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“He did nae cut yer throat because he needs me permission to dae so. I am clan chief and if I wish to cut yer throat now, I will nae have to ask for permission. I will just dae it.”
Jonan's words had rendered Lord Bennett speechless,certain of the sincerity of his threat.
“Leave,” Jonan said again, and the man stepped away.
“Five days,” Lord Bennett turned to Noraas he mounted his horse.
What becomes of me?
“Back to yer chores, everyone,” Jonan suddenly broke the ominous silence.
Feet swept along the floor of the keep briskly as everyone dispersed at his order… all except Nora.
“Come with me,” he told her sternly.
Nora stood at the bottom of the stairs, watching Jonan as he ascended. Look back at me! Say something! Nora begged in her mind, but Jonan did not return her gaze. He simply marched up the stairs quietly.
Nora took a deep breath and carried herself up the stairs. She knew she owed Jonan an apology for many things.
I never expected to fall in love with him. I thought of him as a brute who deserved nothing but my respect and fear, but Nora knew that wasn't enough of an excuse.
They had talked like kindred spirits. They'd ridden together. They had kissed. And they had made love. Shedoubted hewould ever forgive her.
He had loved once, and death took her away. And now, I hurt him too. Her eyes burned with unshed tears.
Looking down the corridor, past their chambers, she sawJonan standing at the balcony, his back to her. He will understand your reasons. He might.
The village, mountains, hills, and valleys stretched out before her. It had all been a dream that she had tried to hold onto, despite the fact that she had not deserved it.
“I know you are angry with me, as you should be. I lied to you and—”
“And to everyone,” Jonan cut her off. His eyes were red from holding back tears. He immediately turned his face away from her. “I brought ye to me home, to me clan. I bore me heart to ye! Me daughter loves ye as she would a mother… but ye are a liar,” he bit.
Each word was a stab in her chest. Jonan's voice had never sounded so low and sorrowful. I caused this.
“I didnae trust ye when ye arrived here with me. Ye were an English woman. I didnae love ye when ye first came, but I never lied to ye. I never disrespected ye,” Jonan said. “Why did ye choose to deceive me? Did I wrong ye?”
“No.” Nora bowed her head.
Nora wanted to curl up next to him and to have him wrap his arms around her.
“My father treated my sister and me as if we were pests. I spent the majority of my life shielding my sister from him. She was frail, but she was a better person. She was supposed to be your bride,” she said lowering her head.She dared to look up at Jonan to see his reaction. Nora wonderedif he regretted everything that had happened between them... if he would have preferred the real Amelia all along.
“He wanted to be free of us, so he had us both married off against our will. He did not care what we thought or what we said. It was the way we were raised by him. When he told us that Amelia was going to be wedded to a Scotsman, I feared for her,” Nora continued.
“Why did ye fear for yer sister? Ye thought we were barbaric brutes?” Jonan queried.
“I did not think she would survive on her own so far from the manor and the English,” Nora decided to tell him. It was a minor concern compared to her fear that Jonan would turn out to be a brute, but it was still somewhat true.
Jonan sighed.
“My name is Nora,” she said.
“What does yer name matter now?Ye looked me in the eyes and lied! There was plenty of time to tell the truthbut ye chose not to.”
“I did not want to lose you!” Nora blurted out and started crying. “I am filled with deep regret! I won a good man, one that I deceived. And Amelia marrieda man who threatens women! I shudder to think what he could have done to her...” she sobbed.
Jonan stood motionless, his mind wandering.
“The Englishman is a daemon,” Jonan finally said. “I have no doubt that he will carry out his threat if ye do not return to him in five days.”
Upon hearinghis words, her heart sank. He was going to deliver her into the hands of Lord Bennett. It made her wonder how much of his love for her was still left in his heart.
“I will help ye rescue yer sister from that man—” a grateful smile spread across Nora’s face “—but I will never trust ye. Never.”
Thus Jonan walked away, hiswords echoing in her mind.
She lookedat him, but he never looked back.
