Pledged to a Highlander (Highland Promise Trilogy 1)

“A word,” Royden commanded.

Emily pulled the door from her husband’s hand to swing it open. “Is something wrong, sir?”

“Emily!” Penn admonished. “We don’t question our chieftain.”

“When it comes to my husband, I do,” Emily argued, tears clouding her eyes. “I’ll not be losing you, Penn.”

Penn slipped his arm around his wife and before he could comfort her, Royden spoke up.

“Rest easy, Emily, you’re not losing your husband,” Royden said, though offered no more.

“It is good to know our chieftain is a man of his word,” Emily said.

Penn waited until he was a distance from the cottage so his wife wouldn’t hear him apologize. “Please forgive, Em, sir. She worries I will be lost to her.”

“As long as you remain faithful to the clan she will have no worry,” Royden said.

“I take it that my faithfulness is about to be tested?” Penn asked.

“It is,” Royden said and turned toward the edge of the woods to talk with him.

Penn stopped. “Too much lurks in the woods that can’t be seen.”

Royden turned and Penn followed as he led them both away from the village.

“You are to find out if Oria’s da helped the Beast,” he ordered as they walked.

“I am nothing more than a warrior, expected to fight not ask questions—”

“You refuse to obey me?” Royden snapped.

“No, sir, I tell you the truth and while I might be able to discover a small, most likely irrelevant piece of information, there is one who knows the information you seek.”

Royden went to ask who when it struck him. “Trevor.”

“Aye, sir. He is trusted by the Beast. They may not be brothers by blood, but they are brothers nonetheless. Trevor would know if Mistress Oria’s da helped the Beast with his plans.”

“Do you supply Trevor with information?” Royden asked.

“No. I report to Fergus,” Penn said.

“And what do you report?”

“Your status on warriors and weapons,” Penn said and when an angry scowl surfaced on Royden’s face, he was quick to continue. “I feed Fergus enough for him to believe I adhere to my task. I’ve made no mention of the many arrows you have Wilfred making or the iron work that keeps Cadell busy. It is good to know we will be well prepared if attacked.”

“Do we need to worry about that?” Royden asked, still hoping that in the end his love for Emily and his son was enough for him to remain loyal to the clan.

“With Trevor having brought his wife here, I doubt it. He, and definitely not the Beast, would ever put her in danger,” Penn said.

“Why would the Beast care about Trevor’s wife?” Royden asked, odd that the Beast who seemed to care for no one would be concerned about the woman.

Penn kept his voice low as if revealing a forbidden secret. “Trevor’s wife is the Beast’s sister.”

Oria rushed to catch up with her husband as he approached the keep, calling out, “Royden.”

He stopped, turned, and waited for her to reach him, his hand going out to take hers.

“We need to go talk with Chieftain Galvin. I discovered that he wasn’t going to attend our wedding and my da got angry and spoke with him and he changed his mind. Why hadn’t he wanted to attend?” She shook her head. “Purity never mentioned anything about it. She had looked forward to the wedding. Bayne as well. Why would their father refuse to attend? Could he have known of the attack?” She shook her head again. “But why let your son and daughter attend if you knew of the danger? And why attend yourself? We need to speak with him.”

It wasn’t until she stopped speaking that she caught the troubled look in his eyes.

“What’s wrong? You found something out and fear to tell me,” she said, providing her own answer.

“No, nothing about your da. Penn told me that Demelza is the Beast’s sister.”

That news brought Oria to an abrupt halt. “What could it mean that his sister now resides in the area?”

“I wonder the same,” Royden said. “I would only send my sister to an area that I knew was truly safe for her to reside.”

“That would mean he plans no more attacks here,” Oria said with some relief.

“Why though?” Royden asked. “He didn’t get all of what he wanted. Our clan and land is lost to him as well as Clan Macara.”

Oria had her own question. “And why after five years accept defeat?”

“From what I’ve learned about the Beast, he’s not one to accept defeat.”

“Either are we,” Oria said with a toss of her chin in the air.

He leaned down and kissed her cheek. “It’s a good day for a ride, wife.”

Oria grinned and squeezed her husband’s hand. “I could do with a good ride, then we can go visit Chieftain Galvin.”

Royden laughed, shaking his head. “You truly are a gem, wife.”

Realization struck Oria. “Oh, you meant a ride to Clan Macara.”