“With his wife and brother’s body found on Macinnes land Greer will demand retribution and,” —she stopped abruptly, her brow knitting— “why would Haidar dump the headless corpse on Macinnes land?”
“A question I was wondering myself,” Rhys said, giving his wife’s waist a gentle squeeze. “Greer is rash and unpredictable, dangerous traits in an enemy. It would be foolish for anyone to think of him as an ally. Greer would appear loyal, until it did not suit his need any longer.”
“As he did with Hew McDolan,” Pitt said.
Rhys nodded. “He turned a friend into an enemy when he allowed his brother Rab to send Saundra away with the intent of having her killed. Of course, if Saundra had not escaped, Hew could still be an ally of Greer’s.”
“It is good we kept watch over Saundra, though she did make it easy for us, escaping on her own,” Pitt said.
“You followed her and made certain she stayed safe?” Heather asked with a curious stare.
“Aye, we did,” Pitt confirmed.
Heather looked from Pitt to her husband, back to Pitt, and then to her husband again. She quickly moved out of his embrace to stand in front of the two and pointed her finger from one to the other as she said, “You let me escape!”
“Of course I did,” Rhys admitted. “Did you not once question how you could escape my ghost warriors so easily?”
Heather sighed, shaking her head. “It was not until later that I gave it thought and wondered over it.”
“It was time for you to return home,” Rhys said. “Negotiations with your father had been completed. Once the documents were signed, you belonged to me.” He gave a nod to Pitt, and he quietly left the room. “If your father would have agreed when I first approached him requesting to wed you, it would not have been necessary for me to abduct you. It had not been part of my plan.”
“You spoke with my father about marrying me before the marriage agreement had been made with Rogan MacClennan?”
Rhys nodded. “I had someone approach him. Unfortunately, he was not in favor of it. He was actually quite clear that he would never allow such a union to take place.”
“So, you abducted me and forced my father to agree.”
“He left me little choice after he agreed to a marriage between you and Rogan, though it took some convincing since he was quite certain yoursister Patience would be successful in finding you, and she did come close a couple of times. Your father understood that I would be denied for only so long, and with the unexpected threat of war with the McLauds, he realized refusal was no longer an option.”
“His health as well was not good,” she said, feeling guilty that he had shouldered this burden himself.
“Your father was not as ill as he made it seem.”
“What do you mean?” she asked, though did not give him a chance to respond. “Are you suggesting my father faked his illness?”
“Aye, I am.” Rhys stood and walked over to the side piece, filled a goblet and held it out to her.
She shook her head. “My father would never?—”
“Your father knew it was past time his daughters wed and since the three of you showed no interest in it, he knew he had to do something. Feigning an illness, making the three of you think he was too weak to lead the clan would make you more agreeable to an arranged marriage. If anything, he knew the three of you were loyal to your clan and would do whatever was necessary to see it kept strong.” Rhys raised his goblet of wine. “I toast your father, a very wise and brave man.”
“This is complete nonsense. He sought my counsel on many things, why not this?” Heatherasked more to herself than Rhys. She simply could not comprehend her father doing this.
“You and your sisters are very close. Would you have been supportive of an arranged marriage for either of them?”
She thought of both Patience and Emma. Patience would never have accepted an arranged marriage and when Rogan had turned down her father’s proposal for such a union between him and Emma, saying he would only wed the beautiful sister, it had hurt Emma and made her adamant about never marrying.
Heather shook her head. “I could have never forced my sisters to wed against their will.”
“Your father did what he had to do, not only for his daughters, but for his clan.”
“How do you know all this? It is as if you have lived among us,” —Heather’s mouth dropped open and her eyes turned wide— “oh my God, you planted a spy in our clan.”
“It was necessary,” Rhys said, setting his goblet down and walking over to her.
She poked him in the chest when he got near. “Who? Who is the traitor? I will inform Patience and have him returned to you immediately.”
“I do not think your father will agree to that,” he said, brushing her poking finger aside.
