A Love Without Limits (Loving in the Highlands 1)

'I need these lands, my dear,' his voice is sugary-sweet again, making me gag. 'I want to be the owner of this property – just see how wonderful all these lands are, just look, look! And the only way I can make these lands mine is by marrying the owner of the lands, that is – you, my beautiful Megan.'

'Listen, are you out of your mind?' I say, a bit more loudly than I intended. 'Are you crazy or something?'

'That is not the correct way to speak with you future husband,' he says, as I try to contain myself. 'I’ll gie ye a skelpit lug!'

'You are my uncle! I can't marry you!' I shout in his face, my face burning with rage, as I cannot keep my anger inside.

'So what? I will be your husband in the near future,' he says, shrugging. 'I have decided it, and you must obey. So get ready for the wedding in a few days. I have already set the date for the wedding.

''Uncle! There will be no wedding. I do not agree to marry you!' I say loudly, barely keeping myself from slapping him.

'There will be, Megan, and I will organize and prepare everything,' he replies calmly. 'To be honest, nothing much will happen, as I mainly need to get married in a rush, just to have the lands and a beautiful woman in my bed whenever I want.'

I swallow in horror. I cannot imagine he can be like this.

'And my good friend will be Elsie's husband, so that she will not feel lonely,' he adds. 'Abhainn Brothaigh will be a good husband for her, I am pretty sure of it. Also, I will have an ally. It is important to have good connections with him.'

Abhainn Brothaigh? I have never seen him, but I have heard that he is a brutal and powerful man. As if the news of me marrying my own uncle is not enough, and now the news of my poor sister marrying a brutal man! I turn towards my uncle and slap him on the face, unable to control my rage.

He looks at me in surprise, touching his cheek in amazement. 'Wow, you are a fire! Haud yer wheesht! I hope you will be as passionate in bed. I would love to see you in my bed, passionate and fiery like this. I cannot wait. Just a few days until that day, though. And then you will know what the real slap is.'

I can hardly hold back tears. I turn and run away, back into the house, not quite realizing where I am going. I run through the corridors, trying to put as much distance between me and him as possible. I go up the flights of stairs and run along another corridor, up another flight of stairs, until I reach the small tower, which is usually empty. This is my hiding spot. Even when I was a child, whenever I felt down or upset, I came here and found peace. My heart is beating so fast, I think it will jump out of my chest.

I stand by the small balcony of the tower, hold onto the stony edge and look out. The fresh morning breeze makes me a bit calm, and my racing heart slows down a little. I take deep intakes of breath, trying to calm myself. What my uncle said is beyond believable, but knowing him, I am sure that he will do what he has planned. He cannot take the lands by force, but he can marry me by force, and everything will be as he wishes. I need to think of ways to ruin his plans, but nothing comes to my mind at all.

I wish Elsie were here right now – I could talk to her. Remembering Elsie, I remember that there is a man with whom she must get married. My eyes get teary again. How can we prevent all this from happening? I do not have much time – Uncle Murgan said that the wedding day will be in a few days. And everything will be lost then. I have just a few days to prevent this from happening. I decide to talk to Elsie, even though I do not want to make her upset, too. She will be horrified. But I cannot wait alone. She must know everything. Maybe she will be able to come up with an idea how to avoid all of this. She is a smart girl, and I am sure she can find a solution. Even though she will be upset and horrified, I decide to go and find her, and tell her everything that our uncle said to me.

I turn and walk out of the small tower, down the stairs and down the corridors. I was running when I came here, but now I am walking, taking my steps slowly, thinking all the time, and trying to find solutions myself before meeting Elsie.