A Love Without Limits (Loving in the Highlands 1)

I hold my breath at those words, feeling my heart beating faster. Elsie gasps.

'I see,' Anabel says. 'So maybe these girls are just distant family of him?'

'It can be,' Forba replies. 'And both of the girls are nice. They can be family with the Laird, for sure. Now, let's go, Anabel, make some breakfast.

I wait until they walk away, then I turn and look at my sister. She is as pale as me. I cannot believe what I just heard. There is an unpleasant silence in the hallway after the sound of the maids' footsteps wears away.

Elsie starts slowly shaking her head in disbelief. I do not know what to do or to say. Not wanting to say anything to her, I walk quickly towards the exit of the castle. Forba said that Sloan was training, so he may be outside. I need to speak to him. Elsie understands and does not ask questions. I look back as I walk along the hallways - she is not even following me, knowing that it is my and Sloan's business right now.

What if the maids were wrong? What if Forba does not have the right information? What if she was speaking about another Laird, and not Sloan? What if? But deep inside my mind I am sure that Forba knows everyting, and there is no other Laird in Domnhall Castle. I am sure that the maids were talking about Sloan's fiancée. I quicken my steps as I near the main doors, eventually starting to run.

I storm out of the castle's main doors, without looking around. So he deceived me? He has a fiancée, while he was going to marry me? How could he be such a liar?!

I walk past the green park, go towards the back of the castle, not knowing where the training is taking place. I walk, looking around, and turn right, behind the wall. Then I come face to face with Sloan, as he is training with his men. He is topless, and his torso is stunningly beautiful. He notices me and stops training.

‘Lady Megan?’ he says, coming forward, but I cannot speak, as my eyes are fixed on his naked torso, with black hair on his muscular chest, broad shoulders, and strong arms. ‘What are you doing here?’

I return to my senses and remember why I am here. Anger sweeps over me again, making me blush – or maybe I have blushed because of seeing him half-naked.

‘Laird MacKinnon, can I please talk to you for a moment?’ I ask in a soft voice, looking at the other men over his shoulder who want to see what is going on. They look at me with interest. I do not want any of them hear what I have to tell Sloan. We need to have the conversation in privacy.

Sloan nods and walks behind the wall, where there are the barns and stables. We retreat from the others and stop walking when we see that we are completely alone.

‘What is the matter, lady Megan?’ he asks again, looking into my eyes with a bit of worry. I think he knows what I am going to tell him. I have no idea how to start the conversation, but I know that I cannot just stand here in silence – I interrupted his training, so now I must start talking somehow and say whatever comes to my mind.

‘Laird MacKinnon, how could you deceive me like that?’ I say, feeling my breath coming out in intervals. ‘You lied to me.’

‘What do you mean?’ He asks in a neutral tone, but I can see anxiety rising in his beautiful eyes. I am sure he knows what I mean. He just wants to make sure that I know about his lie.

‘I heard the maids talking about your fiancée,’ I say, trying to keep my voice steady. ‘You did not tell me that you had a fiancée,’ I add fiercely. 'You lied to me, laird. You did not tell me the truth in the morning when we first arrived. I told you about the promise, and you did not say anything about your fiancée.'

The expression changes in Sloan’s eyes. He looks passionate right now, and I don’t know why. It seems like he admires me. He is silent. He is just watching me.

‘Do you have any explanation for this?’ I insist, raising my eyebrows.

He takes a deep breath, shrugs and says:

‘Listen, lady Megan, everything is so complicated. In fact, I and your father never agreed on me marrying you, the final decision has never been made. So I found another girl.’

I look into his eyes, all my dreams shuttering down with a loud noise, as if hitting my feet, hurting them.

'I could not tell you that in the morning, when you first came here, tired but hopeful that everything was going to be all right. I did not know what to say or how to say it. I decided to tell you later. Today, but a bit later. But it turns out that you learned the truth by yourself, before I had a chance to tell you it. I am sorry for hurting you,' he adds.