Page 23 of Her Forbidden Highlander Husband

After an impatient sigh, Lach answered. “Take them some food. Bread, meat pies, but also some treats. Tarts and such. Collect some flowers along the way, and for the love of Christ make sure to change to your best shirt.”

“Why would I need my best shirt to deliver a letter?”

“You’re not just delivering a letter. You’re trying to woo a woman.”

Liam had never needed to woo a woman before. He’d had plenty enough offers from the serving maids. While he hadn’t taken advantage of every offer, there’d been a few. And they’d been happy to take him in his second-best shirt.

But Lachlan was a happily married man, so Liam would follow his instructions and hope they earned the same results the laird enjoyed. It surely wouldn’t hurt to try to win her over.

…

Gwendolyn flinched when the yelling started up again. So far, Evelyn was content with their tiny cottage in the village. Making their meals herself was a bit of a challenge, but she’d managed. She and Gwennie were building an unbreakable bond, just as she’d wanted. Everything might have been perfect if not for the fact she still missed Liam and that the man in the cottage across from hers spent the better part of the day in a drunken rage.

Evelyn had seen a young wife and a small boy—perhaps a few years older than Gwennie—doing chores outside the home. Gwennie had offered one of her rabbits to the boy, who thanked her quietly.

Evelyn attempted to converse with the other woman, but it was clear her lip was too swollen to make talking easy. She knew what that felt like.

Every time the man started yelling, Evelyn wished she were brave enough to confront the man and make him stop hurting the poor woman, but while she’d walked over to the house twice, she hadn’t had the courage to knock. Both times, she froze as the roaring voice coming from inside called up a memory from her past.

Being the prisoner of five men had meant one of them telling her to do something that one of the others didn’t like and punished her for. They fought among themselves often enough, but she was the one who took the worst of it.

She was about to retreat yet again when the door flew open and the little boy rushed out, knocking into her.

“Help,” he said with tears running down his dirty face.

The man was still yelling inside. Evelyn turned to see a few other women standing about, none willing to risk entering the house. She would have to do this herself. She would have to save someone like someone had once saved her.

Steering the lad to her home, she reached for the dagger she kept on the mantel out of reach and went back outside after instructing both children to stay inside.

A boy no older than ten had come forward but had stopped outside the home.

“Run to the castle as fast as you can. Tell the guard at the gate that Evelyn MacKinlay needs her husband to come immediately. Can you do that?”

The boy nodded and ran off like a shot.

With a steady breath and a tight grip on her knife, she went inside.

…

Liam was in the bailey punishing his men for their remarks the night before when a boy came running up to the open gate.

“Please help! Evelyn MacKinlay…” He paused to catch a breath as Liam ran to him, ready to shake the next words from his mouth if he didn’t continue. “She needs her husband immediately.”

“I’m her husband. Take me to her. Now.” He gave a nod to two of his men to follow along as well and off they ran.

The boy was young and the trip from the village to the castle was not a short one. He was slowing down and soon Liam was running ahead, dragging the poor lad behind him. But he wouldn’t have needed the boy’s guidance as he knew to go toward her cottage.

Once there, it was easy to know why he’d been called. He saw Gwennie standing in the open door of their cottage. A boy a bit older hugging her as if he was keeping her from going to the other cottage where all the shouting was coming from.

It took a moment for his sight to adjust to the dim light in the room. When it did, he couldn’t believe what he was seeing before him.

A dark-haired woman sobbed in the corner while Evelyn stood in front of her, dagger held out against a man larger than Liam.

Evelyn looked like a warrior defending the other woman against a giant. Had he not noticed the way her hand shook as she held her weapon clenched in whitened fingers, he would have thought she battled large men every day.

“Stay away from her. You’re in your cups and you’ve hurt her.”

“Get away from me wife, ye foul bitch. ’Tis not your place,” the man said, lurching toward Evelyn. It was time Liam stopped this.