Mary Reed McCall by The Sweetest Sin Read Free Book Online Page B

MacRae was an unknown entity, and that made him all the more frightening. And more dangerous.
     
    This couldn’t be her new home. It couldn’t.
    Aileana sat straight as a claymore as she viewed the castle; it was nestled at the merging of the three lochs opposite the Isle of Skye, a dark, square structure, reflected ominously in the waters. She swallowed hard as Duncan pulled Glendragon to a stop on the bluff overlooking the sight; all of his men rode into formation behind him.
    “What…what happened to it?” she murmured without thinking. The castle looked as if animals and wild things had inhabited it for a long time. Her gazetook in the crumbling tiles of the roof, the uneven window openings in the main tower, and the gaping holes in the wall where piles of stones had fallen to the ground.
    A tense silence followed her question, and from the corner of her gaze she saw Kinnon shift uncomfortably, while Ewen and the others darted uneasy glances at their laird. Aileana didn’t need to see Duncan to know that his eyes bored shafts of gray flint into her back. She swallowed again.
    “Thirteen years happened.” His voice was dangerously soft. “Thirteen years spent living in hell, courtesy of that bitch you called sister.”
    Aileana felt his arms tense when he gripped Glendragon’s bridle as if he wanted to strangle the thin strips of leather…or her neck. Then without another word, he pressed his knees into the stallion’s sides, and they continued on, down the sloping path toward the ruined castle. Aileana’s heart thudded in her chest, seemingly in time with the thumping cadence of the horses’ hooves, as each man followed Duncan in solemn procession.
    Soon they entered the courtyard. No cheers of villagers greeted them, no smiles or shouts of happy wives and children. Several bedraggled waifs and a few women gathered in the yard to meet their men. Their expressions of grim relief struck a chord in Aileana, and she felt an answering swell of sympathy.
    She knew what it was like to feel completely at the mercy of outside forces, especially the everlasting impulses and intrigues of men. She remembered all too well days spent in seclusion, evenings passed restricted to the confines of her bedchamber because Father thought it best to keep her spirit pure and free from distraction. Gavin and Robert had sometimes stolen into her chamber to entertain her, but their visits were brief. Fatherhad wanted her thoughts only on the amulet, and whenever he left for a journey or hunt, it was always with orders that she be kept confined to her rooms. It was at those times that she’d wished him dead.
    And now he was.
    The odd hurt lanced through her again, but she was given no time to nurse it. Several of the men had already dismounted and disappeared into the keep, and Duncan was waiting for her to slide from Glendragon’s back. She tried to ignore his hands at her waist as he helped her down, but their warmth seared through her tunic to brand her skin.
    It reminded her of the inescapable fact that she was his possession now, property much the same as a goose, or sheep, or sow he’d purchased. Except that those creatures were free to live in peace on the land. She would be forced to share this man’s bed. Gritting her teeth, Aileana stared straight ahead and walked into the castle with as much dignity as her boy’s garments would allow.
    The interior of Eilean Donan wasn’t much better than its outward condition. Her nose wrinkled at the stale smell as they came into the great hall. The floor rushes looked as though they hadn’t been changed in months. Only a few dogs lounged in the hall to collect the bits of meat, bread and other leavings that fell from the tables, ensuring that the rotted food would remain until someone removed it.
    “Bridgid!” Duncan’s bellow shocked Aileana’s attention from the floor. She hazarded a glance at him. Displeasure shone in the grim lines of his mouth, the hooded scowl of his