Chapter Eighteen
“Arguing accomplishes nothing,” Alex said, growing weary of Laird Oliphant’s temper.
“Ye broke trust with me, Alex.”
“I could say the same of ye.”
The two men exchanged hard looks.
“The king willna approve of this unsanctioned marriage.”
Alex dinna care. “By the time he grants ye an audience, Keely will be heavy with child.”
“I am not leaving here without my daughter.”
“Then ye will not be leaving at all.”
Laird Oliphant grunted as he sat down in the closest chair and rubbed his temples. “The news of yer brother’s death saddened me.”
Alex took a deep breath. “The Sutherlands will pay dearly for it.”
“Ye are no match for the earl.”
“I willna wage open war on the man,” Alex said. “But my brother will be avenged.”
“Ye’d make my daughter twice a widow?”
“Does that mean ye accept our marriage?”
“I canna say yet. I am not a cold-hearted bastard—Keely’s feelings do matter to me. More than anything, I want to know why she ran to the Sutherlands instead of coming home. I dinna have a heavy hand with her as a child. If anything, I spoiled the lass.”
“Keely doesna need to be here to explain. The answer is simple. She tried to keep her word and married John out of obligation.”
“What else is there? Our fathers took wives chosen for them. Romantic entanglements are for the young who doona have titles and lands to secure,” Laird Oliphant said. “I commanded her to marry yer brother for strategic reasons.”
“Father,” Broc said. “If what the scholar told us is true, surely ye can appreciate Keely’s reason for not coming home. Would ye have let her stay? Though I will never understand why she chose the Sutherlands.”
“Of course not,” the laird said emphatically. “She would have been sent back to her husband.”
Alex knew there was no way to change the man’s mind yet. It would take time. So instead of deepening the resentment between them, he decided to invite him to stay. “Perhaps the best way to see that our marriage deserves yer blessing is to spend some time here.”
“Ply me with food and drink? Is that what ye plan to do?”
“I think it will help.”
Laird Oliphant rewarded Alex with a toothy grin. “I like the way ye think, MacKay.”
“Then it is settled?”
“Temporarily. Who am I to refuse eating and drinking on someone else’s gold? My sons are gluttons, and so are my retainers.”
“There is plenty of meat and bread on my table every night, Laird Oliphant—Father.”
“Doona get too comfortable throwing that title about, lad.”
Alex would wear the old man down little by little, until he had no choice but to accept him as a son-in-law. They left the solar together and returned to the great hall in search of Keely. When Alex dinna find her there, he sought out Mathe.
“Where is my wife?”
“At the loch.”
“Is she all right?”
Mathe cracked a rare smile. “When I informed her that she wasna free to traipse about unescorted, she threatened to punch me in the nose.”
“Aye?”
Mathe nodded. “I couldna risk it, Laird Alex—yer wee bride might pack a good wallop.”
Alex gripped the captain’s shoulder. “Ye made the right choice.”
Things were far from settled between Alex and his bride, but while her father was in his house, he must be more lenient with Keely. He couldna fight all of Clan Oliphant and hope to win. He walked outside and headed for the loch.
He found her alone.
“I dinna expect to see ye alive again.”
“Have ye so little faith in yer husband?” he asked, standing next to her.
“Tis not a lack of belief in yer abilities, Alex. I know my father—he’s a temperamental sort, believes any worthy cause should be settled with fists or swords.”
“A family trait, I believe,” he said humorously.
“What do ye mean?”
“Ye threatened my captain with violence?”
“Aye. I dinna need him following me about.”
“Yer escort isna just to make sure ye doona run away, Keely. I wish to keep ye safe.”
“From who?”
“Sutherlands.”
“And why would the Sutherlands wish me any harm?”
“Because ye’re my wife.”
Her blue gaze stayed on him as she absorbed his words. “I doona like to think that the earl or his sons would hurt me to get to ye, Alex. And I know ye hate them and have every right to.”
“Desperate men strike without warning or purpose, Keely. Men of honor meet on the battlefield.”
“Is that what ye think the earl is, desperate?”
“He is now,” Alex said. “He must live with the uncertainty of when and how I will retaliate for John’s death, and the murders of my tenants.”
“Doesn’t that make ye equally desperate?”
A fair question. Did it? Alex rubbed his chin. “Perhaps I am.”
“There must be a way to avoid more bloodshed.”
“Nay. I canna overlook what has been done. If I did, word would spread throughout the Highlands of how weak the MacKays have become. An eye for an eye.”
“And whose eye do ye wish to take?”
“I willna settle for any less than one of his sons.”
Keely nodded, but Alex dinna miss the worried look on her face. “Is my father ready to speak with me?’
“Aye—he’s accepted my invitation to stay with us for a while. I wish ye to have some time with yer da, Keely, and yer brothers.”
“And where will ye be?’
“Fortifying the west villages and recruiting new soldiers.”
“How long will ye be gone?”
“Days at a time. But never too far away, lass.”
She hopped off the boulder and smoothed the wrinkles from her skirts. “I doona wish to keep my father waiting. He deserves the truth.”
Alex offered his arm. “I will take ye to him.”
*
Surrounded by her brothers and seated across from her sire in front of the main hearth in the great hall, Keely couldna keep from smiling. Her brother Simon tugged on a strand of her hair.
“Ye’re glowing,” Simon teased.
“Tis warm in here,” she said.
“Are ye happy, lass?” Broc asked.
As a child, Keely had been immeasurably happy. Her sire had indulged her, perhaps too much, because he felt guilty for her mother’s death. Everything changed when she was sent to the MacKays for that first summer at the age of thirteen. Laird Oliphant thought it would benefit her immensely to spend time away from home, in preparation for when she would marry and be expected to run her own household.
Whether her da had planned it or not, Keely did fall in love with one of the MacKay sons. And Alex’s father had always been affectionate with her, inviting her back every year. She looked about the familiar space and frowned when she saw the sheet again.
“What troubles ye?” Gavin, her second eldest brother asked.
“Tis nothing.” She dinna want to ruin the moment.
“Keely…” His eyebrows arched.
“The bridal bed sheet is an embarrassment.”
“Why?” Her other brother, Justice, asked. “The proof of yer purity is an honor to yer husband and all of us.”
“I doona want it there,” she complained.
“Very well.” Broc yanked it down and balled it up. “If anyone complains, send them to me.”
Keely jumped up from her chair and hugged her brother. “Thank ye, Broc. All of ye. Father.”
“For what, lass?” the laird asked.
“Coming here.”
“Ye are an Oliphant. And we take care of our own,” her father said. “But doona think all the pleasantries mean we’ve forgotten yer sins. What ye did was wrong. And I require an explanation.”
Her shoulders drooped as she slipped back into the chair and faced her sire. “I am sorry that I disappointed ye, Father.”
He blinked. “I am accustomed to disappointment, lass. With seven bairns, a man gets used to it. Tis the deception that’s eating a hole in my gut.”
“Deception?”
“Running off in the middle of the night instead of facing yer problems like a woman.”
Keely folded her hands on her lap. Aye—she’d acted irresponsibly. She’d given up her heart’s desire as her father had demanded. Her flight from the MacKays hadn’t been premeditated. “I dinna plan to run away.”
“Did John harm ye? Force ye to do anything? Curse ye?”
“Nay.”
“Did ye feel unwelcome here?” he continued.
“Father,” Keely started, eyeing her four brothers in search of support. “It had nothing to do with how I felt about Laird John or Clan MacKay.”
“Ye’re being deliberately difficult, girl.”
“Nay. I just want ye to understand why.”
“I’ve asked ye a dozen questions and am more confused than I ever was.”
Gavin and Simon snickered.
“She’s a woman, Father,” Simon offered. “Doona try to make sense of it.”
She leaned back in her chair, waiting while her brothers laughed at her expense. The years apart hadn’t diminished the true affection she had for her family, nor had her siblings matured.
“I couldna face ye,” she admitted, deciding to keep the explanation simple. Truth was truth no matter how she expressed it. Her body belonged to her, and as far as she was concerned, that meant her choice in husband should belong to her, too.
“Do ye have anything to be ashamed of, lass?”
“Nay, Father. Unless there’s shame in loving a man.” She watched her da for a long moment. Would he accept her reasoning? More importantly, would he bless her marriage, allow her to stay with Alex?
Laird Oliphant tugged on his beard. “Tis my fault, I shouldna have expected a mere girl to do a woman’s work.”
Finally, something they could agree on!
“I will have a full accounting of what transpired while ye were with the Sutherlands. And doona think the earl willna be held accountable. If I had taken his only daughter in without sending proper word, the man would have been banging on every gate in the Highlands until he found her.”
“Aye, Father.”
“Furthermore,” he boomed. “Ye will promise to never run away again.”
Just as she was about to swear, she remembered her earlier conversation with Petro. In truth, taking a secret trip to Dunrobin Castle would be considered the same as running away, wouldn’t it?
“Well, lass?” Broc said softly.
“I promise.” She couldna refuse to say it—her sire had required it as a condition for forgiveness.
“Tis settled then.” Her sire stood and opened his arms. “As for yer marriage, I will make that decision later. Give me a hug.”
Keely was only too happy to embrace him again. She’d always felt safe in her father’s strong arms—the same way she was beginning to feel about Alex.
“Now, where is my son-in-law?” Laird Oliphant asked much to Keely’s surprise.
“In the bailey training with his captains,” Broc directed him.
Once their father had left, Broc pulled Keely aside. “I am sorry for smacking ye, Keely.”
She stared at the floor. Ten years older than she, Keely had always regarded Broc as the champion of their family. He was the future laird and very much like their father. She gazed up at him and the anger that had flared inside her when he hit her faded. “I forgive ye.”