He turned to look for her cloak on the peg by the door, though he already knew it would be gone.
It was.
A blinding fury took hold of him as he guessed where she had gone—to the man waiting first in line to take her from him. After taking the stairs three at a time, he left the house without a word to the others.
By God, he was going to beat Gordan MacDonald to within an inch of his life. And then he was going to drag his wife back home—by her hair and screaming all the way, if he must.
CHAPTER 21
Sileas stumbled several times on the rocky path in the dark, but she kept running, as if putting distance between her and what she saw in the kitchen could dull the sharpness of the pain in her chest. But no matter how fast she ran, the vision of Ian and Dina was always before her.
The two of them. Together. Naked.
Seeing her crystal hanging between Dina’s breasts was an even harder betrayal. She had denied Ian her bed. In time, she might have been able to forgive him for giving his body to yet another woman before they were sharing a marriage bed.
But the crystal was her wedding gift to him. It symbolized the gift of her heart, and Ian knew it.
The leather pouch tied to her waist slapped against her thigh as she ran along the dark path. She hoped she had stuffed enough coins in it to pay a fisherman to take her across the strait and buy a horse on the other side. Praise God she’d kept Niall’s old clothes for cleaning out the byre. If anyone asked, the fisherman would say he’d taken a lad across.
Over her breathing, she heard something behind her. A wolf? A bear? She remembered Ian telling her never to run from a wild animal because it made you look like prey. Damn him! Would she never be free of Ian’s voice in her head?
She ignored it and ran faster.
The sound came closer the faster she ran. She screamed as the beast slammed into her, sending her sprawling to the ground. Its great weight landed on top of her, knocking the breath out of her and pinning her to the ground.
“Sileas, stop kicking me! I’m trying to get off ye.”
“Niall?”
The great weight rolled off her, and she sat up, gasping great lungfuls of air. Her limbs felt weak and boneless in the aftermath of fright.
“Ye scared the life out of me!”
“Did I hurt ye?” Niall asked.
“No, but why did ye come after me? Ye saw what I saw in the kitchen, so ye know I won’t go back.”
“I couldn’t let ye go off alone, with no one to protect ye,” Niall said. “I’m coming with ye, wherever you’re going.”
She wanted to weep at his kindness but refused to let herself. Once she gave in to tears, she feared there would be no end to them.
“I can’t let ye come with me,” she said. “Your family would not be happy with ye for helping me get away.”
“Da is the one who sent me,” Niall said. “He heard ye climb out the window and told me to follow ye and keep ye safe. He gave me money, too.”
Dear Payton. This time, she did wipe a tear from her eye.
“Besides,” Niall said with a smile in his voice, “I didn’t want ye going to Gordan for help.”
“There’s nothing wrong with Gordan,” she said, and wondered why she hadn’t even thought of going to him.
“There’s not enough right with him, either—not for you, Sil.” Niall stood and helped her to her feet. “So, just where are we going?”
“To Stirling.”
Niall gave a long whistle. “That’s a fair distance. What do ye want to go there for?”
Sileas started walking. “I’m going to ask the queen to help me obtain an annulment from the church. And while I’m there, I’ll also ask her help in removing my step-da from Knock Castle.”
She didn’t want to live in Knock Castle, but it was hers and she needed someplace to live.
“Asking the queen is a wee bit drastic, wouldn’t ye say?” Niall asked. “You’ve got cause to leave Ian under Highland law. That should be enough.”
“And before I know it, my chieftain will be telling me who I am to wed next,” she said. “I won’t let Hugh decide my fate, that is for certain. No, the only way to free myself is to put myself in the hands of someone more powerful. I praise God that happens to be a woman at the moment.”
“But ye won’t have to worry about Hugh for long,” Niall said. “Connor is going to be chieftain.”
“Connor wants Knock Castle in the hands of someone verra close to him,” she said. “He’ll decide I’ve no cause to leave Ian.”
“Connor is a fair man,” Niall said. “He’d let ye leave Ian so long as ye take another man in the clan—especially if the man is another close relative of his.”
She snorted. “Are ye suggesting Alex? I’m verra fond of him, but wedding Alex would be going from the frying
