My Daring Highlander (33 page)

“Daft lass,” he muttered under his
breath and pushed to his feet. “I have discussed a union with him.
He is resistant for some reason. What have you done that he cannot
see what a good wife you could be for him?”

“Naught,” she said, still near
speechless.

“Well, if you don’t marry him, you
will be stuck with Laird Wentworth. I don’t like him near as much
as Rebbinglen, but he is the only willing man I’ve found thus far
who would be suitable. We must be discerning, you ken. You want to
marry up, not down.”

To Seona, the only man suitable for
her was Keegan, but she could not tell her father that, unless she
wanted to be knocked to the floor.

“Oh, and by the way, Keegan MacKay
asked for your hand in marriage.”

Chapter Twenty-Five

Seona could scarce believe
her ears. Keegan
had
asked for her hand in marriage? She held her breath, waiting
to see what her father would say or do next.

Chief Murray gave a brief,
disgusted laugh. “I told MacKay
nay
, of course. You are far too good
for him. He has no title, property, land, money. Naught. He is
penniless as a pauper.”

Her immediate instinct was to jump to
his defense. But she couldn’t speak as frankly to her father as she
did to her aunt. Seona drew in a deep breath to dispel her
irritation. “He is tanist of his clan and no doubt has a good
income,” she reminded him, desperate for him to see that Keegan was
certainly worthy.

Her father narrowed his eyes at her.
“Tanist,” he repeated.

She nodded briefly. He well knew ’twas
a high position within the clan.

“You want to marry Keegan MacKay?” he
growled, his face reddening.

Saints!
Dare she be honest with him and speak her mind?
’Twas her only chance. Even if he struck her down, he would know
the truth for once. And she would stand up for the man she
loved.

“Aye. Keegan MacKay is a good and
honorable man.”

Her father’s face hardened and grew
more flushed, if such a thing was possible. “What have you done?
Have you lain with him?” His voice was low and deadly.

“What? Nay!” Seona could scarce
breathe.

“If I find out you have… Lord help
you, lass.”

Her scalp tingled as if doused with
icy water. He was threatening her again, as he always did. She
envisioned the knife Keegan had given her; ’twas strapped securely
to her forearm. If her father attacked her, would she have the
courage to use it to defend herself?

“If your whoring ways cause you to
ruin your chances of marrying well, I will be most
displeased.”

Displeased?
’Twas a grand understatement. “I am not a whore,”
she stated, looking him squarely in the eye.

Her father turned and paced before the
hearth, as if in deep thought. “’Haps that’s it. Rebbinglen is
friends with Keegan MacKay. He kens MacKay wishes to marry you and
that’s why Rebbinglen has no interest in you. Damnation, Seona! Why
did you not sneak into Rebbinglen’s bed, if anyone’s? Why a man who
is penniless?”

“I have slipped into no man’s bed,”
she said firmly. While it was true Keegan had kissed her and
touched her in carnal ways, she was still a virgin. Thanks to his
control. If it had been up to her, she likely wouldn’t
be.

“You think I’m daft?” her father
demanded. “MacKay is sniffing after your skirt-tails for some
reason. You must have encouraged him. Are you besotted with
him?”

Seona’s face heated. Did she dare tell
her father the truth? “I—”

“Never mind! I don’t want to hear it.
I don’t care if you’re besotted with him. Or him with you. ’Tis of
nay importance.”

Her father was the type who probably
took great pleasure in keeping her away from a man she cared deeply
about. No doubt he would rather she marry a man who would beat her
every day. There was no sense telling him anything about her
feelings. ’Twould only anger him more. And any praise for Keegan
would fall on deaf ears.

“Here is what I want you to do, girl.”
Her father gave her a sharp, calculating look. “You are to sneak
into Rebbinglen’s chamber tonight and seduce the man.”

She gasped. “What? Surely, you don’t
mean it.”

“Indeed, I do, lassie. He is in our
finest guestroom, of course, and he shares it with no one. ’Twill
be easy for you to find him.”

“I cannot. He is a good man. I could
never trick him in such a way.”

“You can and you will.”

The image of Talia’s battered face
flashed in Seona’s mind. That, combined with memories of the
bruises on her mother’s face in the past, unleashed fury through
Seona, eclipsing her fear. Her jaw clenched as did her fists hidden
within the folds of her skirts. “Or what? You will leave my face
black and blue as you did Talia’s?”

“Dare you question me?” he demanded,
his frown deep and thunderous, but she didn’t care.

“Why did you beat her so? She is but a
young lass.”

“She’s a woman, just as you are!
You’ll both do your duty to me and marry respected, prominent men
with titles. Your mother failed in her duty. She never gave me a
son. Only whining, frail daughters who are naught but a
burden.”

Tears blurred her vision. “Mother did
the best she could! She could not change God’s will.”

Her father struck his large fist
against the top of a table, sending everything on it smashing to
the floor. “Get out of my sight!”

Seona ran from the room, slamming the
door behind her. Her heart pounded in her throat and tears blurred
her vision as she hurried up the spiral staircase. She’d gotten off
lucky—her father had struck the table instead of her.

She would
not
do as he bid and
seduce Rebbie. But she must get word to him and Keegan about her
father’s orders. They needed to know what kind of manipulative,
vile man he truly was.

***

Although Seona had wanted very badly
to see Keegan at the midday meal, she’d avoided the great hall
because of her father and Wentworth.

’Twas early afternoon when
she put on her oldest
arisaid,
pulling the dull plaid over her head, and slipped
down the back servants’ stair to the ground floor. The few maids
about paid her no heed. At all costs, she must avoid her father and
Wentworth, though she had no inkling where they were.

She needed to talk to Keegan right
away.

When she stepped out the kitchen
doorway into the barmkin, heavy dark clouds blocked the sun and a
faint misty rain hissed through the air.

Rebbie stood just outside the stables
talking to one of the MacKay guards. She headed in his direction.
Keegan had to be nearby.

She bypassed Rebbie, glancing up at
him so he’d know who she was, and moved through the wide doorway
into the stables. He excused himself from the guard and followed
her inside.

“Are you looking for Keegan?” he
whispered.

“Aye. Where is he? I must tell you
both something.”

“I’ll go find him.” Rebbie poked his
head into an empty horse stall. “You wait in here.”

Seona nodded and slipped into the
stall, the packed earth floor scattered with straw. It had been
recently cleaned. Her father was meticulous about his
stables.

Her father. Blast him.

How could he beat her sister and then
lock her in for days? Seona’s first instinct was to tell Keegan
about it, but she couldn’t. If he knew how truly violent her father
was, he’d likely do something drastic, putting his own life in
danger.

She closed her eyes, praying neither
her father nor any of his men had seen her slip out and that no one
had recognized her. Through the narrow window opening in the stone
wall, she listened to the rain falling harder.

The longer she waited, the more her
stomach cramped with nerves. Finally, she heard Rebbie and Keegan’s
deep voices as they approached.

“Thank the saints,” she whispered and
faced the door.

Keegan, looking more handsome than
she’d ever seen him, stepped inside the stall.

“I’ll wait out here,” Rebbie
said.

“Nay,” Seona whispered. “You need to
hear this, too.”

Frowning, Rebbie remained inside and
pulled the stall door almost closed.

“What is it?” Keegan asked
her.

Her face heating, she drew in a deep
breath and stared into Keegan’s concerned eyes. “My father ordered
me to slip into Laird Rebbinglen’s bedchamber tonight. He wants to
force us to marry. We have to do something to stop him.”

“Saints,” Keegan hissed.

“God’s wounds. That conniving
bastard,” Rebbie blurted. “Begging your pardon, m’lady.”

“Nay, you are right,” Seona
said.

Rebbie’s dark brows quirked. “Well, I
believe ’tis time for me to move to the barracks with the MacKay
guards.”

“Aye. Good idea,” Keegan
said.

Seona nodded. “I like it, but Father
will suspect I’ve told you both.”

“I shall come up with a story about
how I was gambling and drinking with the MacKay men and I passed
out for the night in the barracks.” Rebbie shrugged.

“Very well,” Seona said. “That should
work.” Still, her father was likely to assume she’d gotten word to
him about it. But ’twas the only solution she could think of. If
Rebbie stayed in the keep, her father might even drag her to the
man’s chamber in the middle of the night and toss her into the bed
with him. When her father was desperate to get what he wanted, he
might do anything.

“I’ll wait out here and guard the
door.” Rebbie exited and pushed the door closed.

“I cannot believe how vicious and
manipulative your father is,” Keegan said, drawing her into the
most concealed corner.

“Aye, he takes the prize on that. I
have missed you,” she rushed to say, trying to absorb several of
the things she loved about him at once—his entrancing blue eyes,
his warm and charming smile, his commanding height and broad
shoulders.

“I’m certain I’ve missed you more.”
Keegan leaned in and pressed his lips to hers.

She slid her arms around his neck,
burying her hands in his damp hair, and hung on for dear life,
while his hands at her waist drew her closer. She relished each of
the heated kisses he indulged her with and the way his tongue
teased hers. His masculine taste and scent made her crave more of
him instantly. She yearned to rip the wool and linen from his body,
wanting him as bare as he’d been that evening he’d bathed in the
loch.

Instead of divesting him of his
clothes, she pressed her body as close to his as possible,
delighting in each hard plane and ridge of muscle.

“Mmm. Seona.” He ran his hands beneath
her hips and lifted her.

Lightheadedness near overcame her as
he consumed her mouth with his wicked kisses. She was shocked to
realize she’d immediately wrapped her legs around his hips. Leaning
into her, he pressed her against the stone wall. Through their
clothing, his hard shaft rubbed against an especially sensitive
spot, stimulating her even more.

“Oh, Keegan,” she breathed, longing
for the feel of his hot skin against hers. How she ached deep
inside for him to complete their union and make her his woman.
“Please.” Oh, saints! She could just imagine how wondrous he would
feel.

He lavished her mouth with more sinful
and beguiling kisses, making her delirious. Feverish need near
overpowered her.

“I shouldn’t have brought you back
here,” he said against her lips, breathing hard, his tone
passionate. “I’m going to steal you away.”

“What? Nay,” she whispered, shaking
her head. Icy fear sliced through her desire. “My father would send
his men to hunt us down and…” Nay, she did not want to say the
horrible words.

“And what?” Keegan set her to her
feet, ire glinting in his eyes.

She grasped the plaid that crossed his
chest. “He will order his men to kill you, Keegan. You’ve seen how
vile and cruel he is.”

The muscle of his jaw flexed. “So,
what are you going to do? Marry that Wentworth
codpiece?”

“Nay.” The very thought sickened her.
“I know not. I am trapped.”

Keegan stepped away and paced, his
actions agitated. “I asked your father for your hand in marriage
and he refused.”

“He told me.” Her heart ached for him,
and for herself. “I’m sorry if he was rude to you.”

Keegan shrugged. “His words mean
naught to me. All I care about is you.” The intensity of his eyes
was like blue fire. “What if he were to force us to get married
because he found us in a compromising situation?”

She shook her head. “He would not. He
already suspects we’ve had a tryst. But if he thought it were
really true… or if he caught me here… he would marry me off to
someone else. Wentworth or someone with a title.”