AllFreeNovel
Share Us
‘I would speak to you, Kenna.’ Why did his voice sound so distant and formal, and why were his palms suddenly sweaty?
‘I wanted to speak to you too. Ilene and Murray are going back to Shillinglaw soon, and I was going to ask if I could go with them and help with the new bairn coming and all.’
‘Leave Dunslair! Why?’
‘Conall, you have been very kind, but I don’t think I belong here. I am not of your clan, and I need to get on with my life now. I cannot be a burden on you forever.’
‘You will not be a burden. That’s what I have come to tell you.’ He grabbed her hand and held it tight. ‘I want you as my wife, Kenna, I do, I want you, and once we are married, then you will belong here, always.’ She stared at him, eyes wide and cheeks blushing pink, and before he could stop himself, Conall grabbed Kenna and brought his lips to hers. As he kissed her, it felt so right - the taste of her, the smell of her hair blowing around them, the delicacy of her tiny waist in his hands, she was perfect. How could he have hesitated to claim her?
It took him a while to realise Kenna wasn’t kissing him back. In fact, she was removing his hands and stepping back. There was only a weak smile on her face, no jumping up and down with joy. What was wrong with her?
‘Why do you want to marry me, Conall?’ she said quietly.
‘Why not? We like each other, don’t we? At least I think you like me, after that night when we lay together.’
‘Don’t talk of it, please.’
‘I’ll do more than talk of it once we are wed. Those fools who insulted you will be laughing the other side of their faces once we are man and wife. Marriage to me will protect you from your family. Your father can never reach you once you are a Campbell.’
‘He can’t reach me now.’
‘Ah well, as to that, I don’t want to frighten you, Kenna, but my father received a letter from Donald Menzies demanding he return you, on account of your betrothal.’
She froze. ‘But Donald can’t make me go back, nor can your father.’
‘Of course, we won’t send you back, but Menzies can plead a case before the justices and your father also. Women have few rights before the law, so there is a slim chance that they may succeed, and to prevent that, we must marry. You can hardly be forced to marry Menzies if you are already married to me. You saved my life, Kenna. I owe you that much.’
‘So you would marry me out of a sense of obligation?’
Conall had expected joy, maybe trepidation at such a big step as marriage or even some reluctance, but this! She was looking at him as if he had suggested something awful.
‘I am just trying to do the right thing by you, Kenna, and it is my fault there is gossip around the castle about us, the things those men said to you. I should not have touched you, dishonoured you like that. It was wrong, and I would make amends by giving you my name.’
‘If it was wrong, why did you do it?’
‘Because you were so small and defenceless, and they’d given you such an awful life, your family. I wanted you to have some joy, some affection.’
‘You mean you lay with me out of pity?’
‘No, what I mean is I owe you my life, and so I owe you my protection. I made a promise to you when we were running from Sgathach Dun, and I will keep it.’
‘That debt was paid, Conall. There is no obligation now.’
‘Of course, there is and whether you want it or not, my protection is yours always.’
‘I don’t need your protection. I can make my own way in the world.’
‘How, alone in a castle full of strangers with no family or wealth and all you own in the world, just the clothes on your back? Explain how you are going to do that.’
Even though she was trembling, Kenna still managed to glare at him. Could she really not want him? Conall chose his next words carefully.
‘Kenna, we cannot continue here as we are. That farmer whose cottage we stayed in, he has found out who we are and told Rory how he found us. He has probably been telling his tale all over, and people will assume the worst of us. You can’t stay here un-married. You can’t stay here and be shamed. I won’t allow it. Now is not the time to be stubborn.’
‘Stubborn, is it? Conall, answer me this. Do you love me?’
‘What the kind of question is that?’
‘A fair one. You talk of obligation and protection, but surely marriage is about love too?’
