Capturing A Highland Knight (15 page)

             
“Aye, I agree that that was abominable, but I have a better plan,” she smiled.

             
Annabelle looked at her skeptically.

             
“Go with the submissiveness, but instead of leaving him, make him fall in love with ye.  Derek has never given his heart to a woman.  He ruts around with them as he pleases, but he never gives more no matter how much they want it. I have watched him for years, and I kenned there was nothing I could do to stop him.  I only hoped that one day he would find a woman that was different enough to change him.  Be that one that makes it different for him.”

             
“How do I do that?  I canna compete with all of the
hures
he keeps at every stop.  He doesnae seem to want to stop bedding every woman he sees.  I canna offer him anything he canna already get from them,” Annabelle said wrapping her arms around herself.

             
“Aye, but ye do, lass.  I can tell that ye already engage his interest more than the others.  He usually beds one woman while looking at another.  But with ye, his eyes never stray.”

             
Annabelle snorted again.

             
“Weel, how do you explain Maura?  He didnae seem to notice me then.”

             
“Of course he noticed ye.  Doona ye think he was comparing her to ye?”

             
Annabelle laughed.

             
“Nay, I doona.”

             
“Trust me on this, Annabelle.  Make Derek fall in love with ye.  That will be punishment enough,” she smirked.

             
“I doona like thinking that his loving me is punishment.”

             
Brighid laughed.

             
“He will feel that way, but he willnae let ye go and he willnae ever stray.  Trust me, I ken.  I married a MacDougal,” she winked.

             
“How will I accomplish it?”

             
“Ye will think of a way.  It isnae hard to get a mon to fall in love, lass.  Just be yerself.  I ken that is what attracts him to ye.”

             
Annabelle nodded.

             
“Come, let me put this salve on yer bruise.  It will take away the sting and help it fade,” she said pulling a jar of salve from her pocket.

             
Annabelle sat on the edge of the bed and let Brighid minister to her.

             
“Thank ye,” she said quietly.

             
“I think ye are good fer Derek,” she said patting Annabelle on her shoulder.

Chapter 18

“Derek!”

             
Derek growled and turned toward the voice.  It belonged to his father, and standing with him were his brothers and Tobias.  Derek looked up the stairs, and then walked to where his father was standing.  He would have to talk to Annabelle later.

             
“Aye,” he said as he got closer to the men.

             
His father’s face was a mask of displeasure.  Derek stood his full height and awaited what he was sure to come.

             
“I demand an explanation!” he bellowed at his youngest son.

             
Derek saw the smirks and smiles on the other men’s faces.  This was how it had been when they were younger and one of them got into trouble.  The others would stand around and laugh.  He wasn’t a lad anymore, and he was not about to explain anything.  His life was his own and he could deal with it as he pleased.

             
“There is nothing to explain, Da,” he said in a low voice.  He saw Aster glance at Jace.  They stood behind his father so that he could see them clearly.

             
“The hell ye say!  Who was that lass?”

             
Derek glanced at Jace, Aster, and Tobias again before he answered.  He knew that they would be amused by his answer.

             
“My wife,” he mumbled.

             
“What?” his father demanded.

             
“My wife,” he said louder, looking at the shock on their faces.  Aster’s held the smirk.

             
“Yer wife!” Laird Breac howled.

             
All conversation ceased in the hall and all eyes turned toward the group.

             
“Let’s move this somewhere more private,” Tobias suggested as he led them to his study.

             
The chamber was warm and inviting.  Each wall held a bookshelf that was filled with books.  Tobias’ large wooden desk took up most of the room, and it was stacked high with books and parchments.  Tobias took the chair behind the desk.  Laird Breac and Jace sat in the chairs on the other side facing Tobias.  Aster sat on a small settee off the side of the chamber, and Derek leaned his shoulder against the mantle.

             
“What do ye mean yer wife?  When I left ye at Dunkirk, ye were sniffing around that Eilidh!  How came ye by a wife?” Laird Breac came right to the point.

             
Derek surveyed the men.  He knew that if he did not tell them everything, it would be very late before he was able to talk to Annabelle, and by then she probably would not be receptive to anything he had to say.

             
He sighed and pushed away from the mantle.  He stood with his arms across his chest and relayed the whole story to them.

             
“Ye did what?  Ye compromised a woman who was promised to another?  I canna believe what I am hearing!” Laird Breac yelled as he stood up.

             
Derek unfolded his arms and took a step back.  Although he was the same size as his father, Laird Breac was still a force to reckon with.

             
“I was drunk and I thought I had gone to Eilidh’s chamber,” he said by way of explanation.

             
“’Tis no excuse!  I kenned that one day something like this would happen!” he said in disgust.

             
Aster came to his defense.

             
“Da, ‘tis of nae consequence.  Laird Harold has been murdered.  Annabelle would be a widow, even though she doesnae remember it,” he reasoned with his father.

             
Laird Breac stared at Aster and then Derek, and huffed.  He walked over to the window looking out over Bondlach fields.

             
“Derek, what did Broc say about Laird Harold’s nephew?” Jace asked him, leaning forward in his chair.

             
“He said he wasnae sure if this Julian had anything to do with murder, but that he dinna trust him.  He said that he would have been next in line to be laird if Laird Harold hadnae married.”

             
“Do they have any proof that he was involved?”

             
“Nay, but most of the clan perished from the poisoned drink and food, only a few were left.  He was one of them and said that he had only begun to eat when everything happened.  He was mildly sickened,” Derek explained.

             
“That doesnae mean that he is responsible,” Tobias said.  “What did Broc say they were doing to find out what happened and who did it?”

             
“He said they wasnae sure what to do because it would be hard to investigate living in the keep with Julian.  They wanted our help,” he said looking at his father and brothers.

             
“Of course we will help,” Laird Breac said turning back toward the room.  “The McInnises are a part of our allegiance.  We will begin after we return from court.”

             
All the men nodded in agreement.

             
“One thing,” Aster said as the men filed out of the study.  “Annabelle doesnae remember getting married?”

             
“Nay, she doesnae,” Derek said looking pointedly at all of them.  “I thought it best that she doesnae ken it so that we can keep her safe with us until we find out what happened.  Broc says that they assume she died somewhere between Dunwiche and Kinloch, and if whoever killed the McInnises believes that also, then she is safe.”

             
Aster nodded his agreement. 

             
“I am glad ye are finally using yer brain to think with,” Laird Breac said.  The men broke into laughter.

§

              Derek watched as Annabelle and his mother walked into the hall arm in arm.  He was sitting at a table with his brothers and father.  Laird Breac stood as Brighid approached where he sat.  Derek noticed the change in his expression as she drew near.  It always amazed him that a man as strong as his father was so soft when it came to his mother.  But it never diminished the power he exuded.  He was not sure that he would be able to let any woman do that to him.

             
Derek looked at his wife as she stopped beside the table.  Her face was expressionless as she watched him.

             
“Sit,” he said to her indicating a spot next to him.

             
Surprisingly, she did as she was told and sat down beside him.  He winced as he noticed the bruise on her face.  He reached out to touch it.  Annabelle sat motionless.

             
“I am sorry that I struck ye, Annabelle,” he said quietly, letting his hand trail down her cheek.

             
Annabelle pasted a smile on her face and turned to him.

             
“’Tis alright, my laird.”

             
Derek tried to see the expression in her eyes, but she kept them downcast.

             
“Nay, ‘tis nae alright.  I have never done so before and I vow I willnae do so again,” he said, willing her to look up at him.

             
Annabelle held her breath.  She had not expected to get an apology from Derek, and she was now caught off guard.  She glanced at Brighid, who nodded her encouragement.

             
“Thank ye, my laird.  I willnae give ye reason to have to do so again,” she said softly.

             
Derek frowned.  She was different, but he was not sure quite what it was.  All he knew was that he was vaguely irritated by it.  The maids laid trenchers before them, and the conversation turned to other things.  Derek looked over at Annabelle, but she sat quietly eating.  She only talked when a question was directed at her and her answers were short.

             
“Are ye alright, Annabelle?  Ye are quiet,” he leaned over and asked her.

             
“Aye, my laird.  I am fine,” she said, not looking up at him.

             
At that moment, Maura walked into the hall.  Her nose was swollen from where Annabelle had punched her.  She surveyed the hall and her eyes lit on Derek and Annabelle.  Annabelle never looked up, but she was aware that the woman was in the hall.  She waited to see what the woman would do or say, and she braced herself to maintain her vow to be passive and submissive.  She knew it would be hard, but she wanted Derek to have what he wanted in a wife even if it killed her in the process.

             
“Derek,” Maura purred as she sat on the other side of him.  Annabelle strained to keep her mouth shut and stay seated.

             
Derek turned toward the woman.  Annabelle watched his reaction from the side of her eyes.  He had a smile on his face, which irritated her but she kept eating.

             
“Do ye see what that woman did to my beautiful face?  Does it turn ye off?” Maura asked him, sending a scathing look Annabelle’s way.  Annabelle suppressed a smile and took a sip of her ale without looking Maura’s way.

             
“Weel, lass,” Derek began.  “It does change yer appearance somewhat.”

             
There were snickers heard around the table.  Annabelle glanced at Brighid, who was barely holding in her laughter.

             
Maura pouted and slid a little closer to Derek on the bench.

             
“But does my face offend ye, Derek?  I was told that the salve I used on it will heal it quickly.  There is no change to the rest of me,” she said pushing her breast against his arm.

             
Derek sent a look Annabelle’s way, but she had her face averted.  He remembered the last time Maura pressed against him.  It did not turn out well.

             
“Aye, I see there isnae,” he said, sliding his eyes down what he could see of her frame.

             
He heard a clank from beside him and turned as Annabelle stood from the table.

             
“Where are ye going?” he demanded.

             
Annabelle started to make a heated retort, but remembered her commitment at the last moment and pasted a serene look on her face.

             
“I was going outdoors, my laird, with yer permission of course.  I was finished with my meal,” she said quietly.

             
Derek eyed her a little surprised.  He had braced himself for a caustic remark, but the serene look and quietness to her voice caught him off guard.

             
“Um, aye.  Ye have my permission,” he said.  Annabelle bobbed a slight curtsy and he watched her leave the hall.  He did not notice Colm following her out.

             
“I see that ye have tamed her, Derek.  I kenned ye could.  Ye are such a strong mon and ye need a woman who will cater to yer needs.  Yer every need,” Maura said, licking her lips at him.

             
“She is so much of a brute, I ken she canna satisfy ye as a woman should.  But I can, and ye already ken it,” she said running her hand under his kilt.

             
Derek barely felt her hand as he sat puzzling over Annabelle’s behavior.  Yes, she had become the type of wife he wanted.  She was more docile.  Had striking her brought on this change?  He still regretted doing so, yet it procured the results he wanted.  He did not know if he liked it or not.

             
“Derek, ferget about her and let me remind ye how good we were together.  Let some other mon deal with her brutish ways,” Maura purred in Derek’s ear.

             
Derek finally heard what she was saying and turned in Maura’s direction.  The look on his face elicited a surprised gasp from her.

             
“I willnae let another mon deal with her.  She is my wife!” he snarled as he rose from the table.

             
“Yer wife!” Maura screeched in surprise, grabbing at his arm.

             
“Aye, and if ye ken what ‘tis good fer ye, ye will refrain from making comments about her in my presence,” he said, shoving her hand away and leaving the table.

             
Brighid watched the whole scene with a smile on her face.  Annabelle would not have that much work to do to get her son to fall in love with her.  It seemed that he already had feelings for her, whether he realized it or not.

             
“Why are ye smiling, love?” Laird Breac leaned toward his wife.