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“What is the matter with ye?” Anger prickled in Edwina’s voice, as she stared at her childhood companion; the man she considered to be her dearest friend. He looked the same, but she was staring at a stranger.Thisman was not the Victor that she knew.
He delved into a leather pack and drew out some bread and cheese. Lying back on an old, rotten log, he began to eat. His calmness chilled her, for while she was still trying to catch up to what on Earth was going on, he seemed to have everything planned out.
“There’s nothin’ the matter with me,” he replied evenly. “I’m nae cross with ye for marryin’ Laird Moore, if that’s what ye mean. I ken ye wouldnae have had a choice in the matter, with yer cousin breathin’ down yer neck and all sorts of wretched rumors flyin’ around about ye. We willnae have to think about it once we’re further north. I can introduce ye to my Clan as my Lady, sayin’ we married while I was away, and nay one need ever ken that we’re unwed.”
Further north?Edwina’s heart almost stopped as she realized where they were headed. Clearly, he intended to take her to his Barony in Reindell. Glancing around at the forest clearing where they had paused, she recognized nothing. He did not seem to have taken any designated path, though as she peered through the thick trunks, wrapped in moss, she thought she saw the forest road in the distance. Not that it mattered; he would catch her before she could reach it.
She turned her attention back to him, her mouth agape, and quite certain that he had taken leave of his senses. “That’s nae what I mean, Victor. I mean, what is the matter with yer head? Did ye knock it? Did ye have a bad fall that jolted the intelligence right out of yer skull? Ye cannae honestly think that ye can just snatch me away from the man that I love, and—”
“Daenae say that!” Victor barked, sitting bolt upright. “Daenae say that ye love that man or, so help me, I’ll bury ye in a ditch right here in these woods. I’d rather have ye dead than have yer heart belong to someone else. It’s mine, Edwina, and yewillobey. I’ve been patient, as I said, and now it’s time for ye to give what is owed. It’s time ye became my wife, as yer faither always intended.”
It was Edwina’s turn to grow incensed, though she could not even jab a finger at him, with her hands still bound behind her back. “How dare ye, Victor!” she rasped. “How dare ye speak of what me faither would and wouldnae have wanted. I can tell ye, without any doubt, that he wouldnae have wanted this for me. If I’d loved ye, he’d have celebrated a union between us, I’m sure, but I have never and will never love ye like that.”
And if this is who ye really are, I cannae love ye as a brother anymore, either,she thought furiously, both angry at his actions and at the fact that nothing he had ever said to her had been sincere. Indeed, she felt as if their entire friendship had been built upon a lie.
“Ye’re upset because yer ribs are bruised,” Victor said, settling back down onto the log. “If I’d forewarned ye, ye wouldnae be upset with me. Ye’d have come willingly, I ken ye would. I couldnae risk anyone findin’ out, though, and stoppin’ ye from reachin’ me. Still, it’s all as it should be, now.”
Edwina tried to stand, but her tied ankles sent her tumbling back down onto the grass. “Ye’ve gone mad. Ye must’ve done, to be talkin’ like that. Have ye lost yer sight? Can ye nae see that I’m livid with ye, and that I want this about as much as I want to be trampled by a stampede of horses?” She glowered at him. “I spent all of last night in my husband’s arms, so happy that ye could probably hear my cries of joy from wherever ye were lurkin’! I’m upset because ye’ve snatched me away from him!”
“I wasnae lurkin’,” Victor spat. “Daenae speak of me as if I’m a deviant. Laird Moore’s wee devils threw me out of the Castle, aye, but they were all so inebriated by midnight that I easily walked back in again. There was nay lurkin’ or creepin’. And daenae pretend like ye had a joyful evenin’, either, because I ken ye dinnae. Ye’ll only be satisfied when ye’re with me.”
As restrained honesty did not seem to be working, Edwina changed tactic. “Is this to do with coin? Ye should ken—I daenae have any.” She paused, watching his expression for any change. “I always wondered why ye spent so long at Beckingdale Manor. Were ye just waitin’ until I was too old for anyone else to want me, so ye could have my dowry for yerself? Och, ye must’ve been horrified when my faither died and Kenney inherited, takin’ all my fortune, such as it was, with him.”
“It’s nae yer wealth, Edwina,” Victor replied drily. “I love ye, and hearin’ that ye were goin’ to wed another spurred me into action. I’m savin’ ye from him.”
“Is that what ye really think?” she scoffed. “Och, when have I ever needed savin’ from anyone? I’m quite capable by myself. Besides, if ye dinnae want me to marry Felix—nae that it would’ve stopped me—ye should’ve spoken up at the Masquerade Ball.”
Victor’s nostrils flared. “I dinnae ken what had occurred until the news had already spread that ye weresecretlybetrothed. Of course, I kenned that was nonsense.” He sighed. “I’d hoped that ye would break off yer supposed betrothal once ye found out that he was an unprincipled rogue, but ye dinnae. I cannae tell ye how disappointed I was, after all the effort I’d gone to in settin’ that up.”
Horror struck Edwina in her stomach, pushing the air out of her lungs as realization dawned. All this time, she had fixed blame upon the most obvious culprit, but it appeared that her judgment had been terribly, terribly wrong.
“Yewere the one who poisoned Felix and lied about that woman?” She felt sick even contemplating that her old friend could be so twisted and cruel. And for what? He would never have her as a wife or lover, and she would rather die than see him force her.
Victor tore off a chunk of bread with his teeth and chewed contentedly, before answering, “I did it for ye, dearest Edwina, even if it dinnae work, in the end.” He chuckled to himself. “I suppose ye owe yer cousin an apology, nae that he deserves one. If it wasnae for him, ye wouldnae have made it to the Kirk and ye wouldnae be married right now.”
“What?”
Victor shifted slightly, resting his elbow on the log. “See, I followed ye and Laird Moore to that inn when ye went together, and I intended to knock him out and steal ye away that very night. But Kenney showed up outside, and I couldnae exactly stay there with him around, so I had to rethink my plan.” He grinned. “It dinnae take much to persuade that maid to summon ye with some catastrophe or another. Lasses like that will do anythin’ for a purse of coin. And I kenned ye’d rise before anyone else, so it just goes to show how well I ken ye, my darlin’. The rest was simple.”
All of the pieces slowly slotted into place, prompting Edwina’s stomach to churn. Kenney was wretched in his own way, but she should have known that he would not risk the wedding being called off. He needed to get rid of her, so he could sell what was left of her belongings and cease living in the shadow of her father—at least, the daily reminders that he was not a smidgen of the man her father had been.
“Ye’re despicable,” was all Edwina could say.
He bit off another chunk of bread. “Nay, sweet lass, I’m loyal. I’ve always been loyal, and soon enough ye’ll see that this is the right path for ye.”
“Never,” she protested.
“Soon,” he repeated, as he set aside his luncheon and picked up the gag.
Walking over to where she lay, he crouched down and grasped her by the chin, so hard that she felt his fingernails digging into her skin. With an eerie smile fixed upon his face, he forced the gag into her mouth and tied it behind her head, before pulling the sack back over her.
“Och, and before ye start raisin’ yer hopes, there’s nay one comin’ for ye,” he said quietly. “It’ll be hours before they realize ye’re missin’, and once they do, they’ll turn their torches and pitchforks on Kenney. Daenae forget, they think they cast me out of the Castle, so how could they lay blame on someone who was long gone when ye vanished?”
Apparently, he was determined to have the last word, whether she liked it or not… and he was determined to steal her hope of rescue away, with it.
CHAPTER30
Melissa’s interruptionabout the identity of Edwina’s possible kidnapper appeared to change something in Kenney’s demeanor, as though he did not want anyone else stealing his thunder. Struggling to his feet, the wretch dusted himself off and puffed out his chest, declaring, “I’ll tell ye everythin’ ye might need to ken, if ye agree to pay the bride price that I’m owed. The same sum that ye would’ve paid if Edwina’s faither was still livin’, God rest him.”
