AllFreeNovel
Share Us
She had watched it happen with her aunt. How many times had Olivia come to visit her mother to seek support for a heart fallen to pieces? Because of a husband who took countless mistresses. Moira had been too young, but as she grew up, it made sense. Hamish had no consideration for his own wife. Her aunt’s misery engraved in her memory, the tears, the helplessness, hopes and dreams shattered. It was too much of a warning for her to ignore.
“I need not list all the advantages that our alliance would bring to your clan,” Lachlan snatched her out of her musings.
Her attention snapped to him. He had the right of it. She compressed her feelings to a remote corner of her mind to regain focus. The Darrochs came first at this precise moment. There was no wailing about what her life would look like in the future. The single certainty was that he would stray. When he did, she would continue living as she did at the moment, busy with her duties, caring for her people and the land.
“You said you didn’t intend to be shackled,” still, she insisted.
“No, but my brother wouldn’t leave me alone one way or the other, and I’d have to take the step soon enough.”
Of course, he would. These things did not depend solely on his wishes. A Darroch lass would be as good as any other, she read between the lines.
The clearest notion she was entering this with her eyes wide open served as a cold solace. But at this point, keeping her clan together must be her priority.
With a resolute nod, she lifted her eyes to him. “Fine. Let’s do it.”
CHAPTER NINE
The Darroch’s chapel did not display a pristine state with its chipped pews, falling plaster, or peeling paint. Lachlan did not notice them though. Impeccably dressed in his full tartan, he stood at the altar while the reverend prepared for the ceremony.
Despite the short notice, his three siblings sat here to witness what they had called the impossible turning possible: The change of his bachelor status. Their teasing did not bother him especially because he had done a lot of teasing of them himself. The proud expression on his father’s stance had not been lost on Lachlan either.
Needling apart, he felt that standing there waiting for his bride was the most natural thing in the world. In the past few weeks, his involvement with the Darroch’s predicaments gave him a sense of purpose he rarely experienced in his life. The youngest sibling in his family was Aileen, but he held the place of the youngest son. His family left him to his own devices when it came to clan politics and alliances. He carried a pretty much carefree life so far, which must have encouraged his disregard for settling down like his peers. No doubt he undertook the tasks in The McKendrick, acting as the handyman whenever necessary, but that did not really afford him a focus in life.
The fact Moira needed his alliance to secure the integrity of her clan meant he would work towards an aim, a significant one. Perhaps that had been the reason he went to great length to convince her to marry him. He could not fathom why else he would set out to leg-shackle himself to the headstrong lass. As matches went, this seemed a good one, approved by his father and Drostan, the Laird. The Darrochs were a traditional clan that traced to long before Culloden, and Moira was their former leader’s daughter and then sister. The weight of this match would also add to the McKendrick’s stand in the Highlands. Which led him to conclude he held fair reasons to fall in the parson’s mousetrap.
A noise reverberated in the chapel packed full of Darrochs. He looked at the opening door to see Moira standing there on the arm of Wallace, his father. And then he could not take his eyes off his bride. Not because she dressed fashionably or something. In fact, she dressed her usual clothes, like him, only more formal. The underdress moulding her petite, delectable form was lacy and pristine. The Burgundy and white tartan wrapped around her with care, marking her slim waist and pert breasts. Those riotous chestnut curls fell free down her spine to the small of her back, crowned by a garland of colourful flowers that illuminated her hazel eyes.
She looked stunning.
And he had no chance of tearing his stare from her.
As his wife, the lass would offer no hardship, he concluded unashamedly. Her beauty did something with his guts, and when he remembered their…moments, he knew that together they were like gunpowder and tinder.
The day seemed to stretch too long ahead until the night came and he could—
A feminine hand resting on his forearm stifled his impatience. And his clandestine fantasies.
Moira might have all kinds of misgivings about this marriage. Only they vanished in thin air as she spotted the groom standing tall and formidable at the altar. Her eyes and her mind had attention solely for him.
She tried to remind herself that this wedding was not the real thing, that they would carry on living their separate lives, presenting a united front for the Darroch’s sake. Tried to remember that when he showed interest in other women, she would keep her head clear—and held high—to continue dedicating her time and effort to her clan.
Regardless, the sight of him this morning led her to forget everything but his presence and the knowledge they would leave this church as man and wife. Legally, he would be hers, exclusively hers. Even if their marital bonds were for mere appearances. On the periphery, she noticed the other lasses’ eyes lighting on the McKendrick monument. Possessiveness chafed, but today, she was the woman on his arm and the one who would leave here with him. To a lonely night, unshared chambers, yes, but no one would get wind of it. They would become Laird and Lady in a question of minutes. That was all that mattered.
In reality, she should not even be thinking about the marriage bed. Whether Lachlan bedded her or not, the aim of this alliance must remain in the forefront. But the truth was, if she accepted his attentions, she would be in danger of losing her focus and, worse, giving him the chance to reject her and find other women to satisfy his need for variety. Moira did not know if she could take it. With the few moments they shared, she already desired him forever. If consummation became a done thing, she would suffer doubly when she was not his favourite anymore.
The priest prompted them to turn and she forced herself to drop her musings.
Facing each other, they said their vows and, at last, Lachlan slipped the wedding band on her finger to meet the hazel jasper betrothal gem. The one he put there in what felt like ages ago at this point. She did not wear the precious stone during her daily chores for fear of damaging it, keeping it for the social functions. Her eyes fixed on the simple gold band as a shiver ran through her at the enormity of what took place here. She was a married woman from this day on and, by the time he strayed, she would never have the opportunity to seek her own happiness with anyone. Again, she told herself that this represented something bigger than her, than them. This represented the guarantee of a future for her people.
Moira did not want him to kiss her in front of so many people and make a fool of herself by melting all over him. So, she tugged her hand up for him to kiss it instead. Those coffee eyes clasped on her with a knowing glint that said the both had been doing just a little more than kissing. She did not care and cared even less what others thought. She would not allow him to reduce her to a brainless ninny in this public set. Acquiescing to her mute wish, he lowered his head. The second his sculpted lips touched her hand, heat spread through every cell, and she could not stop the sucking of breath that stuck in her lungs.
So much for not melt
ing in public. Damn the giant!
In the next breath he led her down the aisle to the feast they would offer to her and his clans outside the chapel. The surrounding garden had been prepared for the occasion with canopies and long tables.
The newlyweds led their people and sat on the highest table. On both their sides Lachlan’s siblings and spouses took their place followed by his father.
