Page 18 of To Claim His Highland Bride

Marcus picked up then sheathed his sword, noting the glances of the MacLeod clansmen had shifted from tense to interested. “I’ll not ask any of you to put yourselves in danger over my cousin’s folly.”

Mathe and Crayton, two of the men who had held him back from Bryce, stepped towards Marcus. “What if some of us want to come with you?” The two men’s gazes passed over several of the others on the shore. Many nodded their agreement.

“Treasure hunting is a dangerous business. I am honoured by your request, but your duty is to Dunvegan and Laird MacLeod, first and foremost. But,” Marcus added, drawing out the word, “when Alastair returns, and if he agrees, I could take ten of you with me as long as you understand the hazards you might face.” He would have them fully aware of the risk to their lives before they ever set foot on his ship.

The men started talking excitedly amongst themselves as they and Aria headed back towards the castle. Bryce returned to his boat and rowed away. And finally, when he could avoid looking at her no longer, Marcus’s glance lifted from the sodden hem of Rowena’s gown to her trim waist and upwards to the creamy flesh of her bosom. Her chin tipped up and he allowed his gaze to lift to her lips. He wondered how her lips would taste now that they’d been apart for so long . . .

As if following his thoughts, she slowly stiffened, steel infusing her. He was jerked back to full awareness when her lips firmed. He glanced up at Rowena’s eyes—and found them blazing. “You’ll sacrifice your goals to save your parents, but spare nothing for me?”

He opened his mouth to tell her his parents had no one but him, but she silenced him with a daggered look.

“I am sick to death of the MacDonalds. First, I am kidnapped and held prisoner by your laird, Alexander MacDonald, and almost raped by your cousin, Bryce. Six months later, Bryce kidnaps and holds me hostage, and then a second time threatens my life with a blade to my throat. Then there is you . . . You claimed to love me, but now that you are a wealthy man, you cast me aside.”

“I’ve explained my reasons.”

Her gaze hardened. “If you truly loved me, you would have asked me to go with you while you assuage your guilt and offer settlements to the families of the men you lost.”

He bristled at her implication that it was his own guilt that drove him, but a heartbeat later recognised her words as the truth. It was the guilt that he had survived their attempts to bring the treasure to the surface, when others had been dashed against the rocks, eaten by sharks, or drowned. So he offered the only other reason he had not asked her to travel with him. “Travel has become extremely dangerous with English patrols camped across the Highlands.”

“More dangerous than being kidnapped in your own garden or along the shore of your home? There is danger everywhere. You need not pretend any longer that is the reason for your change of heart.”

He couldn’t argue with her logic. She’d experienced the harsh reality of the English occupying Scottish territory first-hand. Knowing he was outmatched, he asked, “What is it that you want, Rowena?”

“If you are going to take ten MacLeods with you on your treasure hunt, then I want one of those MacLeods to be me.”

He shook his head. “Alastair would never allow that.”

“He would if you married me before we left.”

His eyes widened at her suggestion. “Marry you? Why would you want to marry me? Only a moment ago you were railing against all the MacDonalds. Why would you want to become one yourself?”

“Our union will protect me from the men aboard your ship.”

Perhaps, but who would protect her from him? “You are not coming with me.” His words were firm.

She ignored his response. “Prove to me that not all MacDonalds are abominable humans. Besides, if we do not consummate the marriage, then we can have it annulled upon our return.”

Not consummate the marriage while being confined to close quarters for weeks on end when the obvious attraction that had brought them together still existed between them? There had to be more to this mad idea of hers. “Why is it so important you come with me to locate the treasure?”

“Because I want a fair share of the treasure so I can create a future for myself, by myself.”

He frowned. “Your family will never allow you to go off on your own.”

She scowled at his quick response. “Aye, they will. Changes abound at Dunvegan. Orrick and Isolde are away at Dunshee Castle. Tormod and Fiona are rebuilding Ulster Castle for a future home. Alastair and Gwendolyn are starting a family. No one needs me to be their spinster sister. And I am tired of everyone abandoning me. So I will start a life of my own where the only person who can disappoint me is me.”

She would never leave her family. Would she? “What about Callum?”

“Callum is an adult now. He will find his own way eventually and have no need of me, just like the rest.”

Marcus understood her pain at being left behind by those around her. He’d experienced the same thing amongst the MacDonalds. He’d wanted more out of his life than constant warring with the other Highland clans, especially the MacLeods, for no particular reason other than to disrupt the status quo. That was why he’d started sailing—to escape it all. First in a small dinghy he’d reclaimed from the sea, then larger boats that he’d rescued, repaired, and sold in order to finally purchase a sailing ship.

A ship of his own had been his only dream, until he’d met Rowena along the shores of Loch Dunvegan and had started to dream of other things. But those dreams had come to an end when tragedy had befallen his first treasure-hunting exploration. He’d convinced himself that making settlements on his lost crew members’ families was more important than Rowena.

They’d never really talked about their goals and dreams with each other in the past. Reviewing his own dreams and hearing her articulate her own made him pause. He’d never realised how alone and isolated Rowena had been after the death of her parents and when her three oldest brothers left her to pursue their own lives away from Dunvegan. She had love, affection, and concern for her family, yet she wanted something of her own. The very idea made her seem more real to him than she ever had before.

Marcus stilled as another thought occurred to him. Like the sailors he’d lost, did he owe her something tangible to compensate for a life that no longer included marriage to him? A resigned sigh escaped him. “I would agree to sharing a portion of the Cave of Gold’s treasure with you if you stay behind at Dunvegan.”

“Nay,” she replied in a tight voice. “I want more.”