She awoke in her own bed and as she rolled over and looked up at the ceiling, she thought for a few moments that it had all just been a terrible dream. None of it could surely have happened? Creatures and men like that didn’t exist…
She tried to lean up on her elbows and realized that her wrists were tied with rope to the headboard and she was indeed wearing her wedding dress, the ivy crown still placed on the top of her head.
She shook her arms and tried to shake them free, but it was pointless, the ropes were so tight she stood no chance of getting herself loose.
“Elizabeth?” she called out as she frantically looked around the room. But her maid was nowhere to be seen.
She leaned up further and strained her eyes in the darkness to look around the room. The fire burned low in the hearth, but its embers cast just enough light for her to make out the outline of a foot resting against it.
“Hello?” she whispered.
“Muriel Calder,” the voice came from next to the hearth.
It came from a man. A man with a low, gruff, deep voice that commanded attention. She held her breath, not daring to respond. Her heart was racing and her palms were sweating. Whoever this man was, he was most certainly a stranger.
Is it my new husband? She thought. Did I pass out during the ceremony? Am I now a married woman and this is my wedding night?
The man got to his feet and stood at the foot of the bed. The low orange glow from the fire silhouetting him in front of her. As soon as she saw him in full, she knew there was no way this man was the same one she had stood with at the altar.
He was tall. His shoulders were broad. His hands were big and menacing. As he breathed his chest heaved with power and his hair was rugged and unkempt. This man was a giant. A warrior. He was power personified.
“Who…are…you?” she whispered.
The man took a step forward and her breath caught in her throat. As he moved out of the darkness and came forward enough so that the light fell on his face she could see now that he was the most handsome man she had ever seen in her entire life.
“I’m John Campbell,” he said strongly. “And I’m here to claim this castle… and you as my wife.”
Muriel blinked and shook her head. Had she heard him correctly? His wife?
“But…” she stammered, “I was betrothed to Lord Rose… the ceremony…?”
“The ceremony wasn’t completed,” John Campbell said sternly.
Muriel began to shake with fright. This man was part of the clan that had stormed the castle and had slaughtered members of Clan Calder.
“You… you’re a murderer,” she whispered.
“We are here to take the castle,” he said. “And to do so, I will marry you and make you my wife.”
“My family….” Muriel’s voice trailed off and she felt the tears welling behind her eyes.
“Your parents fled,” he said with amusement, “And your brothers are all safe and well. Do not fear. None shall be harmed.”
Muriel breathed a sigh of relief. She had been so worried about Hamish, the smallest of the boys. He was so young, so innocent, surely no one would harm him.
“The wolves,” she suddenly remembered, her hands shaking. And in an instant her mind jumped back to the memory of the peasant boy who had been carried into the Great Hall the previous day. Could the legends be real? Was this what her parents had been fearing all of this time? Had they known that one day a pack of wild wolves and men would storm into Cawdor and take over? She shuddered at the prospect as the man sat down at the end of the bed and she felt herself recoil with nerves.
He stared at her hard and with so much fire she barely knew where to look. His eyes burned holes into her and she felt completely exposed. Even though she was fully clothed, she felt as if she could have been tied there naked and on show for him to see.
He smiled and looked down.
“I’m sorry I had to tie you,” he said. “But I didn’t know how you would react when you woke.”
Muriel’s head was scrambled. She didn’t yet know how she felt… The last thing she could remember was that she had been betrayed by her parents and promised to a man she had never even met… and not only that, the man had been hideous looking and vile. Muriel knew that she would have been miserable with him… and now she had the handsome and strong John Campbell sat on the end of her bed… saying he wanted to claim her for his wife and take over Castle Cawdor…
Which is the lesser of two evils? She thought as she looked back at him and she felt her heart began to race as their eyes met.
She would have done anything to not marry Lord Rose… but there was something about John Campbell and his rugged power that was pulling her in. The sweet scent of his sweat mixed in with the dirt he had clinging to his skin was driving her crazy. She had never met a man so unruly and wild. He was like another species and she was intrigued. His handsome features were definitely more appealing… and she could easily see herself staying put at Cawdor and getting to know him much better as the days progressed.
She shook her head and snapped herself out of her daydream. When she focused she realized that he was still staring right at her with a devilish grin on his face. She felt her whole body go weak. She was completely at his mercy, with no way of escape.
“The Great Hall is waiting,” he said as he got to his feet. “We may as well put it to good use.”
He leant over her and began to untie the ropes at her wrists. Her irrational side told her to struggle, to try and break free and run from him. But common sense told her that she didn’t stand a chance. He had told her how it was going to be. She was his now.
And as she took hold of his big, rough hand and he led her out into the corridor, she realized that that certainly wasn’t an unappealing prospect. She smiled to herself and went willingly. John Campbell was a lot of man… and she wanted to know more…