AllFreeNovel
Share Us
CHAPTER ONE
McIndewar Castle
Banff Bay, Scotland, 1780
Elspeth
T
ime was a funny thing. It flowed like a river, constantly moving onward with no regard for its surroundings, carving through any obstacles that stood before it to maintain its forward motion. One moment, a young girl could find herself thrust into an impossible situation, alone and afraid, uncertain of her future. The next moment, eighteen years had flown by and all those fears she had held in her youth seemed so insignificant.
Elspeth Duncan stood atop the front wall of McIndewar Castle and stared out over the rugged and wild surrounding Scottish landscape. When she thought of that young girl, the little fool who had nearly devastated her clan with her shortsightedness and wild heart, she could not help but mourn her loss. Regardless of her mistakes and her destructive choices, that girl had been brave and bold. Passionate. She had pursued the things her heart desired for her, whether that was love or vengeance.
However, Elspeth was no longer that girl. The years had taught her to temper her passions and find contentment in stability and security. The shift had started shortly after she had murdered Roberth Ruthven. At first, her clan had begrudgingly accepted the fact that she had claimed revenge for her father’s death at Roberth’s hands, but as time had passed, their resentment had grown. The Ruthven clan had been a favored choice for an ally, and Elspeth’s actions had ended any chance of the two clans joining together. Admittedly, this had left her clan vulnerable, and one by one, her clansmen had turned on her.
Elspeth had found herself increasingly isolated. Alone and pregnant, when Andrew McIndewar had come along and asked for her hand in marriage, she had accepted without hesitation. She had given up her position as Laird of the Duncan clan and Andrew had whisked her so far north to his land, that there had been no risk of her encountering anyone from her former life.
No one. Not even William.
Elspeth’s heart beat a little harder when she thought of William. It always did. She tried not to think of him, as she wanted to remain loyal to Andrew, even in her mind. He had done so much for her. Given her a life when she had thought hers was over. Been a father to her daughter so that she was not forced to live as a bastard. Elspeth could not claim to feel passionately for him, and he was so much older than her that he could be mistaken for her father, but she genuinely cared for him. He was kind, reliable, and loyal.
Everything she had hoped William would be before he had abandoned her.
The sound of approaching footsteps pulled Elspeth from her wandering thoughts. Turning her head, she found her husband walking toward her, as if she had somehow summoned him with her mind.
“There ye are,” he said with a warm smile. His silver beard framed his red lips and just the top of his ruddy cheeks were visible. He had always had a beard. She had never seen him without it. “We missed ye at breakfast.”
Elspeth gave him an apologetic smile. “Am sorry. I did no’ have much o’ an appetite when I woke up. I just needed some air and tae think…”
He nodded, coming to a stop next to her. “Aye, that is why I thought I would find ye here. This is where ye always come when ye need tae think.”
Elspeth felt a pang of guilt. This was where she came when she was haunted by thoughts of William. She had never spoken of him to Andrew, but she had the feeling that her husband suspected there was someone from her past she could not fully forget.
“Whit are ye doing today?” she asked, wishing to lighten the tension that had settled between them.
“The boys and I are tae meet wi’ the McClarens’ representatives tae discuss the upcoming pact,” he replied with a sigh.
She furrowed her brow, concerned. “I do no’ trust them. I do no’ feel good aboot aligning ourselves wi’ them.”
He gave her a knowing look. “Aye, I ken, my dear. I do no’ trust them entirely meself. Still, we need this alliance. We are too vulnerable as we are.”
It was a situation Elspeth was all too familiar with, but in her experience, such arrangements did not tend to work out for the best. However, this was the McIndewar clan, not the Duncan clan. She was not Laird anymore, merely the Laird’s wife. She would defer to his decision on the matter. He was a more competent leader than she had been, anyway. She likely had nothing to really worry about.
“Did Florence tell ye whit she was doing today?” she asked, moving away from the subject of the McClarens.
“She said something aboot riding,” Andrew answered, looking thoughtful. “Adventuring, I think she called it.”
Elspeth grinned and shook her head. “That lass is going tae get lost in those woods someday, wi’ all the adventuring she does.”
Andrew chuckled. “Were ye as adventurous as a young lass?”
Elspeth looked away from him, caught off guard by the question. She rarely spoke of her past, not wanting to relive the painful memories.
“I was foolish,” she murmured. “There is a difference.”
Andrew laid a hand gently over hers. “Am sorry, ma dear. I ken ye do no’ like tae speak o’ such things. It slipped me mind.”
Forcing a smile back on her face, she turned back to him and said, “Nae need tae apologize, husband. I do see much o’ meself in Florence, though I hope yer patience and good sense have rubbed off on her so she is no’ so foolhardy as I was.”
