Page 10 of A Laird and a Healer

“Caroline, ye must see that this is madness. Ye saw the way he is! Last night I thought he was gaeing tae throttle us. He threatened tae kill us, and now he wants tae marry ye. What is he gaeing tae want taemorrow? He is dangerous. Ye cannae stay here.”

“I dinnae hae a choice.” Caroline flailed her arms in frustration and rose from the bed, striding towards the window. She took a breath to gather herself and then spoke again.

“Believe me, I dinnae like this anymore than ye two, but I have tae think about what’s best for us all. If two of us hae the chance tae be happy, then the other must suffer.”

“But only if the other is ye,” Nessa spoke bitterly, folding her arms over her chest and shaking her head. Caroline offered a resigned smile and shrugged.

“It’s the way it hae tae be.”

“Nae, I refuse tae accept it.”

Caroline walked up to her sister and put her hand on Nessa’s shoulder, looking deep into her eyes. “Nessa, ye hae always been a fighter. This quality hae served ye well, and ye are gaeing tae need it in abundance for the future because ye are gaeing tae need tae keep Tara safe. But sometimes fighting only makes things worse. Laird Knox could hae killed us, but instead he gave me a choice. It’s nae much of a choice, aye, I’ll concede that, but it’s better than death.”

“Is it?” Nessa challenged.

Caroline flinched slightly. She drew her hand away and instinctively brought it to the hollow of her throat, where she usually fondled the emblem of her clan to comfort herself. But the tufted vetch had been callously torn away, and now her skin was bare.

She flushed when she thought about Knox’s fingers grazing against her skin and snatching it away. Glancing down, she was certain she would have found scorch marks, such was the intensity of his touch. Her skin was unblemished, however, at least to sight. She was sure there was something running deeper, that some kind of mark had been left upon her.

There was something compelling about Laird Knox. She wished there wasn’t, but it was as though now that she had met him, all of her thoughts turned towards him, and her body tightened with tension whenever he crossed her mind. He possessed a dark intensity from which she could not turn away. In its own way, it was beautiful, such as a storm on the horizon that flickered with fury, that bawled with thunder and crashed with lightning and was utterly captivating.

Whenever she saw such a storm in nature, she knew in her rational mind that she should turn and seek shelter, but always found her feet rooted to the spot and her vision locked on the horizon. It was the same with Laird Knox, and she hated herself for it. In a way, it felt as though she was betraying her sisters, even betraying herself.

“There’s naething else I can dae,” Caroline said weakly, resigned to her fate.

Nessa hung her head, looking entirely despondent. She ran her hand through her wild hair and then uttered a frustrated extortion, spinning away from Caroline and storming to the window. She flung open the shutters, letting the cold air in, and placed her hands on the ledge, looking outwards. Caroline shuddered. Tara grabbed a blanket off the bed and wrapped it around her shoulders, glaring at Nessa.

“What if there is an alternative?” Tara asked.

“Like what? Throwing ourselves out of the window?” Nessa muttered.

Tara grimaced, but ignored her sister’s words and focused on Caroline. She beckoned Caroline to join her on the bed, opening up the blanket to show her that there was room for both of them. Caroline sank onto the bed and nestled close with Tara. Warmth immediately enveloped her and the small shivers of her body stopped.

“What if ye dae marry him, but ye try to get him tae help us?” Tara suggested.

“Help us?”

“Aye, surely if ye are his wife then ye will be afforded certain opportunities. Ye will hae his ear and ye can convince him tae get rid of Uncle. There is nae love lost between our clans.”

Caroline furrowed her brow. She wouldn’t have expected Tara to come up with something so incisive. It was a sign that she was getting older. Soon enough Tara was going to have to stop thinking of her as a child and recognize that she was a woman in her own right.

“Ye are suggesting that we use him as a weapon?”

Tara rolled her shoulders and wore an innocent expression. “I would nae put it like that exactly, but aye. If ye fear that Uncle will continue tae search for us, then this is a way tae deal with him. Send the vipers against each other.”

Before Caroline could answer, Nessa turned around, laughing.

“Dae ye think he’s gaeing tae listen tae ye? Ye may end up being his wife, but he will never listen tae yer advice. This is yer lot in life,” she stretched out her arms and gestured to the rest of the rooms. “Oh aye, ye might well hae a better room than this one, but ye will always be a prisoner. Caroline, he is only ever gaeing tae dae what he wants tae dae. He is just like our uncle, brutal and cruel. Ye cannae marry him because ye will only ever be unhappy. I dinnae know why we are even discussing this. Tara, ye are as bad as Caroline. Hae ye both lost yer minds?”

Caroline felt Tara turning tense beneath the blanket.

“I’m only trying tae make best of the situation. It’s better than simply complaining,” she snapped.

“There is nae sense denying the reality of the situation. We cannae make life intae what we want it tae be, we must accept the lot we are given. This is the best way I can think tae keep ye safe. Aye, ye are right, he may well ignore me and treat me as a trophy. Sae be it. I may never hae influence and I certainly will nae hae love, and happiness will be a distant dream, but I will be alive and ye will be safe, and that will hae tae be enough. It’s getting late and we are all tired. I am nae gaeing tae speak about this any longer because we are gaeing around in circles. Get tae bed.”

She rose, and the blanket fell away. Tara pouted, clearly not enthused about sleeping next to Nessa. Caroline was despondent, fearing that without her to soothe the tension between them, the girls would be at each other’s throats.

Nessa cast her gaze over her shoulder. “And what if I hae an alternative?” she said softly. When her neck twisted around, there was a mischievous gaze stretching from cheek to cheek. Caroline knew to be suspicious of this expression.