Read Online Her Highlander's Promise by B. J. Scott - Free Book Online

his arms, inhale her delicate lavender scent, and feast upon her luscious lips. “This canna be. I’ve waited eight summers to be with Laurel, ignoring all others.”
    “I’m sorry, m’lord, but I’m only the messenger.”
    He grabbed Isla by the upper arms. “Is she ill? Has she decided upon seeing me again that she doesna find me appealing? She must have given you a reason.” He tightened his grip.
    Isla’s teary eyes widened and she stared at him as if he were an ogre.
    He softened his grip and released her. The last thing he meant to do was frighten the lass. “I’m sorry if I hurt you. But I need to know. Please.”
    “Och, m’lord, despite my promise, I canna lie to you. Lady Laurel is well, and I have no doubt she finds you verra attractive and desirable. But she—” Isla hesitated and turned her head, lowering her gaze.
    “But what? Tell me, lass.”
    “She couldna come herself because the mistress has locked her in her chamber and refuses to let her out until the day of her wedding.”
    “Her what?” Had he heard Isla correctly?
    “Her wedding, m’lord.”
    “I dinna understand. She told me she wasna betrothed.” He raked his fingers through his hair.
    “She spoke the truth, but she has since found out that her cousins have other plans. She is to marry their son, Allan, in three days.” She clucked her tongue. “It will be a sad day for the clan.”
    “She has agreed to this daft idea?”
    “Lady Laurel has no choice. It is Lord Murray’s right to choose a suitable husband. As you must be aware, it is tradition for the laird to select his daughter’s husband.”
    “He’s not her father. And one could hardly consider that pathetic excuse for a man a suitable husband. I am certain this is not what Brandon MacClay intended when he asked his cousins to care for her.”
    “I must agree wholeheartedly, m’lord. But he dinna count on the mistress’ hunger for power and her dogged determination to remain in charge.”
    While he was not totally surprised that her cousins would do everything in their power to maintain control of the clan, it still didn’t make any sense. “If she marries Allan, he will become laird, and Laurel the chatelaine. Deirdre will be forced to relinquish her position.”
    “Most would assume the same thing, but Lady Deirdre has always wanted to be the woman at the head of Clan MacClay. Her son, like his father, has no backbone, and does what she tells him to do without argument. Despite appearances, she is the one governing the clan. Murray and Allan dinna make a move without her say-so. That willna change once her son is wed. Who knows what will become of poor Lady Laurel. I fear for her safety.”
    “Surely they’d not do anything to harm her. The elders of the clan wouldna permit it. I’m surprised they havena stepped up on Laurel’s behalf already.”
    “The elders have fallen for the mistress’s deception and if not, they have ignored the truth. Rumor is she pays them well for their loyalty. If you could see the way my lady has been living these past eight summers, you would be appalled. And—”
    Blair balled his fists, anger churning in his belly. “There is more?”
    “They ousted her from her chamber the same day she laid her father to rest. She now lives in a dismal room with only enough comforts to survive. Certainly not a place befitting the daughter of the laird.”
    “How could this happen?” Blair paced the small clearing. Based on their first meeting, he didn’t like or trust Murray and Deirdre, but he never dreamed they would be so cruel. Nor could he believe the clan did nothing to intervene.
    “When Laird Brandon first passed, Deirdre told people that m’lady was so distraught over the loss of her father that she chose to remain sequestered. Those who believed differently were afraid to say or do anything, convinced she’d banish them or worse.”
    “Worse?”
    “Everyone is aware that the mistress dabbles in witchcraft. As you