Highland Lover (35 page)

“The last we kenned, our father hadnae found any mon fool enough to have ye,” Lucas growled.

“And I doubt ye have heard from our father since leaving Donncoill.”

“There is no need to become insulting just because ye cannae win the argument,” she said. “Ye

havenae heard from our father since leaving Donncoill, either, so ye cannae be any more sure than I

am about what he may have done.”

“Ah, then we shall just take the both of ye back to Donncoill and speak to Father about this,” said

Artan and then he smiled. “’Tis his right to decide such things anyway.”

“’Tis my right and weel ye ken it,” she snapped and jumped to her feet. Even as she wondered why

Fiona muttered a curse, Alana felt all the blood slowly drain from her head. “Oh dear. This isnae

good,” she whispered and started to sink to the floor.

Gregor watched all the color flee Alana’s cheeks. One moment she had been prettily flushed with

the rigors of her dispute with her brothers; the next she had gone as white as snow. He lunged for

her as she started to crumple to the floor with a surprising grace. Catching her in his arms, he barely kept her head from hitting the floor.

Perhaps there had been some damage done inside her when she had fallen off that cliff, he thought

in horror. There was always the chance that it had taken some time for it to reveal itself in any way.

Gregor looked to Fiona for some answers and found himself staring into the angry, cold silver eyes

of Alana’s impressively big, strong brothers.

Chapter 21

“I think ye have been sticking more than your tongue in—”

Artan’s angry and slightly crude words ended on a grunt as Lucas slapped him on the back of his

head. Gregor knew he would be eager to answer the belligerence he sensed in the twins if he were

not so concerned about Alana. Holding her close as he stood up with her cradled in his arms, he

started to walk out of the great hall. He could hear the twins, Ewan, and Fiona hurrying after him.

The only one he was glad to have following him was Fiona, for he had great confidence in her

healing skills.

The moment he put Alana down on her bed, Fiona rushed to her side, muttering, “I told her nay to

stand up too quickly or move too fast.”

Gregor thought nothing of her words until she blushed and cast him a brief look weighted with guilt

and secret knowledge before turning her full attention back on Alana. Then he began to consider

what would make a healthy woman who was enjoying a rousing argument with her pigheaded

brothers faint simply because she stood up too quickly. At first he had feared that Alana had finally succumbed to some hidden injury gained in her fall, but not now. Although not by choice, he had

been around enough women who were carrying a child to know exactly what Alana’s sudden faint

meant. Alana was carrying his child.

Why had she not told him? he wondered, feeling a deep hurt as he rapidly considered all the bad

reasons for such silence. Then he grimaced over his own idiocy. She had not told him about the

child because of what had happened with Mavis. It had taken a fortnight of assiduously courting her

to ease the hurt he had inflicted and regain her trust. There was even the chance that Alana had only just realized that she was carrying his child. He hoped that was not why she had suddenly softened

toward him, but he did not care all that much if it was. Once she was irrevocably his, once he had

her back in his bed, he could continue to mend things between them.

The soft but sharp clearing of a throat brought Gregor out of his rambling thoughts. He turned

toward the sound and found Alana’s two brothers standing at the foot of her bed glaring at him.

They had obviously guessed what her condition was as well.

“Ye Camerons are becoming a sharp pain in my arse,” snapped Lucas.

“Actually, I am a MacFingal,” Gregor drawled.

It did not surprise Gregor when both Fiona and Ewan looked at him as if he had lost his mind.

Every time one of Alana’s brothers spoke to him, he felt a compelling urge to respond in a manner

that was certain to anger them. They had every right to their anger and he knew it. Their sister had

been a virgin, was a woman of good family, and he had made her his leman. He did not think of her

that way but knew most everyone else would if they discovered she had been his lover. He had

given the Murray twins no more reason to think his intentions toward their sister were honorable

than he had given Alana herself. If their situations were reversed, Gregor knew he would be eager

to do them some injury.

“Ye will be married to Alana as soon as we can find a priest.”

“That should be something decided between Alana and myself, dinnae ye think?”

“It should have been decided ere ye put your bairn in her belly.”

“Now, we cannae be sure that is why she had fainted, can we?”

Lucas snorted and looked at Gregor with disgust. “We can be.” He nodded toward Fiona. “She is.

And, I am thinking, so are ye, for all ye are acting like a cocksure bastard who needs his neck

wrung.”

“Mayhap we should take him outside and have us a wee talk with him,” said Artan.

The way Artan was clenching and unclenching his fists at his side made it very clear to Gregor just

how Artan wished to make his point. Gregor suddenly realized that he could tell which twin was

which and he almost grinned. Maybe he ought to let them take him outside and toss him around the

bailey for a while. He had clearly lost his wits, and they might be able to knock some sense back

into him.

“Gregor,” said Ewan as he moved to stand next to his brother, “the decision is yours to make. I

willnae tell ye what to do. But heed me, if ye dinnae want the lass, I will stand by ye and help ye

deal with her kinsmen.”

Leave it to Ewan to put it all so succinctly that all posturing became useless, thought Gregor. With

that one quiet statement of support, Ewan had nicely recalled Gregor to the cold fact that this was

not just a private matter between him and Alana. His family would not meekly accept any harm or

insult done to him, and her family would not quietly accept any harm or insult done to her. It was

time to cease trading glares and insults with Alana’s irritating brothers, no matter how enjoyable he found it, and face a few facts.

Of course he wanted Alana. She carried his child. She was his mate and he had known that for a fact

for quite a while. He loved her and wanted her by his side for the rest of his life. As much fun as it was to refuse the demands of her brothers, in the end the ones who would suffer the most for that

game were Alana, him, and the child they had created.

“Nay, Ewan, there will be none of that,” Gregor said. “Ye ken weel that I want her.”

“Then why are ye arguing with us about this?” demanded Artan.

“Because ye irritate me,” replied Gregor, and he shrugged.

Artan blinked slowly and then grinned. “Och, weel, fair enough, then.” He looked at Ewan. “Where

can we find us a priest?” he asked.

The moment Ewan told them, the two men left, and Gregor looked at his brother. “Those are two

verra odd men.”

“But good men, I think,” said Fiona as she tucked the bedclothes around Alana. “Far more clever

than they seem to want people to think, too. And just consider for a moment all they have been

through in these last weeks. They go out looking for one sister, fearing the worst due to all sorts of chilling rumors, they find her with our Liam, fight a battle, and then have to go hunting for another sister who has disappeared. I suspicion they ken all that happened to ye and Alana on your journey.

And what do they find when they return to Scarglas—Alana with you in the garden, kissing her

quite thoroughly from all they said. ’Struth, one must wonder why they havenae just gutted ye and

taken her home.”

Gregor thought over all she had said and grinned when she nodded. “Aye, ye are right.” He quickly

grew serious and a little concerned as he moved to the side of the bed and lightly stroked Alana’s

hair. “Why has she nay awakened yet?”

“She sleeps,” replied Fiona. “This last fortnight has been a trial for her, I think. Aye, ’tis more like the last three weeks. I suspicion the bairn she carries hasnae helped. Whilst ye and her brothers

glared and snarled at each other, she did stir a wee bit, but then she went from a faint to a much-

needed sleep.”

“Her brothers will return soon with that priest.”

“And then we will wake her, but we should let her rest for a wee while.” Fiona smiled her thanks to

Ewan when he set a chair near the bed and then she sat down to begin her vigil. “Go away,” she

said, “and see to the preparations. We can at least try to make it all a wee bit festive.”

“But I should tell her what has happened and what has been decided,” protested Gregor.

“I can do that. It may be for the best that I do. She willnae just say nay and refuse to listen to

another word about the matter if I am the one talking to her. Ye may need to talk some more with

her brothers, too.”

Gregor nodded and left the room with Ewan. It seemed that he and Alana would have to have that

serious discussion after they were married. That troubled him, but then he realized what else this

sudden marriage meant. Alana would be back in his bed tonight. Significantly cheered, he made his

way down to the great hall, where he and Ewan busied themselves preparing the room for a

wedding.

“A wedding? Right now?”

Alana stared at Fiona in horror as she slowly sat up. When she had first opened her eyes, she had

been greatly relieved that her brothers were not there. She had been a little disappointed to find

Fiona at her bedside instead of Gregor, but then had decided that that was probably for the best. She had known she would need to prepare herself for any awkward questions asked concerning her faint.

Then Fiona had told her that it was good she had had herself some rest, as she would be in need of

all her strength for the wedding.

“The wedding between ye and Gregor, of course.”

“Och, nay, those brothers of mine havenae threatened Gregor into marrying me, have they?”

“Weel, a few threats were tossed out, but that shouldnae surprise ye. Ye were most convincing in all

of your arguments and may have e’en won the day if ye hadnae fainted. Weel, once your brothers

realized ye were with child, there wasnae a single argument any of us could muster that would have

changed their minds about fetching a priest and getting the two of ye married.”

“They ken about the bairn?” Alana groaned when Fiona nodded. “Gregor does, too?” Fiona nodded

again and Alana cursed. “Why did ye tell them?” she asked, but there was no accusation or anger

behind her question.

“I didnae tell any of them,” Fiona replied. “Didnae have to. Your brothers kenned it before Gregor

did, but he wasnae slow to guess it, either.”

Alana supposed that should not surprise her. For all they sometimes acted as if they did not have a

brain between them, her brothers were not the idiots they sometimes pretended to be and they were

very observant men. Their family was a large one and there always seemed to be some woman with

child around them. One could not help but learn all the signs that told one when a woman was

carrying. Considering how many brothers and nephews Gregor had, he would undoubtedly know all

the signs as well. Alana was rather embarrassed that she had missed them up until she had been so

ill in the morning.

“I didnae want Gregor to be forced to marry me,” she said in a small voice, wondering how things

could have gone so wrong when everything had just seemed to being going right.

“The when of the marriage is all that is being forced upon the two of you. Gregor was intending to

marry ye anyway.”

“He has ne’er said so, Fiona.”

“Wheesht, what do ye think this last fortnight was all about?”

“Getting me back into his bed?” Alana had to smile over the thoroughly disgusted look Fiona gave

her.

“That goes without saying. E’en the best of men tends to think with the wrong head first when it

comes to a woman he desires. Howbeit, a mon doesnae woo a lass as doggedly as Gregor has been

wooing ye if he doesnae plan to marry ye. Nay, especially not when he has a horde of brothers

teasing him about it at every turn. Aye, Gregor put up a wee bit of a fight e’en when he kenned that

ye are carrying his child, but it was just because any mon would bristle when ordered to do so.

Gregor also seemed inclined to argue with your brothers for no good reason at all except that, as he

told your brother Artan, they irritated him.”

Alana surprised herself by laughing. “Aye, my brothers irritate a lot of people. They are verra

skilled at it. Sometimes I think ’tis but a game they play.”

Fiona smiled. “Possibly. Nay, I would say definitely. Ewan’s cousin Sigimor is much the same.”

She stood up, stretched a little, and idly rubbed at the small of her back. “Do ye think ye are rested enough to prepare for your wedding?”

“Aye, but I dinnae like this,” Alana muttered as she cautiously stood up, waited a moment to see

how she felt, and then sighed with relief when there was no hint of dizziness. “There are still so

many things left unsettled between Gregor and me. We have only this day begun to return to what

we were before I found out about Mavis.”

“’Tis a beginning.” Fiona helped Alana undress and brush the wrinkles from the clean clothing she