Page 43 of The Cursed Highland Bride

Some of the Morgan clansmen within earshot laughed and made jokes about the Leòideach stench never washing out. Tor kept his men calm and ushered them out of the door into the courtyard beyond, Dunn and Katarina following soon after. The stable hands had not even had time enough to see to the horses properly, so they did not need to wait for them to be brought back out. Mounting, they swiftly rode out of the castle toward the loch.

Katarina felt as if she might be ill. She was placing her sisters’ lives in jeopardy to save that of her husband and his clan. No matter how much she loved her sisters, she could not allow Alistair Morgan to wipe out an entire people. I cannot allow Morgan to win. His evil knows no bounds.

When they reached the shores of the loch, the men dismounted and turned to head in the water’s direction. “We are nae actually here tae bathe,” Tor announced to stop the men from removing their clothes and quickly informed them of what Katarina had overheard. The looks on their faces went from surprise to deadly earnest intent. When Tor was done explaining the situation, the brothers placed their men on guard while they came up with a plan to face their enemy. Ewan from the council of clan elders joined them.

“What do ye wish tae do, brother?” Tor asked, his face creased with concern.

“There are tae many Morgan soldiers tae fight them all here. We did nae bring enough men with us for a fully-fledged battle.” Dunn shook his head in regret.

“Should nae the Lady Katherine’s presence give Laird Morgan pause?” Ewan asked, his tone that of angry confusion. “Does he care so little for his own daughter?”

“The man has nae soul,” Dunn answered. “It was his plan tae kill her tae according tae what she overheard.”

“He would kill his own daughter?” The look of pained disbelief on Ewan’s face made Katarina feel even more guilty for the lie that she had been living. They had all been operating under the understanding that her blood connections to the Morgan laird would protect them. She knew that it would not.

“I have come tae believe that there is nae anything that Alistair Morgan would nae do if it suited him tae do it,” Dunn replied, his face creased in anger. He looked at Katarina with sorrowed apology in his eyes. “We must take her safely back tae Orkney. We can contrive a plan tae answer this insult there.”

“I agree.” Tor nodded.

“Aye,” Ewan agreed as well. “We will call a meeting o’ the council tae discuss a response.”

“Tae Orkney then,” Tor sighed and turned to give further instructions to his men.

“With all due haste,” Dunn agreed.

Katarina had listened to every word, clinging to the hope that she might yet still save her sisters and not tell her husband the truth about herself. Yet, when the plan ended with them all going home at top speed, she knew that she had no choice but to tell him everything.

“I cannae go with ye,” she spoke softly as she neared Dunn, her fear causing her voice to shake. No matter how much she wanted to hide the fear that was taking over her body and mind, she could not. He was going to hate her when he discovered the truth, and there would be nothing that she could do about it. She had lied. Now, she would have to live with the consequences.

“Even after all that we have shared, ye choose a man such as yer faither?” Dunn’s eyes and voice conveyed hurt and anger. “He wants tae kill ye!”

“Alistair Morgan is nae my faither, Dunn.”

“I ken that ye dinnae care for him, but his blood is in yer veins. Even so, why would ye choose loyalty tae such a man?”

“His blood does nae flow in my veins. He is nae my faither.” The truth reverberated in the air between them as if it were a flaming arrow meant to pierce the heart.

Dunn’s brows arched in confusion. “Nae yer faither?”

Tor’s brow furrowed in uncertainty. “Speak the truth, lass,” he commanded, his stance shifting to that of a man about to face a terrible threat.

Katarina straightened her shoulders and lifted her chin. Dropping the pretense of a Scottish accent, she spoke to him in her own voice for the first time since the wedding. It was as it had been with Esmerelda when they had spoken, her suppressed Romani heritage breaking free, easing the burden of her soul.

“My name is Katarina Buckland. I am a daughter of the Romani. Two months ago, while we were camping near this very loch, soldiers attacked my family. We fought back but to no avail. They were much more skilled in the ways of war than we were. That night, my parents and grandparents were slaughtered by Alistair Morgan and his men. My mother was raped before my very eyes. My sisters and I were taken captive.” She paused for breath, the emotions of the moment threatening to overtake her.

Dunn stared at her in shocked silence.

“In exchange for my sisters’ lives, I was made to look and speak as Alistair Morgan’s daughter, the Lady Katherine, so that I might marry you and please the king.” Katarina felt her voice shake as her body trembled violently out of her control, but she continued. Tears flowed down her cheeks as she looked into Dunn’s hurt-filled eyes. “Morgan threatened to kill my sisters if I ever told you the truth, Dunn. I only do so now, at the risk of their lives, as I could not be responsible for your deaths either. Morgan still holds my sisters captive, and I do not know where. When he discovers that we are gone and I have told you all the truth, he will kill them.”

Dunn staggered back away from her, his face a mask of confusion, pain, and anger. “Ye are Romani?”

“I am.” The words of Esmerelda’s curse sprang to Katarina’s mind, and she knew that it had come to fruition. She opened her mouth to explain further but was cut short by the shout of a voice she knew all too well and had hoped that she would never have to hear again.

“Katarina Buckland, I have come for what is mine!”

Turning, she cried out in fear as she saw the wild eyes of August Raymond, the man her family had spurned and originally run from, and his men racing towards them, weapons raised. They were outnumbered with a loch to their backs and nowhere to run. Tor shouted orders as their men readied to face this newest enemy.

“Who are these people? They are nae Morgan’s men,” Dunn demanded to know. His eyes were filled with so much pain and anger that Katarina felt her heart might rip in two.