Page 66 of A Touch So Wicked

Damian spun around. “Elissa! I didn’t see you approach. How much did you hear?”

“Enough to know Tavis willna leave unless you send me out to him.”

“Forget it,” Damian said tersely. He turned to Sir Richard. “You have your orders, Dickon.” Dickon saluted smartly and left. Dermot followed in his wake.

Damian grasped Elissa’s arm and steered her away from the gate. “Why should I give in to Gordon’s demands?”

“‘Twould make sense. You donna know how many men Tavis has rallied to his cause.”

“Are you that anxious to go to him, Elissa?”

“Nay. ’Tis true I want my home back, but not if it means your death. I’ve changed my mind about…many things. Tavis is one of them.”

“Do I take that to mean you no longer hate me?”

“I hate what you stand for and what your countrymen have done to my homeland. I hate the devastation wrought by the Hanover and his butcher. And I hate being held prisoner in my own home.”

“But you don’t hate me.”

She faced him squarely, her face rigid. “I hate you.”

“Liar.”

“Your bride awaits you, go to her.”

Bloody hell! He’d forgotten that today was his wedding day. Pulling Elissa along with him, he returned to the keep. The Reverend Trilby met him at the door.

“What’s amiss, my lord? There seems to be confusion in the hall.”

“We are under siege, Reverend. There will be no wedding this day. Please inform Lady Kimbra.”

“Aye, my lord. I understand perfectly. It wouldn’t be seemly to celebrate a wedding when the enemy is at our door. I’m sure Lady Kimbra will understand.”

“What will I understand?” Kimbra asked as she joined them.

“There will be no wedding today, my lady,” Trilby explained.

Kimbra’s delicate brows lifted as she stared at Damian’s hand resting upon Elissa’s arm. “Kindly explain why you are postponing our nuptials, Lord Damian.”

“In case you haven’t heard, my lady, the fortress is under siege. ’Tis not the best time to hold a wedding.”

Kimbra stamped her foot in a childish show of temper. “I won’t have it! Who dares to attack you?”

“Tavis Gordon and his clansmen,” Damian said tersely.

“Why?”

“They want Lord Damian to release me,” Elissa explained.

Kimbra shot Elissa a venomous look. “Then by all means, Damian, give them what they want and let us get on with the wedding.”

“Heed Lady Kimbra, my lord,” Elissa advised. “Once I walk out the gate, Tavis will leave Misterly in peace.”

“You’re naive if you believe that, Elissa. You’re not going anywhere. Gordon doesn’t stand a chance against my seasoned soldiers.”

“Have you considered that Tavis’s men outnumber yours? Misterly has never been under attack. Its safety lay in its remoteness. Father was the great Alpin Fraser, Laird of Misterly; no hostile clan dared to invade his lands.”

Damian considered Elissa’s words. It was true Misterly had its shortcomings, but the soldiers under his command were more than able to defeat Gordon and his ill-trained band of savages. He would not send Elissa to the Gordon chieftain.