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“Is it nae the loveliest dress ye ever saw?” Mary asked as her fingers brushed over the shimmering fabric. Elena wanted to like it. In fact, she wanted to love the wedding dress. It was elegant and as the servants hoisted the fabric over her arms, the smooth fabric felt as if she were stepping into a warm bath.
Exhaling, Elena looked in the mirror. A smile drifted over her lips a moment before her shoulders dropped. Panic and dread seeped through her like lava, turning every fiber of her body hard as a rock.
“I cannae do this,” she said. Her legs trembled as she tried to hold herself upright. Mary’s hands were on her instantly. Carefully, Elena moved back to the chair and sat down. Allie fanned Elena as heat flushed through Elena’s face.
“I daenae even ken the man I am to marry,” Elena mumbled. “How can anyone agree to such a union? I cannae stay here, I must go.”
“Please,” Allie gasped as Elena darted to her feet with an inferno burning within to leave. The only thought coursing through Elena’s head was to flee.
Rushing to the bedroom door, Elena grabbed the knob and stumbled back. Her eyes widened.
“Anna, what are you doing here?” Elena asked as she blocked her sister from entering the room.
“Why, I’ve come to check on my baby sister,” Anna answered as she craned her neck to steal a glimpse into the room. “What is goin’ on in here?”
“I cannae do this,” Elena said. “If ye loved me at all, ye’ll let me flee.”
Anna’s fingers curled around Elena’s shoulders and shoved her back from the doorway. “Ye cannae be serious.”
“Please,” Elena said trying hard not to let the tears spill from her eyes.
“Ye think I daennae ken what yer feelin’ right now? I do.”
“But ye daennae,” Elena said shrugging Anna off her. “Ye ken yer husband. Vincent courted ye for months before askin’ for yer hand. He took ye out and showed ye off. The same went for Saoirse, Georgia, and Ayda. All of ye ken the men ye married.”
“What is the hold up in here?”
Elena and Anna’s heads whipped about to the door. Elena couldn’t hold back the tears as her mother stepped into the room. There was a grace about Iona that eased everyone the instant she arrived. Instantly, Elena darted from Anna’s side and threw her arms around her mother’s neck.
“Please,” Elena begged as she sobbed into her mother’s chest. “Ye cannae make me do this.”
Iona stepped back and cupped Elena’s face with her hands. A pitiful smile drifted over Iona’s lips as she stared at Elena.
“I ken ye think this is unfair,” Iona said. “If it makes ye feel any better, that is how I was married to yer faither.”
Elena’s heart sank into her stomach as her lower lip trembled. She shook her head. With her attention shifting between her mother and the open door, she paused a moment. Elena’s body shivered.
“I didnae ken that,” Elena mumbled. “But ye and father were so happy together.”
“Aye, we were,” Iona said. “But do ye nae think I was just as nervous and scared as ye are now? I ken ye think yer uncle is being cruel by arrangin’ this marriage. But I promise things will be for the best.”
“Darragh didnae even ask me what I wanted,” Elena said raking her hand across her upper lip. The sound of the bagpipes rattled Elena’s nerves. It was the tune she dreaded the most to hear. Swallowing hard, she looked to Anna praying for her sister to intervene.
“I ken,” Iona said. “But yer uncle is head of this house and clan now. Ye cannae defy his wishes. He thinks this union will be the best one for both families. And I have to agree.”
Elena shook her head as her heart pounded in her ears. Shifting her eyes to Anna, Elena prayed for a way out. In the pit of her stomach, she knew there was something wrong with the whole ordeal. A bride should be thrilled to be getting married. Any other woman would be excited on this day. Yet, for Elena, it was heart-wrenching.
“What if he is cruel? What if he never loves me the way Faither loved ye?” Elena asked as Anna scurried around Elena and began fiddling with the loose strands of her hair in preparation for exiting the room.
“He willnae be, that much I promise,” Iona said as Elena watched her mother’s hand slip into the small pouch on her hip. “He’ll honor his oath.”
Elena closed her eyes as Anna draped the tartan over her shoulder so she could wear it as a sash. The very weight of the cloth made Elena feel the heaviness of the world. Slowly, she opened her eyes as her mother patted her on the shoulder lovingly.
“Nay,” Elena hissed as the silver brooch pinned to her shoulder came into view. Two beady eyes of a wolf stared back at her. The blood flowing through Elena’s body turned cold causing her to shiver. Panic, rage, fear, there were no words to describe the utter agony that rippled through Elena’s body.
“What is this?” Elena demanded as she stared at the brooch. “Is this some form of torture? Ye cannae be sayin’ I’m to marry into the Murphy clan?”
Iona’s attention shifted to Anna as Elena stepped back from her mother. Mary and Allie encircled Elena, trapping her between the servants and her family. Elena’s throat closed around the scream forming in her throat as flashes of her childhood raced through her mind.
