A Love Without Limits (Loving in the Highlands 1)

‘We better avoid them, Meg,’ Elsie says calmly. I feel the same way. I do not know how long I can contain myself, so it is better if we just do not meet them altogether.

‘I agree with you, but even though the castle is big, their room is right beside ours, so all I can do is to hope that they will not show up again in front of the door, looking for a fight,’ I reply. 'If they do not show up in front of our doors, then we will not encounter them anymore. But I have a feeling that they want to start a fight with us.'

‘We cannot make them not walk past our rooms,’ Elsie shrugs. ‘We shall try to avoid them ourselves.’

'In any case, even if they want to start a fight, we will not let them,' I say. 'We will always leave them disappointed,' I add, and we chuckle.

Kaithria

I slump onto my big luxury bed and my mother sits on her bed, away from mine.

‘Kaithria, did you notice how bad they were, those sisters?’ She says, playing with the edge of the luxurious pillow.

‘Of course,’ I say, even though I do not know what she means. I just do not want to raise her anger again. She is mostly bad-tempered and likes to fight with everyone.

‘I do not like that they are present in this castle,’ she goes on. ‘And especially I do not like that Megan, the elder sister. She looks rather beautiful. I noticed how she and the laird were looking at each other in the large hall.’

I have not noticed it, to be honest. While we were in the large hall, my future husband was standing by my side and introducing me to his clan members, like he should. Everything was as it was supposed to be. But my mother can always see the things that I cannot, and she is wiser, so I believe her. So that elder of the sisters, Megan is a direct threat for me, I think.

‘Well, you think of her as a threat, mother, but whatever happens, the laird is my future husband, and nothing, or no one can change it,’ I say calmly. 'He will always be on my side.'

‘Do not be stupid, Kaithria,’ my mother says strictly. Her eyes burn angrily. ‘You never know what can happen. You are naïve. Naïve enough to get yourself pregnant from someone else and getting in trouble.’

‘But I am not in trouble, mother,’ I try to explain myself. 'I will marry the laird, and he will think that the child is his.'

‘You are not in trouble, yet,’ she interrupts. ‘And I hope you will not get in trouble, ever. But for that, you need to get married as soon as possible, so that they laird will think that he is the father of the child. Do you understand me?’

‘Yes, mother, but how can I marry him as soon as possible, if he is the one deciding the date?’

‘You are not only naïve, but also silly, Kaithria,’ my mother shakes her head in disbelief. ‘If you cannot make him marry you soon, then you will need to get in his bed anyways. Your pregnancy is not shown yet. You have little time to get into his bed in case the wedding does not take place sooner. I need him to think that he is the father of the child. You have very short time until the pregnancy is noticeable. You must hurry up.’

‘But what will happen if I cannot get into his bed before the wedding?’ I try to imagine myself sneaking into his bed but I cannot imagine what his reaction will be. Will he agree? Will he get angry? Maybe he will even throw me and my mother out of the castle for such a behavior on my part?

‘You are so silly, Kaithria,’ she says angrily. ‘Your father does not know that you are pregnant. He will banish you if he finds out. The father of the child is someone with no good lineage or enough means – he is just someone from low origins. If your father finds this out, there will be lots of problems. If you do not make it in time, you will have to do an abortion and get rid of the child.’

I know. That is why I and my mother have hurried to Laird MacKinnon’s castle, so that we will rush him with the wedding until my pregnancy gets noticeable.

‘Mother, I will do anything to get into his bed, even if the wedding date is not soon enough,’ I say, just to make my mother happy. I really hope I will not have to do that, as Sloan will set a date for the wedding soon enough.

‘Good girl,’ my mother smiles at last. ‘Now I can see that you are my daughter – clever, like me. But until then, we must be very attentive and careful, so that those sisters will not get close to him, especially Megan.’