Page 51 of The Highlander’s Kilted Affair

At least she didn’t have to pretend to look excited. It wasn’t as though her father expected that from her. And yet, her silence and blank expression clearly worried him.

“Are ye all right, me dear?” he asked, taking a step forward and pressing a large hand onto her arm in comfort.

“Aye,” Evelyn stammered. “Aye, I am fine.”

“I ken this is all happening so quickly⁠—”

“When?” Evelyn blurted. “When is the laird arranging the wedding fer?”

“It will take place in three days,” her father said.

Evelyn sighed heavily. “I see.”

“I’m sorry, daughter. Truly, I am. But this will protect ye and yer sister when I am nae longer here tae dae it.”

His words surprised her, for Evelyn had not imagined her life without her father in it. But then, she supposed, as the cycle of life occurred, he would leave them at some point. And of course, he was right. The alliance would not only protect herself and Yvaine, it would protect the entire clan. Marrying Audor was the right thing to do. She knew that. Well, her mind knew that. Her heart had an entirely different opinion.

“Thank ye fer telling me, Faither,” Evelyn replied, feeling like she did not know what else to say.

“I have sent word tae our clan. They will likely nae arrive on the day o’ the ceremony, but the laird has ensured me…”

But even as Evelyn nodded in all the right places as her father continued, she was hardly listening to his words. He spoke of the attendees, and that the celebrations would continue, and yet, she didn’t care. Her life was soon to be bound to a man she would never love, thus breaking both hers and Benedict’s hearts. They could never be together, and no matter how strong their bond was, it simply could not be.

Once her father left, Evelyn could only stand there in stunned silence. Before he had arrived, she was still trying to come to terms with the fact that she was going to have to marry Audor. Now, she was reeling with the news that the wedding would be in three days.

I am trapped. I am trapped and I will never be free.

Suddenly feeling the walls of her bedchamber closing in, Evelyn grabbed her shawl and ran from the room. Hurrying down the corridor to the main staircase, she ran down the steps. Her heart thumped, her throat felt as though it were closing over, and she could hardly breathe. Passing maids who gave her strange looks, she continued running until she reached a rear door, and bursting through it to the outside, she took in a great gasp.

Gulping the air in as though it was the only thing that could save her, Evelyn took a second to catch her breath, lifting her face to the heavens, as though the sunlight itself was her sustenance.

After a moment, and seeing others mingling about, Evelyn ventured onward. She wanted to be alone. She needed to be alone. The wind tugged at her shawl, but the afternoon was pleasant as she continued walking towards the gardens at the rear of the castle.

She didn’t want to be found. She wanted to lose herself among the decorative hedges and shrubbery. She wanted to lose herself forever. If she could have, she would have run out of the gates and never stopped running, but she would never get passed the guards. No one was to leave the castle now. The threat of Laird Keith’s men on Clan Gunn lands had everyone on alert.

Finding a stone bench in a secluded area where no one from the castle could see her, Evelyn dropped herself down and fought the tightness in her throat that threatened to overwhelm her.

The last time they had been together, she had told Benedict that she wanted to be with him. Now, that choice had been taken from her. But how was she supposed to explain that to him? How was she supposed to tell him that, to protect her clan, she had to deny her heart, push aside her feelings, and marry his brother?

He had promised her he would tell his brother what had happened between them, but surely, if Audor was bringing the wedding forward, that could not be the case.

Unless, he did tell him, and Audor has dismissed it.

What difference did it make now? Clearly, the decision had been made. Her father did not come to tell her she was marrying Benedict. Audor had brought the wedding forward, and she was marrying him.

“Evelyn?”

She gasped at the sound of Benedict’s voice, and looking up, she could only stare at him as he stood there, just a few feet away.

“Evelyn, are ye all right?”

“How did ye ken where tae find me?” she blurted.

“I saw ye walking in the garden from an upstairs window,” Benedict replied, pointing back to the castle. “What are ye doing out here alone?”

Evelyn sighed. “I just needed some time tae think. Me faither just told me that Audor has brought the wedding forward. Now, I am being forced tae marry even sooner than I wanted.”

Benedict came and sat beside her with a heavy frown. “But, I thought…” he trailed off when Evelyn began shaking her head.