take one of the Mackays from Dun Ugadale as his second. She had thought he would offer it to Craig Mackay, but she was certain it had not been him who had shown up.

Not that she cared much what was going on at Castle Varrich, her home her entire life. She was merely weeks away from her wedding to Archie Sinclair. Her perfect match.

He didn’t want her, and she didn’t want him.

The one time they’d met when their fathers worked out the betrothal, Archie let her know he had no intention of giving up his lemman when they married. The woman would share his bed and Alison would be settled in the bedchamber next to his at the Sinclair keep.

When it was necessary for him to plant a bairn in her—which was precisely how he’d said it—he would visit her bed until successful.

When the time came to move to Castle Varrich after her da passed away and he became the new Mackay laird, the trollop would be moving with him. Once Alison produced a few heirs, she could do what she wanted.

A bit taken aback at his brutal honesty, she made it plain that he could keep his lemman because she wanted the kind of marriage where he could do what he wished and the same for her. She would never listen to the orders and commands of a husband.

He agreed, reminding her of the duty to produce a few heirs before she took up with another man. She had assured him she was only too happy to have the kind of marriage that was truly one arranged for the benefit of their clans and she would not cause problems with his mistress.

Mistress!

She’d learned a very valuable lesson on what happens to a foolish woman who trusts someone with her heart. It was something she would never do again. In fact, she had felt quite happy with their conversation. If he had a woman he loved that much, he would never turn his attentions to her.

It did cross her mind what her da thought about Archie Sinclair and his lemman, but she was sure the man would not be crass enough to bring the woman to their wedding in a fortnight.

She was happy, her betrothed was happy and her da was happy.