“Who is Richard Armstrong, and why did ye leave yer home because of him? Do I have to drag the entire story out of ye? As yer laird, yer well-being is my business. If ye need protection of any sort, I need to ken.”
After all this time—and distance—she’d managed to push Richard and everything he’d threatened to the back of her mind. But there was no doubt the time would come when she needed to face that problem. ’Twas indeed better if she shared it now rather than after he left her to return to Argyll. Should Richard make good on his threat, he would show up here eventually.
“Richard is the neighbor to the north of our lands. He arrived at my front door a week after my da passed. He had a paper in his hand that stated he and I were betrothed.”
“I take it this was a surprise to ye?”
She nodded. “I must admit the signature on the paper was my da’s. But I honestly do not believe he would give me to that man.” She shuddered, which, of course, Evan noticed.
His lips tightened, and his grip on the horse’s reins stiffened. The tension in his body had his horse shifting, feeling the anger of its rider. “Continue.” No questions from him, only his request for her to continue.
“I dinnae want to marry the man. He’s vile.”
Evan leaned forward, the fire coming from his eyes a frightening sight. “Did he touch ye in any way? Did he harm ye?”
At first she didn’t understand what he meant, then when she realized he was referring to rape, she smiled, which had him looking both angry and confused. “Nay. That was never an issue.”
His brows rose to his hairline. “The mon showed up at yer door with a betrothal paper, and ye weren’t concerned he would violate ye?”
“Nay.”
“Must I drag the rest of the story from ye?”
Katie looked off into the distance, not wanting to face him with her words. “Richard prefers the affections of young lads.”
Evan sucked in a breath. “Yer brother.”
“Aye.”
Nothing was said for a few minutes, just the far off sound of small animals scurrying about and birds overhead, searching for food. The soft wind blew in her face, and just the words spewing forth after holding them in all these months calmed her.
“Do ye have reason to believe he will follow ye here?”
“At first I dinnae think so. I told myself he wouldn’t make such a trip, but I don’t know for sure.” She twisted in the saddle and looked at Evan. “Ye see, Richard dinnae like to be thwarted. With the paper supposedly signed by my da, he feels he has the right to come after me and drag me back to Stirlingshire.”
“Ye and yer wee brother.”
“Aye.”
Evan ran his hand through his hair. “Even if the betrothal was signed by yer da, which I doubt, given what ye just told me about the mon, those things can be broken.”
“If he accepts that. I hate to say this because it embarrasses me so much, but he’s had his eye on Gavin for a couple of years. I think da being alive, even though he was absent a great deal of the time, kept him from doing what he wanted with the lad.”
“Ye have nothing to be embarrassed about, lass. ’Tis the mon’s shame, not yers.”
“What can I do?” It amazed her how quickly she’d grown to rely on Evan. Aye, he was her laird, and based on his actions so far, he was a caring man and a staunch leader of people. But she felt a certain connection to him that she’d never felt before with any man.
“’Tis my problem now. If the mon thinks he has a strong reason to fetch ye back home, he will come through the front door with his paper in hand. We will rely on that for now. But with all the others arriving from yer clan, he could easily slip in if he feels ye might naysay him. ’Twill be best if ye set up some method to check everyone arriving from yer clan.”
“Aye. That’s a good idea. I can have Colum and Meggie stay by the door. The rest should be arriving soon.”
Evan reached out and touched her hand. “Ye have nothing to fear. I will protect ye and yer brother.”
Katie felt as though a huge burden had been lifted from her shoulders. Evan moved his hand from hers and cupped her face. “I won’t let any harm come to ye. Do ye trust me?”
She licked her suddenly dry lips and nodded. “Aye. I trust ye.”
“Good. Let’s return to the castle so ye can speak with Colum and Meggie.”