not Church law the same in Scotland as it is in England? Your king accepted Rome's authority, did he not?'
'The clans are not much bothered by the dictates of Scotland's king.'
Talorc certainly had not been. 'So you do not have to agree to the marriage for it to be valid?'
'Well, yes, but when a man keeps a woman, he will settle for a clandestine marriage.'
'You mean he will take you to his bed without the benefit of the Church's blessing?' Emily demanded, appalled. It was even worse than she had thought.
'Yes.'
'That is barbaric.'
Cait shrugged, but her eyes belied the relaxed pose.
'Lachlan told me that the Balmorals did not harm women or children.' And she had believed him. 'But he lied.'
'Yes, he lied.'
'I did not lie,' Lachlan said in Latin, his voice hard.
He'd understood the entire exchange.
Cait flinched and then net shoulders sagged. 'I should have guessed. My brother told me the Balmoral laird was more learned than other Highlanders. He considered it a weakness.'
'You have learned differently, have you not?' Cait refused to answer Lachlan's taunt and Emily was too furious to say anything at all.
The man was a monster!
Drustan asked for a translation of the conversation and Lachlan gave it to him. Word for word. Despite her anger, Emily blushed to be caught discussing such private things in mixed company. The embarrassment did not last long as fury that Cait could be treated so horribly overtook every consideration, even her fear of the water.
It was not right.
She surged to her feet and spun to face Lachlan. He stood at the front of the boat, his stance arrogant and commanding, while the other soldiers manned the oars. His rugged masculine appeal mocked her, for it masked a black heart she would never have guessed at.
The pain of having believed him to be something he wasn't mixed with her fear for her friend and exploded in a deluge of angry words. '
'I believe they hear you in England, lass,' one of the soldiers said. He was the only blond one among them and up to now he hadn't spoken.
She glared at him before turning her frown on Lachlan once again. He looked unaffected by her outburst. She didn't care if her words impacted him, or not. She was going to have her say and that was that.
'And Drustan is a thief. No… he is worse than a thief,' she said with relish. 'For he intends not only to steal that which does not belong to him, but to hurt an innocent woman in the process. And most likely her unborn child. You're all a bunch of cowards, too, taking your revenge on a woman rather than facing your opponents in honest combat.'
Several grunts of annoyance met that statement, but she ignored them. She had one last thing to say to the man watching her so impassively.
'You may be more learned than the other Highland lairds, Lachlan, but to my way of thinking, you are the most ignorant, not to mention heartless man I have ever met here or in England.'
Then she sat back down with a flounce that rocked the boat, reminding her just where she was and making her stomach chum.
Cait was staring at her like she'd lost her mind. 'Are you wanting them to throw you out of the boat then?'
Still too angry to heed her words, she said, 'I wouldn't be a bit surprised if they did, considering the wicked plans they have for you.'
Ulf grabbed her shoulders as if prepared to do just that and she bit back a scream. She would not let them see her fear, but inside her heart raced with terror at what he would do.
'Let her go!' The whiplash of Lachlan's voice had immediate impact.
Ulf released her instantly, but snarled, 'It is no more than she deserves for casting such slurs on the Balmoral clan.'
'Not the whole clan, just the warriors here.' Unlike some of the Highlanders she had met, she did not judge an entire group of people by the actions of a few degenerates.
She didn't guess they liked that opinion either when fury-filled silence greeted the airing of it. A large wave crashed against the bow, sending sea spray over all of them. Now, on top of her anger, she had to deal with the fear that the ocean was going to swallow their boat.
Her nails dug into her palms and she prayed drowning wasn't as horrible a death as she had always feared.
The strangest expression crossed Cait's face. 'I've enjoyed knowing you, Emily.'
Coming on the heels of her anxious thoughts, the words were not in the least welcome. Emily sucked in a breath and tried to calm herself. It didn't work. The boat road a high swell and the bow came out of the water before hitting it again with a jar. She gasped and then bit her lower lip to keep from making another noise.
Movement behind her rocked the boat from side to side and she wondered who could be so daft that they were moving about at a time like this, but she refused to turn to see. She would rather be surprised by her fate if Lachlan had changed his mind and decided to have her tossed overboard.
A big hand landed on her shoulder. Lachlan had come for her himself.
'I don't know how to swim,' she blurted out and then practically bit her tongue through, chagrined to have shown such weakness.
'That would hardly matter if I were the man you believed me to be, would it?'
He was right and she knew deep inside he would never throw her overboard, or was she only deceiving herself? She refused to face him. 'You have aided in the abduction of a woman with the intent to harm her.'
'I have exercised my right as laird to exact justice between the clans.'
'I don't care how you justify it to yourself. What you are doing determines what kind of man you are.'
His sigh was loud and long. 'Your opinion of me and my clan does not matter, English.'
'I never thought it would.' But his words had hurt her and it was all she could do to keep that out of her voice. Her opinion should matter. His would matter to her.
Horror filled her at the recognition of that appalling truth. She should not care.
'Yet you expressed it.'
She shrugged, or tried to with his heavy hand still on her shoulder. 'It matters to me.'
'I see.'
'I doubt it.'
'If you are about to insult me again, I warn you… dinna do it.' His quiet tone was more lethal than if he had shouted the warning.
Her mouth snapped shut.
He growled. 'I do not
She cried out as she was lifted off her seat completely. 'Do not drop me. You shouldn't be moving so much. Don't you notice how rough the sea is? We could capsize.' She nodded, wishing she could appeal to a sense of reason she feared he did not have.
The man thought he was indestructible.
'The water is near smooth as glass.'
'You jest. I know you do, but this is no laughing matter.'
'I am not jesting.' He held her close against his chest, his eyes filled with a dark intensity she could not interpret. 'No harm will come to you at my hand, English.'
She wanted to scoff, but she couldn't. Because Heaven help her, she did believe him. What did that say for his plans for Cait then?
She did not realize she'd asked the question aloud until he answered it.
