Page 37 of Highlander’s Lesser Evil

“My looms are all I have,” she whispered.

Annoyance flickered in him. “Now ye have me.”

“What of Jillian?”

“Ye two may write as often as ye like. No harm will come to her here,” he said calmly. “Gemma, we are married. Ye gave yerself to me last night. Ye always knew that ye would be returning home with me.”

“I just thought I would get some notice so I could say goodbye!” The tears in her eyes were real. “Give me one more day.”

“They all know ye are leaving, and they will be here in the morning to say their goodbyes. Ye will see them again. I promised that ye could visit, and I mean to keep that promise. Ye are mistress of my people, and ‘tis time for ye to meet them.”

And, in the fortress of MacDougal, she would be safe.

“If this is my last night here, then I will spend it with my family,” she said as she pushed the bowl aside and stood. “Do not wait up for me, Husband.”

“Gemma!” His voice was colder than he intended, and he reached out and took her arm as she tried to walk past. “I am yer family now. Doonae forget that.”

“My heart is big enough for all of you,” she said quietly. “I wonder if yours is.”

She left him alone, staring at the flickering light of the candle, and wondering if there would be any room left in her heart for him when she discovered the truth of the things he’d done in the past.

15

The last time Gemma had journeyed for so long on a horse had been when she’d first arrived at Loch Moran. Now she was arriving at MacDougal lands, as mistress, and her derrière had nearly no feeling left. She’d been too angry at Theo’s callousness to speak to him during the journey, let alone admit that she was in pain, but the pain had passed hours ago, and now she was just numb.

The problem now was when she got off her stallion, she was likely to collapse onto the ground. Thankfully, there was no fanfare. No lines of MacDougals eagerly waiting to greet their laird. When they rode by, few even looked over at them, and when they did, there was fear in their eyes.

Her stomach twisted. How could these people be afraid of Theo? Were they blaming him for the evil deeds of his father?

The MacDougal keep was massive. As there was no structure even near as grand in Loch Moran, she simply gaped at it. It rose on the top of the hill, a beautiful view with the mountains in the background.

This was her home now.

Waiting out front was a handsome, golden-haired vision who greeted them with a warm smile. “Theo! Ye have returned earlier than expected.”

“Aye, to situate my wife.” Dismounting his horse, he turned to Gemma. She didn’t want to touch him, but she also feared that she would not be able to gracefully get off the horse without assistance, and didn’t want to make a fool of herself in front of an audience.

“I am not a piece of furniture that needs to be situated,” she hissed softly so only he could hear as she put her hands around his neck. He lifted her easily to the ground, but her knees buckled when he tried to let her go. Humiliated, she grabbed onto him.

“What is wrong?”

“I cannot feel my lower body,” she admitted as humiliation spread through her.

“Why?”

Is the man really so thick?

“We have journeyed for two days, and we barely stopped,” she whispered. “I am not used to being on a horse for that long.”

“Why the devil did ye not say something?” His hand slid to her derrière; she squeaked and brushed it away.

“Because I am not speaking to you! Don’t do that! That man is watching.”

“That man is my brother.” There was a grain of pride in his voice. “Hamish, Laird of the Hamiltons. Hamish, this is my wife, Gemma,”

“Good to meet you, Gemma. I was pleased to hear that he had wed and sorry that I couldnae meet ye beforehand to warn ye off,” he teased as he moved to greet her. He took her hand and brought it to his lips for a kiss.

“Perhaps I should have held out.”