Scoundrel’s Redemption (Highlander’s Pact #3)

Chapter Nineteen

“T ruly, I hear Bartholomew’s very good with a sword,” Greer insisted, not for the first time later that eve. She shook her head. “You would not know it looking at him, but that is what people say.”

They had been riding at a good pace and were closing in on the border. He and Greer rode together, Edmund with Duncan and Ada with Besse. Thankfully, the moon was full enough that they didn’t need to light torches.

“I’m better with a sword, lass,” Teagan reassured yet again. Whether he was or wasn’t, he was touched by her concern over his welfare and didn’t want her to worry. “So dinnae fret, aye?”

“I’m afraid such is impossible.” She glanced over her shoulder at him. “I fear breaking my word to Bartholomew will be your ruin.”

About that.

Enough with lies betwixt them.

This seemed as good an opening as any to come clean. He would not marry Greer without her knowing the truth.

“If for some reason Bartholomew was my ruin ’twould not be yer fault.” He shook his head. “Nay, I would have no one to blame but myself.”

When she glanced at him in confusion, he went on.

“I would have gotten Ada and her bairns away from Randolph whether or not ye agreed to be my wife.” Teagan sighed. “I only gave ye an ultimatum because I couldnae stand the thought of ye with Bartholomew.” He prayed she understood. “Whilst I’m sorry I lied, I wouldnae have ye suffer a life with him. Because ’twould have been suffering.”

Other than the slight flare of her pupils, it was impossible to gauge her response. Rather than reply right away, she faced forward, evidently coming to terms with his revelation. When her response eventually did come, it wasn’t quite what he expected but should have anticipated.

“Thank you for your honesty,” she replied. “In return, I will give you equal honesty.” She looked over her shoulder again. “Though I’m not fond of breaking my word, I like to think God would understand. That He would have wanted me free of a man like Bartholomew.” Her lips curled down. “What bothers me more is you marrying me for my dowry.”

She sighed and faced forward again, continuing before he could respond. “I understand ’tis how things are done, but that does not change the fact I wish it were otherwise. Whilst we have spoken at length about your clan’s hardship, and I’m eager to assist, I cannot help but wish it were of my own volition. That I was wanted for more than what I bring in coin.”

“I ken.” And he did. In its own way, it made her no different than what Ada and her bairns suffered at the hands of Randolph. They were no more than commodities. “Ye dinnae know how much I wish things were different. That we could have met under less dire circumstances.”

Never more serious, he tilted her chin until she looked at him again. “Dowry or not, I would have much preferred ye picking me rather than the other way around. There’s a…” He struggled to find the words to convey his confusion as of late. “There’s something disconcerting in knowing ye’re not marrying me by choice. That ye didnae choose me nor necessarily want me, but that I was thrust upon ye . ’Twould make me much happier to think ye were here because there was no place else ye’d rather be.”

Her eyes dampened at his admission. “Do you really feel that way?”

“Aye.” He kept with truth, however foreign the words. “I dinnae know much about love, but I do know I enjoy yer company a great deal and want ye by my side, coin or no coin.”

He did, too. In fact, if her dowry was stolen away at this very moment, he would still want her as his wife, the pact he’d made with his brothers, be damned. He would find another way to raise coin for his clan. Just so long as she was by his side, he would figure things out.

Clearly trying to rally her emotions, Greer offered a jerky nod and looked forward again.

He hoped he’d conveyed himself well. That she understood what he meant. How serious he was. Sharing his feelings wasn’t something he did, so he had nothing to fall back on. He made to say more, to make himself clearer if need be, but the man Edmund had sent ahead to scout returned.

“There are men in waiting just around the bend,” he reported.

Could it be his brothers? Edmund had sent word to them when they first concocted their plan to get Ada and her children away from Randolph.

“Friend or foe?” Edmund asked.

“I don’t know.” His man shook his head. “All I know is there are far too many for us to pass safely into Scotland if they are the enemy.”

“Then we must find out.” Edmund withdrew his sword when numerous shadows appeared through the woodland ahead. “And ’twill be sooner rather than later by the looks of it.”