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Logan yanked off his beaver hat and threw it into the corner. “The hell I won’t. The bastard took advantage of you. Either that or, he—” He sucked in a harsh breath. “Did he force himself on you?”
She flattened a hand on his chest. “No. It wasn’t like that, I promise.”
Logan exhaled long and hard, and then he seemed to gather himself. “How old were you?”
“I’d just turned seventeen.”
“So hedidtake advantage of you, the bloody bastard. I’m sorry, Donella, but I’ll be calling on the Murrays tomorrow and—”
“I said no.”
“Why the hell not?”
“Because it was my bloody idea!”
Logan jerked back, startled.
Donella threw her reticule into the corner, where it landed on top of his hat. “That is why you will leave poor Roddy alone. He was the one who was wronged, not me. That silly boy only wished to marry me. He tried to be honorable, and for all his trouble sawhisname andhishonor dragged through the mud.” She rubbed a hand across her eyes, wiping away angry tears. “So, that’s why Mungo Murray and his men tried to kidnap me. Because we truly had insulted his family’s honor, and he was determined to set it right.”
“By kidnapping you?” Logan asked in an incredulous voice. “That’s a bit extreme, even if you did insult his bloody honor.”
“Of course it is. I’m not excusing it, or his attempts to embarrass us by spreading gossip ten years later. I’m simply trying to explain it to you—if you’ll have the courtesy to actually listen to me.”
She snatched up her reticule and struggled to open it.
Logan took it from her. “You’ll rip the laces.”
She wanted to tell him to bugger off—or burst into hysterics. All that emotion had poured out in a raging tide that made her sick with shame. Telling the truth was supposed to make one feel better, but Uncle Riddick had been right. It just felt awful and dangerous.
She might lose the one thing she wanted, just when she’d finally found it.
Logan handed over her kerchief. “I’m listening now, so tell me whatever you want.”
She took a moment to steady herself. “It happened during a clan gathering at Blairgal. Alasdair had been gone for over a year, with no sign of return. Despite that, my father and my uncle had made known our arrangement. That I was . . .”
“Off the marriage mart?”
“It didn’t occur to me to object, because I never objected.”
“It bothered you, though, having no control over the circumstances.”
Donella looked down at her hands, now clenched into fists. “I’d been abandoned, and everyone knew it.”
He was quiet for a few moments. “And that’s when Roddy Murray entered the scene.”
“The Murrays and some of the other local clans attended the gathering. Roddy was very popular with the girls.”
“Including you.”
She shot him a glance. He gave her a slight smile and nodded, as if encouraging her to continue.
“You have to admit he’s very handsome,” she said, feeling defensive.
“I’ll grant you that, but he doesn’t seem your type.” Logan tapped his head, indicating Roddy’s lack of intellect.
“He was very impressive in the caber toss,” she stiffly replied.
Logan smothered a grin with his hand.
