Ransom

He slowly pulled her arms away from him and reminded her that she was going to the lake with Bridgid.

She had turned toward the doors when he stopped her. 'Dylan told me he thought some of the Sinclair soldiers were bothering you.'

'There weren't any men with Bridgid and me,' she told him once again. 'But if there had been and they had been bothering me, I would have handled them.'

'No, you would not,' he insisted. 'You would tell me who they were and I would handle them.'

'And what would you do?'

He didn't have to think about his answer long at all. 'If any man ever touched you, I would kill him.'

The glint in his eyes and the set of his jaw told her he was serious. He suddenly looked quite dangerous. She wasn't the least afraid and she wasn't about to back down.

'You cannot kill-'

He wouldn't let her finish. 'It's the Buchanan way,' he said emphatically. 'You belong to me, and I would not allow any other man to touch you. Now enough of this. There's something I've been meaning to tell you, and now is just as good a time as any.'

She waited a long minute for him to continue before she prodded him. 'Yes?'

'We do things different here.'

'We?'

'The Buchanans,' he qualified. 'When we want something, we take it.'

'That doesn't seem right.'

'It doesn't matter if it seems right or not. It's what we do.'

'But it does matter. You could get into trouble with the Church if you take something that doesn't belong to you.'

'I'm not worried about the Church.'

'You should be,' she countered.

Gritting his teeth, he said, 'Don't argue with me.'

'I'm not arguing. I'm simply stating fact. You needn't get surly.'

He gripped her shoulders and hauled her close. 'I'm starting over. I'm going to explain, and I want you to follow along.'

'Are you insulting me?'

'No, sweetheart. Just listen.'

She was so surprised by the endearment, her eyes got misty. 'All right,' she whispered, 'I'll listen. What is it you want to explain?'

'You told me you loved me. You did admit it, didn't you? You can't take the words back.'

His vulnerability was showing, and she immediately sought to assure him. 'I don't want to take the words back. I do love you.'

He relaxed his grip on her arms. 'Tonight…'

'Yes?'

'I… that is, we… ah, hell.'

'Brodick, what in heaven's name is wrong with you?'

'You,' he muttered. 'You're what's wrong with me.'

She pushed his hands away. 'Your moods change with the wind. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have more important things to do than to stand here and listen to you grumble at me.' She swung around, pulled the door open with both hands, and marched outside.

He gave up. He knew he'd made a muck of things, but he figured everything would work tonight. Gillian was an astute woman. Surely by the time he'd taken her clothes off her and carried her to bed, she'd have worked it all out in her mind. If not, then he'd tell her.

Ramsey walked inside, saw Brodick, and immediately guessed what had happened. 'You still didn't tell her, did you?'

'No, but God knows I tried.'

'It's simple enough, Brodick.'

'No, it isn't.'

'How about, 'Gillian, you're married'? How complicated is that?'

'I'm telling you, I tried, damn it. If you think it's so easy, you tell her.'

Ramsey laughed. 'By God, you're afraid to tell her, aren't you?'

'Of course not.'

'Yes, you are. What do you think she'll do?'

Brodick quit trying to bluster his way through the conversation. 'Yes, I am afraid. She'll run. She'll panic, and then she'll try to run. Damn it, I tricked her, and I shouldn't have done that.'

'You also deceived a priest.'

'Yes, well… I'm more worried about Gillian. I'm telling you, I shouldn't have tricked her. It was wrong.'

'But you'd do it again, wouldn't you?'

With a shrug he admitted he would. 'Yes. I can't imagine living without her, and if you laugh at me for admitting such a weakness, I swear I'll put my fist through your face.'

Ramsey slapped Brodick's shoulder. 'Take heart,' he suggested.

'What the hell does that mean?'

'Gillian might panic when she first hears she's married to you. Hell, any woman would.'

'Ramsey, you're not helping.'

'But she won't run, Brodick.'

'I'll tell her at supper. Yes,' he added with a firm nod, 'I'll tell her then.'

Brodick all but ripped the door off its hinges as he pulled it open to leave.

Chapter Twenty-Two

The anticipation of finally being reunited with her older sister was almost more than Gillian could handle. As she dressed to meet Ramsey's followers, her hands actually shook and her stomach felt as though it were filled with butterflies.

She wore a golden colored gown with embroidered threads along the hem of the skirt and the wristband of the fitted sleeves. A servant helped her pleat the Buchanan plaid around her waist and drape one end over her shoulder. The fabric was secured with a braided leather belt.

Gillian still wasn't ready to go downstairs just yet, and so she stayed in the chamber Ramsey had assigned to her at the end of the hallway, pacing back and forth in front of the hearth and rehearsing what she would say when she greeted Christen.

Bridgid was sent up to get her. She opened the door, took a step inside, spotted Gillian in the firelight of the hearth, and came to a sudden stop. 'Oh, Gillian, you look beautiful. The color suits you.'

'Thank you, but I'm pale in comparison to you.'

Bridgid laughed. 'Aren't we a pair? Praising one another like silly girls.'

'I'm sincere. You look radiant, and the man you love will surely notice you tonight.'

Bridgid snorted. 'I predict he will continue to look right through me. He always does. I'm getting used to it,' she added with a nod. 'Are you ready to go downstairs?'

'Yes,' she answered as she turned to put her brush back on the chest. She steadied her hands and forced herself to take a deep breath. 'I'm so excited about seeing my sister again I'm actually trembling.'

'Do you think you'll meet her tonight?'

'I do,' she answered. 'And I've been practicing what I will say to her. I want our reunion to be perfect, and I want her to like me. Isn't that a foolish worry? Of course she'll like me. I'm her sister, for heaven's sake.'

'Come along,' Bridgid said then. 'We mustn't keep Laird Ramsey waiting. Brodick's with him, by the way, and so are Brisbane and Otis. I'll warn you none of them look very happy. Something's wrong, but no one will tell me what it is. I'll wager it has to do with the MacPhersons, though. That man Proster is always making trouble. Anthony and Faudron are constantly complaining about him and his cohorts.'

'Who are Anthony and Faudron?' Gillian asked as she pinched her cheeks for color and followed Bridgid out the doorway.

'They're Gideon's close friends, and Gideon is-'