The Highlander's Conquest (26 page)

His gaze shot back at her. “Is that what you think? That you took her from me?” The baron shook his head. “You didn’t take her from me at all. Your mother was happy to bring you into the world. And ’twas God’s
w
ill that she rise up
to the heavens to be
with him, leaving you behind
, the best
part of her.” Her father stepped forward, pulling her into his embrace. “Had I known you blamed yourself I would have corrected you a long time ago,” he whispered against her hair.

“Do you see why I must stay?”

He shook his head. “Arbella is safe, healthy, strong. I think she will do just fine in the bearing of her child.”

“But what of…” Aliah didn’t want to bring up her mother again. She bit her lip and looked away, preparing to tell her father
about
Blane.

“Your mother, God rest her beautiful soul, was already weakened. When she gave birth to Arbella, it was long, arduous. Her body was tiny and our babies did not exactly have an easy path to travel through. The mid-wife advised against her having another child, but your mother…” He paused, blinked up at the ceiling. It looked as though he tried to rid himself of tears. “Your mother wanted another so badly. That was you, Aliah.
Before she left this earth, she whispered your name. Told me it meant noble and to ascend. I think she was trying to tell me…”

This time, Aliah put her arms around her father. She wished he’d shared all of this with her earlier in her life, but was glad to
know it now. Despite what other
s had been telling her all along, she couldn’t truly believe she was blameless until now. Knowing that her mother wanted her
when warned not to try, and that her mother named her… A weight was lifted from her chest, and with it she felt herself floating.

“You still want to stay?”
h
er father asked, pulling back to hold her at arm’s length.

Aliah nodded.

“Why do I get the feeling there is another reason?”

She couldn’t lie to her father
.
“I…”

“Does it have something to do with Laird Sutherland’s rogue of a brother?”

Aliah swallowed hard pas
t
the lump in her throat and nodded.

“Has he…” The baron shook his head. “Never
mind. I shall speak to him.”

“Nay! Not yet, please.”

Her father studied her for a long time, before speaking. “’Tis a father’s duty to take care of his children.”

Aliah gripped her father’s hand and squeezed, imploring him with her eyes. “And I’ve no wish to take that duty from you, Father. ’Tis simply, in th
is
matter, I would—” Her speech faltered as she searched for the right words. “I am no longer a child, Father, and I—” She puffed out a breath. “I am in love with a man, but I’ve no idea if he returns my regard.”

The baron’s eyes turned soft and he stroked her cheek. “Ah, daughter, he does.
But
I shall let you find that out for yourself.”

“Are we still leaving tomorrow
?
”

He grinned. “Aye. At least I am.
I’ll wait until after the noon meal to depart
and to see if you’ll be joining me
.
”

Aliah threw herself into her father’s arms. She had until tomorrow to convince Blane of what everyone else already knew.

The great hall was loud and boisterous as Blane entered.
His cousin Murray caroused with
Wallace and his men at the long trestle table. At the high table, Magnus sat in the middle with Arbella on one side and a stoic looking man on his other side. He had to be the Bruce. His reddish brown hair hung loose about chin length and his beard was well trimmed. He dressed in regal attire, and looked to be about Magnus’ age. Much younger than Blane would have guessed.
Three other distinguished Scots also sat at the high table. The earls.

“Brother! Come and join us. I’ve good news to tell ye.” Magnus lifted his mug of ale and a smile spread wide over his face.

“Dinna keep me in suspense,” Blane said
, walking
to the dais
as fast as his injuries would allow. He bowed before the Bruce
then took
his spot beside Arbella. He noted with disappointment that Aliah was not present. Returning his gaze to his brother, he waited expectantly for the good news.

“The Bruce came with Wallace
,
Lennox, Carrick and Strathearn
in order to present the Sutherlands with an earldom.”

“Magnus is now an earl, and his wife a countess,” the Bruce said.

“Congratulations,” Blane said
, a smile of pride touching his lips
. This was a major step forward for their clan. An earldom meant more power, wealth. And responsibility.
Not wanting to spoil his brother’s excitement, he chose not to ask what the Bruce and the three backing earls wanted in return. “I am privileged to sit beside a countess,” Blane said taking Arbella’s hand and kissing it.

His sister-by-marriage laughed as her husband g
lowered over her head at Blane.

“To the Earl and Countess of Sutherland!” Blane shouted, holding his mug of ale high in the air. “May ye forever be blessed!”

The great hall erupted
with
shouts and cheers, and the rowdy sounds of slurping and mugs being slammed against the wooden table. Above the din, Blane was distracted by a whisper of something innocent. Aliah stood in the arched doorway, her gaze directed toward him. Throat suddenly parched, Blane couldn’t move.

Arbella elbowed him. Blane glanced
over
to see that his sister-by-marriage was nodding her head in Aliah’s direction. Jumping from his chair he rushed to greet her, grasping her hand and pulling her sweet flesh to his lips for a kiss. His heart skipped a beat just being that close to her. He could have been completely healed
,
for in her presence his pain dissi
pated. A
ll he needed was her. Just her.

Suddenly, her father came into the room, looming beside them. The
baron
looked at him hard, the same questioning eyes that everyone
else
seemed to have. Blane glanced down at her hand still clasped in his. Wanting to never let go.

There was no time like the present. “My lord, if I may have a word with ye in private?”

Baron de Mowbray cocked his head to one side and studied Blane. He’d never felt so stripped bare.

“Aye.” The lord whirled on his feet and stomped from the great hall.

Blane kissed Aliah’s knuckles and then rushed from the room. Once he’d gained the baron’s permission to move forward, he intended to make Aliah his wife.

Chapter Twenty-Four

A
liah stared after Blane and her father as they passed under the stone archway that led from the great hall
and
outside
to the inner bailey.

There was only one reason for them to go off together—Blane
was going to
ask for her hand. Aliah was not about to let them make a life-changing decision without her.
Didn’t she
climb from her cushy, warm
bed to speak with Blane herself?
To hear him tell her how much he cared, that he believed, like she did, that they should spend the rest of their lives together? She want
ed
to tell him how much she loved him.

Shaking her head, she grumbled, “Nay,” under her breath.
They were not going to take that away from her. She wouldn’t allow it!

Lifting her skirts she ran after them, slamming out of the oak doors and glancing around the night-darkened bailey. Aside from the moon and stars
,
only
a few torches lit up the area
, making lo
ng dark shadows dance in circles. She waited a
few moments
for
her eyes adjust and shivered at the cold air sinking into her bones.

Shadows remained, but a few turned into buildings, barrels, wagons, people. Over by the well her father and Blane faced each other in a heated discussion. But laughter coming from their direction made her pause. Mayhap they weren’t discussing marriage, after all.

Frowning, she considered going back inside. But her impulsive nature got the best of her. And this time she’d be damned if she would feel guilty about it. She stormed over the dirt and grass. The two traitors had the nerve to cease talking, and to stare at
her
.

“
Daughter, what are you—”

“Aliah, lass, ’tis cold—”

Both men spoke at the same time, then looked at each other with wide grins. Aliah rolled her eyes.

“I came out here, because while I may be a woman, I still have an opinion and I’d just as
soon
not have you off discussing me without being present to speak for myself.”

Blane folded his arms over his chest as did her father. While her father raised his brow, Blane curled his lips into an amused smile.

“What do ye think we’re discussing?” Blane asked.

“Didn’t I just make myself clear?” she asked, hands on her hips.

Blane shook his head, mirth dancing in his eyes.

“You brought my father out here to ask…” She faltered. Mayhap she was wrong. Oh, how mortifying! What if Blane had simply wanted to tell her father about their journey and now she’d gone and assumed that he’d wanted to marry her. Swallowing hard, she was at a loss for words and wished for nothing more than to sink into the ground.

“I shall leave the two of you alone. I’m famished and in need of a dram of Magnus’ good whisky.” Her father started to walk away.

Aliah’s eyes widened further. To be so nonchalant… She’d definitely gotten things wrong. The baron stopped
in
his tracks in front of her, put his hand on her shoulder and squeezed. He said nothing further, but continued back toward the keep.

She was unsteady, shaky. Her stomach felt like it was doing a hundred flips per second. Motion sickness after riding Mad Maiden had been better than this. Aliah wanted to run back to her chamber, to burrow beneath the blankets and sneak out at first light. How could she ever face him?

“Aliah,” Blane said
. U
nfolding his arms, he stepped forward and took her hands in his. They were warm, sending frissons of heat through her fingers and up her arms. “When we first met, ’twas like lightning struck me. Never had
I
seen a woman so beautiful—and ye held an arrow aimed at my heart.”

“Apologies, I didn’t know—”

“Dinna apologize. Ye have heart, ye have courage. I
wouldna
want ye any other way.”

Confusion warred within her. Was
this his way of saying goodbye?
Her fingers trembled slightly as did her lip which she bit to keep steady. Blane tightened his grip on her hands and rubbed his thumbs over her knuckles
. M
iraculously she felt calmer.

“What I’m trying to say is… I would like to know… If
ye’d
have me, I’d like ye to marry me. I have to travel sometimes, but I will try to make it fast and return to ye with open arms.
If ye want
,
I’ll train another to go to
market, and stay here with ye. And soon I plan to speak with Magnus about setting up our own wool market. ’Twill keep me in Sutherland more of the year.
I want to make ye happy. To give ye everything ye ever wis
h
ed for.
We can build ou
r
own home here at Dunrobin. I canna offer ye a castle, but—”

Aliah shook her head. “Stop.”

Blane’s face fell. In the flickering light of a nearby torch she watched his eyes darken and his lips slacken as his smiled faded.

“I don’t need a castle.
All I need is you. Home is where you are. If you’re open to it… I would like to journey with you. My English accent is fairly decent.
Maybe even better than yours.
” She snickered and so did he at her jest. “
I would never ask you to give up on your talents. The clan needs you.
”

Blane’s smile returned, spreading wide. His teeth glimmered in the light, and his eyes sparkled. She liked seeing
him happy
.

“I’d like that.
Ye’ve
already proven ye can
watch
my back.
Sleeping under the stars with y
e
would be like heaven itself.
”

“Aye.” Recalling how she’d had to take a man’s life made her realize she’d yet to confess her sins. It also made her realize, for Blane, she would do it again.
Laying beneath the stars with him, however brief, had been a moment of peace and tranquility
that
she wished to repeat.
“I…love you.”

Blane sucked in a breath, his arms stealing around her waist
, he pulled her flush against him
.
He gazed intently at her, his eyes filled with passion and emotion.
“I’ve never had a woman say that to me
a
fore
now
.”

Not the exact
reply
she was looking for… Aliah smile
d
, albeit a little haltingly. “I love you,” she said again
, this time hoping for a different verbal response from Blane
.

Blane’s touch stroked up her back, over her shoulders and neck until he held the sides of her face. He brought his face close to hers, his gaze never wavering. Alia
h could drown within the meadow-green
depths of his eyes.

“I love ye, too,” he whispered.
Her heart fluttered with a sense of victory and pure sentiment.
“More than I thought ever possible. I’ve never loved another.” He brushed his lips over hers, just a whisper of a kiss. “I
fought these feelings. Telling myself that ye deserved better.” He kissed the tip of her nose. “And I still think ye do.”

Aliah shook her head
.
“Nay, never.”

Blane chuckled, his forehead pressed to hers. “No matter how much I tried to convince myself otherwise, I kept coming back to one thing—that I was willing to give up everything for ye.”

“And I you.”

“My heart was so filled with
bitterness. I dinna have the strength to share myself
with anyone until now—with ye.
I dinna think there was room for anything else. How wrong I was.
Ye’ve
conquered my heart, lass.”

“I intend to conquer more than that.” With that said, Aliah
rose
on her tiptoes and pressed her lips to Blane’s
.
She wasn’t going to let him get away without kissing her thoroughly this time.

And he did not disappoint.

At first light, the
priest
was brought to Aliah’s chamber where she confessed and was absolved of her sins—she did leave out the part
about
making love to Blane before they were wed. Some things were best left only for God’s ears.

As soon as the
priest
retreated to the great hall, Arbella and their father entered the chamber.

“Are you ready?” Arbella asked, beaming. “Now I will see you nearly every day!”

“And I shall miss you.” The baron cleared his throat to hide his emotion.

Tears burned the corners of her eyes. ’Twas true that while today she would marry Blane and fulfill her
desires
to spend a lifetime with him, she’d also be losing the time she’d spent with her father. Asking him to move to Scotland was impossible. The man would never do it. He’d no desire to take the position of his new son-by-marriage’s enemy as an
English occupier, and living with them seemed out of the question, not while he still had so much spirit left in him.

“I promise to visit each time Blane and I go to the wool market.”

“That would be good.” Her father pulled her and Arbella into his embrace. “I shall miss you both dearly.”

Aliah nodded, tears soaking into her father’s tunic. “What will you do?”

His chest rumbled as he let out a laugh. “Actually… There’s a lady I’ve been meaning to call on.”

“A lady?” both sisters said at the same time.

“Aye. A widow actually. Lady Somersby. We’ve exchanged a few pleasantries, and I do believe I am quite… I care about her.”

“Oh, father! That is wonderful news,” Aliah said.

Arbella nodded emphatically. “I’m so happy that you’ve found someone. It’s been too long that you’ve been alone.”

“Now that you’ve both gone off and
found love
and
since
Samuel is occupied, I
decided to do
something for myself. But enough about me. ’Tis time my youngest daughter married a truly honorable man.”

They descended the stairs. Outside a hard rain fell in painful pings against their flesh as they rushed to the Sutherland clan chapel. Blane and Aliah had eyes for no one but each other. His large hand encompassed hers, and the smile on his face was both charming and enticing. Not wanting to sway from tradition, several clansmen held a canopy over them as the priest led them through the exchange of vows
on the chapel steps
.