Highlander's Trials of Fire

“Me Laird, it’s been great talkin’ with ye.”

“Aye,” Laird MacLagain said, nodding his large head. “It sure has.”

That odd response was enough to make Matthew think that things had not gone as well as he had hoped. Leaving the goblet on a nearby end table, he made his way out the room. He was hoping to linger outside to perhaps listen on what they would say, but then he saw the guard waiting for him outside.

That… wasnae good.

Matthew had not expected this to be easy, but he definitely had not expected to leave feeling so unfulfilled. Miss Jonet’s instant refusal had been his worst-case scenario, yet he was certain that he would be able to overcome that with his smooth words.

There was something else. It had almost felt as if she hadn’t trusted him and did not want to. Her dislike was not something he could fathom. He wondered if his plan was truly as good as he thought.

The moment the insecure thought popped in his head, he dismissed it. This was his livelihood. This was what he had spent nearly all of his adult life doing. Conning people out of their money. Now that Matthew wished to put his past behind him and live an honest life, there was only one final con he had to pull off.

To persuade the Laird’s daughter to accept his proposal was the first step.

“Pa, I cannae believe ye!”

Laird MacLagain heaved a sigh so great, Jonet was surprised it did not rattle the walls. She did not cower in the face of it, however, like so many other men would. To her, her father was not the imposing man who lorded over his lairdship, he was the concerned parent who was only doing what he believed to be in her best interest.

For that, she could not be mad. She knew he was only trying to help her. After the deaths of her first two betrothed, the Laird had been ridden with his own guilt and wished to do anything to relieve his daughter of the pain within her. Jonet was no stranger to his feelings, nor his intentions.

Though when it was expressed like this, she had to put a stop to it.

“He seemed like a fine man,” her father argued. “Ye dinnae even give him a chance.”

“Ye dinnae even get to ken him before ye accepted him! Can any man walk in here and marry me simply because they ask?”

“Of course nae, me dear.”

Her father’s uncharacteristically soft tone was what calmed her spirit. She too sighed, though it was much gentler.

“I understand yer intentions, Pa. Truly, I do. It would do us both good to have me married as quickly as possible. But nae to him…”

“Why nae?” he asked, his tone twinged with curiosity. “Ye seemed so opposed to him before he even had the chance to get to ken him. With Murdock, ye were eager to be married to him the first time ye met.”

Because she had instantly liked Murdock. He was so open, so honest with his feelings and his intentions. She had been willing to marry him the day she met him and when she got to know him a bit more, she was happy too.

Matthew did not seem honest. He seemed… perfect. Too perfect. Saying the right things that would have made any other woman fall instantly for him. Jonet supposed she would have too, captured by his good looks and his smooth tongue. Now, however, she chose to listen to instincts, the ones that told her he was not all he seemed.

He hadnae mentioned anythin’ about me curse. He must ken, I’m sure.

That was what baffled her the most. The fact that he had come all the way here after hearing rumors of her beauty, rather than the rumors of her curse, felt improbable to her. Surely, he knew of the fact that anyone who was betrothed to her was destined to die. Surely, he was aware of the danger he was putting himself in harm’s way by even asking for her hand. Yet, he had pretended as if he hadn’t a clue. That was another reason why she could not trust him.

“He does seem as if he has a wealthy trade, Jonet,” her father said. “Ye will nae be marryin’ someone who lacks in wealth if that’s what ye’re afraid of.”

“I’m not.”

How can I get him to understand?

“I simply daenae trust him, Pa. And I’ve learned nae to ignore me instincts.”

“Then will ye at least consider courtin’ him, then? After ye get to ken him, maybe he will nae be as bad as ye think.”

Jonet relaxed her shoulders with an inaudible sigh. She could see the worry in her father’s eyes. Jonet knew that he only hoped she was not alone for her own future. Being married would not only dispel the rumors but secure the inheritance of the Lairdship. This was not only about her.

She stepped into her father’s arms. It had been some time since she had last embraced him like this; since he had last wrapped his arms around her. Though once they were embracing each other, it felt as if no time had passed at all. The last time had been as she had cried following the death of her betrothed. Now, she wished to comfort him, to let him think she was all right even though she truly wasn’t.

“I understand that ye worry for me, Pa,” she spoke softly into his chest, dwarfed against his massive stature.