Fated Hearts 02 - Highland Echoes (17 page)

“I’m sure that’s not the way they see it. I suspect yer da relieved Grandmother of her duties and is moving us outside the castle walls to put some distance between you and me.”

“Aye, well I’m certain of that but it won’t do any good. I won’t give ye up, Grace. He knows this. He agreed to it.”

“But he doesn’t have to make it easy. Honestly, Grandmother seems very happy anyway. Perhaps if ye stop visiting me until this month is over the gossip will die.”

“This gossip will die, whether I visit ye or not. I am going now to see if I can set a few things straight. I will be back in a bit and we will ‘climb the hill’ after Kristen wakes.”

“Really, Bram, I—”

“Nay, Grace, I don’t want ye hurt by this.” He gave her a quick kiss and left.

Ah, my love, I’m afraid that is inevitable
.

*

By the time Bram returned to Grace, his anger had cooled, but barely. When he started asking questions, people were more than willing to share whatever juicy tidbits they had heard about the woman he loved. According to the rumors, it was not only Bram who visited Grace. The other name most often linked with hers was Michael but if the stories were accurate, a quarter of the garrison, even some of the married men, visited Grace regularly.

He knew the tales were patently false. Not only was he confident in her love and fidelity, what the gossips alleged was simply impossible. She spent practically every waking moment weaving the ribbon his mother requested. He had watched her do the painstaking task, advancing less than a finger’s length an hour and she worked until she had an ell or more finished every day.

He staunchly defended her against each accusation, but soon realized she had been right. His denials were greeted with expressions ranging from skepticism to pity.

He was acutely aware of the stares cast their way as he left the castle walls with her to walk on the headlands. As much as he hated to give voice to all he had heard, he believed she would want to know. When they were well away from the castle, and Kristen was occupied picking flowers, he broached the subject. “Grace, after I left this afternoon, I tried to find out the nature of the gossip about ye.”

She nodded. “Was it as I feared?”

“Sadly, it was worse. Apparently I am not the only man ye are dallying with.”

She paled. “What? Bram, I didn’t—I’ve never…”

He wrapped his arms around her. “Wheest, love, I know that.”

“Who do they say I…I…”

“Frankly, about a third of the garrison, but most commonly, Michael MacBain.”

“I only know a handful of the men, and Michael? Michael is a friend. He was kind and helped me when I needed it. That is all.”

Bram arched an eyebrow. “Why would ye ask Michael for help instead of me?”

“In most circumstances I wouldn’t but ye were away at the time anyway. He was in the hall when yer mother asked me for the first ten ells. He saw that I was upset and offered to get Teasag to help me. He also found the small table I carry outside to work on and the piece of wood that I made Teasag’s loom from.”

“Aye, I remember ye mentioning that now.”

“Bram, this is much worse than I imagined.”

“I know it is, love. I have done what I can to stop the gossip.”

“I’m afraid that is like telling the tide to stop.”

“It will blow over, Grace.”

“Until it does, ye have to stop visiting me.”

“Why would I do that? It just gives ye more time for all those other men.”

Grace slapped his chest. “Stop teasing, this isn’t funny.”

He captured her lips in a quick kiss. “I’m sorry. But, I’m not going to stop visiting ye. Now that Innes will no longer be working late in the kitchens, we will be properly chaperoned. This will all be forgotten when we are married.”

*

Although Grace had prayed Bram was right about the rumors dying away, things only got worse.

The next day, the laird had all of their belongings put on a wagon and taken to their new home. While still very modest, it was much larger than the cottage in outer bailey had been. However, it was at the farthest edge of the village—the last cottage on the north side.

While Innes was thrilled, Grace heard the message Laird Sutherland was sending loud and clear. She suspected the villagers heard it as well—
I am displeased with Grace and moving her as far away from my men and my son as I can
. Consequently her new neighbors, people who she had begun to think of as friends, treated her as a pariah.

On Tuesday morning, after they had moved to the new cottage, Una arrived at their door. She held Teasag’s loom in her hands.

“Good morning, Una, what a surprise. Please come in,” said Grace.

She stepped past Grace, completely ignoring her. “Good morning, Innes. Are ye finding the new cottage to yer liking?”

“Aye Una, I am. It is nice to have a bit of room and time to spend with my lassies.”

“I’m glad to hear that. Actually, it is why I came. With ye here to care for wee Kristen, it’s clear ye no longer need Teasag’s help.”

“I suppose that’s true, but she seemed to be enjoying learning to weave. She’s welcome to come any time,” said Grace.

Again Una ignored her. “As I said, Innes, ye no longer need Teasag, and I fear yer granddaughter is not a good influence for an impressionable young lass.”

Innes appeared confused. “Una, I don’t understand…”

“Clearly much has gone on behind yer back and I don’t blame ye for it, but I can’t have my daughter associated with the likes of Grace.” She laid the loom on the table. “Good day, Innes.”

Una swept past Grace, out of the cottage.

“What is she talking about Grace?”

“Grandmother, perhaps ye should sit down and I’ll tell ye.”

Grace told her about the rumors that had spread through the clan. For her part Innes believed no more of it than Bram had. “Lass, ye’ve been working so many hours on that ribbon, ye have barely been eating and sleeping. I know ye’ve spent a bit of time with Bram and there were some whispers about it, but I see no real harm in that.”

“I didn’t either.” But that wasn’t exactly true. Grace knew she shouldn’t be spending
a bit of time with Bram
any more than she should have accepted his proposal. Laird Sutherland had other plans. Still, Grace hadn’t told her grandmother about Bram’s proposal yet or the laird’s request that he wait for one month, and now didn’t seem like the right time. The month would be up soon enough and then they could marry with the laird’s blessing.

Several days passed and little changed. Bram still came every evening, and Grace still faced ridicule every day. It became increasingly difficult to bear but Grace kept reminding herself that in a few weeks she would be able to marry Bram and perhaps things would get better then. She continued to work practically every waking moment on the ribbon. Having her grandmother’s help with Kristen had allowed Grace to work more, but she hated that she had so little time with her daughter.

Still, the tenth day was only two days away and after the ribbon was completed, she would make it up to both Kristen and Innes. She sat at her table outside, at the end of the cottage, away from the direct view of the villagers. It was the only way to avoid their scathing comments.

She tried to focus on her work but on hearing horses approach from the direction of the forest, she looked up. Laird Sutherland and one of his guardsmen approached. She looked down again, praying they would ride on past, but the horses stopped in the lane. Laird Sutherland dismounted, handed his reins to the guardsman, and walked towards her.
Ye still aren’t listening to me are ye, God?

“Good afternoon, Grace.”

“Good afternoon, Laird.”

“’Tis a fine day.”

“Aye, Laird, it is.”

“Walk with me.”

“Laird, I have work to do.”

“That was not a request, Grace.”

Grace nodded. “Aye, Laird.” She put the loom and thread into her work basket and sat it inside the bedroom window.

Laird Sutherland gestured in the direction from which he had just ridden. She fell in step beside him, walking towards the forest. The guardsman remained behind.

“It’s time we talked.” Without further preamble, Laird Sutherland said, “I do not want ye to marry my son.”

“Ye’ve made that abundantly clear.”

“Mind yer tongue, lass. I am yer laird and right about now, whipping ye for insolence is very enticing.”

Grace bowed her head. “Forgive me, Laird. I forgot myself.”

He inclined his head slightly, accepting her apology. “So we have established that I do not want ye to marry Bram and I am yer laird. As yer laird, I am here to assign ye an extremely important task. However, I know ye’ve led a sheltered life and have very little knowledge of the world, so I intend to educate ye a bit before giving ye yer task.”

Grace had a sinking feeling in her gut. This was bad. This was very bad.

“Grace, the Highlands, in fact most of the civilized world, is divided into land areas, each of which is governed by a nobleman and his family.”

Grace fought desperately not to roll her eyes or do anything else that could be considered insolent, but for the love of God, did he think her an eejit?

He continued in the same vein. “To maintain order and withstand aggression, friendly connections and strategic relationships must be developed. We send our sons to live and train with other families and select spouses for our children to help maintain those alliances. I realize that as a lass who grew up in a small fishing village, you couldn’t possibly understand the importance of this. Commoners have the luxury of marrying for love. Noblemen do not.” He paused for a moment. “Do ye understand me?”

Of course she understood him—much better than he could possibly know. But she simply answered, “Aye, Laird.”

“Our neighbors to the north, Clan Sinclair, have been troublesome over the years. We have never had a formal relationship with them. However, of late, they have been entering into a number of alliances, with our other neighbors. If one clan does this, creating a block of allies, the united clans can invade and seize a lone clan’s holding, dividing it among themselves. So we have to guard against this. When Laird Sinclair married his granddaughter to Laird MacLeod’s heir I became worried. I need an alliance with Laird Sinclair to protect my clan.”

Grace couldn’t hold her tongue. “I thought yer youngest son was in training with Clan MacLeod? Surely they wouldn’t join with Sinclair against ye?”

His eyes narrowed for a moment. “That remark reveals yer incredible naiveté. A marriage bond is much tighter than one created by fostering. Only a firm alliance with Sinclair will ensure my clan’s safety. Do ye understand?”

His condescension galled her. “Aye, Laird.”

“Then ye will understand my request. Ye will tell my son that ye do not wish to marry him.”

“I can’t, he won’t believe me.”

“Ye can and ye will. Ye will tell him whatever ye need to in order to convince him his affection is misplaced.”

“I won’t. Banish me if ye wish. I will leave now, but I won’t lie to Bram.”

“Curb that insolent tongue, lass, or suffer the consequences. It is only my son’s affection for ye that has stayed my hand so far. Is that perfectly clear?”

Grace nodded.

“Answer me!” he roared.

“Aye, Laird. I’m sorry.”

He stared at her for a long moment, appearing to seethe with anger. “Now, listen well. This is what ye
will
do this evening when my son visits ye, as he always does. Ye will tell him ye don’t love him and ye never did. Ye will tell him the only reason ye went along with this farce was to improve yer station in life, to become Lady Sutherland someday, but ye have fallen in love with someone else.”

“Please, Laird, he won’t believe that. He knows it isn’t true.”

“Ye will make him believe it. If he doubts ye, if he learns I am behind this, if ye leave Sutherland land before ye have done this hoping he follows, if ye do anything that results in Bram abandoning his birthright, this is what will happen. I will find ye, and I will see ye married to one of my men. If ye think Bram seeing ye live yer life married to another man will be easier for him to take then do it. But I can promise ye, the kinder choice, the only choice if ye truly love him, is to cause him a little pain now that will heal with time.

“And one last thing. If ye think the answer is to run away somewhere with him to be married in secret, like yer parents did, put that out of yer head. I will find ye both. I will kill ye before his eyes and then banish him anyway. He will lose his birthright and the woman he loves because of one selfish act that ye could have prevented. Furthermore, Kristen will lose her mother and be left to my care. Consider that.”

“Aye, Laird,” she whispered.

“Grace, I am not evil incarnate. The welfare of my clan, yer clan, is in jeopardy here, which makes the stakes very high. If ye do this, I will reward ye well. I will see that ye, Innes, and Kristen are always cared for. If ye wish, I will find ye a home with another clan. Ye will be comfortable for the rest of yer life and free to marry whomever ye choose, except one of my sons.”

It was all Grace could do to keep a small bit of control over her temper. “Reward me, Laird? If I do this ye will reward me? No thank ye,
Laird
. I will accept nothing from ye—not so much as a farthing. I will do as ye have commanded, but not for any reward. Ye believe this is both in Bram’s best interests and for the good of the clan. It doesn’t matter whether I believe that or not, yer threats give me no choice. But please, don’t insult me by offering to pay me.”

“That’s yer choice. As long as ye understand what is expected of ye, we’re done here.” He turned and walked back toward the cottage, leaving her standing in the lane.

She would not panic. She would not break down. She would not let him see her cry. She continued walking toward the forest. Once she reached the cover of trees, and was sure no one could see her from the village, she knelt and wept. There was no railing against God. This was her own fault. She had known better. She had prayed for God to protect her from love because she knew she was weak. Now this pain was the price.

When she finally regained control, she stayed in the forest until she figured out her best course. As soon as possible, she would do what was
expected
of her and lie to Bram about not loving him. Just thinking it rent her heart. After that she would work every waking moment to spin and weave. When Dugald and Mary returned at Michaelmas near the end of September, she would go with them to sell her work. She would take Kristen, and Innes if she wished, and they would not return to Sutherland.

It was a plan. Not one that made her happy and she worried that it took her too close to Fearchar Morrison, but it was all she had. Her reputation here was in tatters. Once she had severed her relationship with Bram, she wouldn’t have the security of his protection. She needed to leave Sutherland for good.

With a heavy sigh, she rose to leave. As she brushed the dirt from her skirt, leaves crunched behind her. She unsheathed the knife she always wore strapped below her knee and spun around to face whomever it was.

“Hold, lass,” said Michael, putting up his hands. “I mean ye no harm.”

“Michael, ye scared me.”

“I’m sorry. That wasn’t my intention.”

“I should really be getting back. I have work to do and Kristen will be waking from her nap. It will worry grandmother if I’m not there.”

“I understand, but I need to speak to ye.”

“It’s been a bad day, Michael. Can it wait?”

“I suspect I’m about to make yer bad day worse, but I’m afraid it can’t wait.”

“Michael, ye don’t understand—”

“Aye, I do. I saw the laird riding through the village, coming from this direction. I know what he was planning to do today.”

“I don’t know what ye’re talking about.”

“Grace, yer eyes are red and swollen from crying. Ye know exactly what I’m talking about. The laird ordered ye to break all ties with Bram and threatened ye with a forced marriage to someone else if ye didn’t.”

“How do ye know that?”

“Because I am who the laird plans to marry ye to. I’m sorry, Grace. This is not by my choice, which is why I’m here. I won’t lie, I think ye are perfectly lovely. I enjoy yer company, I’m fond of yer daughter, and I would happily make ye my wife if that was yer choice. But I know it isn’t.”

“I don’t understand.”

“I’m sure ye don’t but I’ll explain what I know. Laird Sutherland never intended to give Bram the opportunity to marry ye. When Bram told his father he would accept banishment to be with ye, the laird grasped at any straw. He is a hard man, but he loves his sons. He also firmly believes the clan needs an alliance with Sinclair. He had hoped the love Bram professed was only infatuation, but perhaps as forbidden fruit ye were all the more attractive. He thought if he removed that allure, Bram would lose interest. He knew within days that he was wrong, but he had made the bargain. He also thought ruining yer reputation would turn Bram away from ye.”

“Laird Sutherland started the rumors?”

“Aye. That’s when I realized what was happening. He said things to Lady Sutherland or Guardsmen, in front of servants who would carry the tales. He said things about you and I, which eventually got back to me. I knew they were completely untrue so I assumed the other tales were as well. What the laird didn’t count on was the whole scheme backfiring. Bram also refused to believe the rumors so instead of turning him against ye, it made him more protective than ever.”

Grace smiled. “Aye, it did. His unswerving faith in me has made this whirlwind of gossip tolerable.”

“Unfortunately it meant the laird had to find another way to separate ye. He came to me asking if I would be willing to marry ye.”

“Why ye?”

Michael grinned a little sheepishly. “Shortly after ye arrived, he overheard me say that I meant to court ye. And I did, until I realized ye had given yer heart to someone else. He told me that he wanted ye married before Bram could stop it. I told him I couldn’t marry a woman who loved someone else. After he finished ranting about love, he leveled a threat. If I didn’t agree to marry ye, he would send me packing and find someone else who would marry ye. In fairness to him, he said he knew I would treat ye well and that might make it easier on Bram in the long run.”

“So ye agreed?”

“Grace, I do not like to be manipulated by anyone. I agreed, but I had no intention of forcing ye to marry me. I planned to tell Bram when and where it was to take place so that he could interfere and marry ye himself. Then Laird Sutherland changed his plan again. He decided to order ye to sever ties with Bram first and use the threat of a forced marriage to see it done. He reckoned it would be better to cleanly break Bram’s heart once and let him move on than to allow him to pine after the woman he loved forever. I came here to tell ye to leave with him now. I’ll tell him what has happened while ye pack up. It would probably be best if Innes didn’t go with ye immediately but I’ll see she joins ye wherever ye settle.”

“We can’t do that, Michael. Laird Sutherland swears he will find us, kill me, and banish Bram anyway. I would do as my parents did and try to escape him if it were only me, but I have to think about Kristen.”

Michael looked shocked. “God’s bones. I never would have thought him capable of that. I thought simply ensuring that ye and Bram could elope was the solution.”

“The only solution is for me to do as I have been ordered. For Bram’s good and the good of the clan, I must look into the eyes of my beloved and lie. I must break the heart of the man who loves me and believes in me. Only then will the laird leave me be.”