Her Highland Devil (Scottish Highlander Romance), page 21
“Well, I am not with a child.”
This made Ronnie smile and he pulled her closer to him as they embraced.
Gabby nestled into the comfort of his body. She missed his smell and everything about him. She shut her eyes and they stayed like that for some time before pulling away and walking out with him.
“So, tell me, did you find the adventure you have always craved?” He asked.
“Well, not all those stories we were told are true. They do not drink human blood and they actually do not eat human flesh. They eat the normal food as we do but they are just… less civilized.”
“So, why did you not even try to write to me? Not even once? Even when you tried to write to your parents, I expected you were going to write to me as well.”
Gabby was immediately overwhelmed with guilt. She didn’t write to him because she was busy loving her husband.
“I am sorry, Ronnie,” she said. “I am really so sorry that I didn’t. As a matter of fact, I never did know that I could get someone to get the letters delivered until recently.”
He smiled and waved it away. He put both hands on her shoulders as he faced her. “You look even more beautiful and more mature…” he said, studying every bit of her face but then stopped as if he had just figured something out.
“You are no longer a virgin, are you?”
Chapter 24
When Gabby heard this, she couldn’t help but feel uncomfortable. She couldn’t maintain the eye contact that he was giving her while trying to read her.
“You didn’t answer,” he said, staring into her eyes as she avoided his gaze.
There was no reason for her to be ashamed, was there? She was married and she loved her husband.
“Gabby?” He asked. “There is nothing to be ashamed of.”
“I know,” she said, backing off. “And no, I am no longer a virgin.”
There was an awkward silence for a while.
Ronnie walked few steps away from her, his back turned towards her. Then he turned around and then walked back. He placed a hand warmly on her chin.
“Was it painful?” He asked.
She frowned and thought about the first time. It was indeed painful but…why was he asking her all this?
“Why are you asking me all these?”
“Because we used to be very close and you used to tell me everything. But now, things have changed, and I want to get to know you again, to give us a chance.”
Now this was getting confusing. “To give us a chance?” She asked, then walked closer to him.
“Yes, we were supposed to be married. Have you forgotten that?”
“Of course not, I didn’t.”
“Did you at least remember me or think of me while he was making love to you?” He spat.
Gabby swallowed. She couldn’t understand why he was this angry and jealous. “I remembered you, alright? I didn’t ask for myself to be taken away!” She shouted at him.
Then he calmed down and murmured some apology. They were both quiet for a while.
“Were you happy?” He asked.
The more questions he asked, the more uncomfortable she became.
“I tried to be,” she replied and then changed the question. “Why did you rescue me, Ronnie?”
At first he frowned, but then responded, “What are you talking about? You asked to be rescued.”
That didn’t sink in very well, “I did?”
Ronnie chuckled. “Are you joking or what are you trying to do, Gabby? Did you not want to be rescued?”
“No, I am serious. Please, tell me you came just because you wanted to rescue me,” she pleaded, looking into his eyes for a kind of conviction.
“No. I don’t understand what you are saying at all. You wrote those letters, didn’t you?”
“Yes, yes, I did, but-I…” She stopped. She would need to ask her father later on.
“Is there anything wrong?” Ronnie asked.
She inhaled. She couldn’t tell him that she didn’t want to be rescued. It would hurt him a lot.
“I am tired, and I really need to speak to my father.”
He nodded and walked closer to her. He held her at the shoulders. “Tell me, did you miss me at all? Because you haven’t mentioned that since you got back.”
“Yes, I did,” Gabby quickly said. “I really did.”
That seemed to calm him down a bit and he pulled her closer for yet another embrace.
***
Later that evening, she found her father in his study as always. She needed to know some details about her rescue.
“Father, are you busy?” She asked.
“Not for you, my darling,” he said, turning around as she entered. “What about Ronnie?” He asked.
“He has left,” she replied.
Henry observed her for a while as she sat in front of him. “Is anything wrong?” He asked.
“Yes, he has…changed. It’s like I don’t even know him anymore.”
“Well, he has changed,” replied her father.
“He kept asking me so many questions that I was afraid of answering,” she said.
“Questions like what?” Asked her father.
“If I was a virgin, if I was happy…”
“Well, were you happy?”
Gabby looked at her father and slowly nodded. “I was happy, father. I didn’t need to be rescued at all. Callum was willing to have you visit me.”
“Hold on,” said her father, leaning forward. “Who is Callum?”
Gabby swallowed. “My husband.”
Her father watched her and sighed. “Your husband? He was willing to have us visit?”
She nodded. “Yes, he was and then I was surprised to see the English army fighting to rescue me. I didn’t ask to be rescued.”
Henry frowned. She could see the look of disappointment in his eyes. “You didn’t ask to be rescued? Then if you didn’t want to be rescued, why did you write those letters?”
“But, writing letters to tell my family how much I missed them shouldn’t be a problem,” she grimaced.
“Well, you wrote more than that young lady, personally to me!”
“Really? Please can I see this letter?” She asked.
“It’s not with me anymore,” said her father.
“What do you mean it’s not with you anymore? Did you toss it away? Burned it?”
“No, I needed proof to show the prince. If not for the letter, he would never have dispatched all those soldiers that came to rescue you.”
“But I didn’t need any rescue!” She shouted at the top of her voice. She was close to losing her temper. The door opened and her mother stepped in.
“What is going on?” Asked her mother, bewildered.
“I think the Highlanders have done something to our daughter. I honestly do not know what has gotten into her,” said her father.
“What happened?” Her mother asked.
“Mother, please, can you remember the content of the letter I sent to you?”
Lady Dianne nodded. “Yes, you talked about how much you missed all of us and that was all.”
“Yes,” she replied. “That was all I wrote.”
“You also stated that you have a plan to get rescued and that you will see us soon.”
Gabby frowned. That wasn’t part of what was written. “No, no. Something is wrong, May I see the letter? Please tell me you have your own letter.”
“Yes, I do,” said her mother. “I will go fetch it right away. You are acting really strange, Gabby.”
Lady Dianne walked out of the room, leaving Gabby and her father.
“What are you implying, Gabby? I do not understand where all this is coming from? Are you not happy to be home?”
She sighed and walked closer to her father. “Father, I am very happy to be home. But, I really need to know that it was the same letter I wrote that you received.”
The door opened and her mother came in, holding the letter in her hand.
Gabby collected it from her and began to go through. She could feel her parent’s eyes on her as they waited.
She went through the writing, it was everything that she wrote except for the ending. The writing looked like hers but it seemed off.
“This is not my handwriting,” she finally said.
Both her parents exchanged glances.
“What are you saying?” Asked her mother.
“I am saying that I did not write this letter! This was not the letter I wrote!” she stated loud and clear.
“So, what does that mean?” Her mother asked.
“It means the content was changed and the person who wrote this had a motive. I wish I could lay my hands on the other letter,” she turned to her father. “Please, do you at least remember some of the things that were written?”
“Yes, it explained some escape plans as well as the date to breach the town with the cavalry.”
Gabby gave a loud sigh. “Oh! No! Malcolm!”
“Malcolm?” Her mother asked.
Gabby sank. She couldn’t even begin to explain. Callum had warned her about Malcolm and how he wasn’t to be trusted. She remembered how he had told her that Malcolm had always wanted everything that belonged to him. He was also the one that had brought up the idea of a letter.
Apart from that, he had come in right at the moment when Erlyn entered. She also recalled that Callum said the four of them, including Isabella, were all friends. What if Malcolm and Erlyn were truly working together? She wanted Callum to herself, she could get Malcolm to help her.
Gabby stood up all of a sudden. “I need to go back home.”
Her parents exchanged looks. “You are home.”
“Father, mother, you do not understand. Callum is in danger.”
“He is none of your concern anymore. You are back with us and he is over there with his own people, you have no business together anymore,” shouted her father.
“But please, he needs to know that I didn’t do…”
“Be quiet, Gabby!” shouted her mother. “What is wrong with you? Have the Highlanders fed you with so many lies that you do not know who your family is anymore. We are your family and soon enough, you are going to forget about them. You should try not to be an ingrate!”
Gabby watched as her mother left angrily. She faced her father.
“Father, please. I do not mean to be ungrateful or anything of the sort, I just need to go back before it is too late.”
Her father stood up, he was obviously shaken with disappointment. “If you leave this town, then you should forget you have a family here.”
Without speaking any further, he left.
Gabby watched as he left, then she broke into tears.
***
“I do not know what to do, Sophie. I am so confused,” she said as she lay in her bed that night. She had missed talking with Sophie.
“Try and understand your parent’s perspective, my lady,” Sophie said, sitting beside her on the bed. “You have no idea what they went through when you were gone, I was there. I saw everything. The once peaceful home I knew degenerated into dullness. Brooke and Berthie were always at loggerheads. Your father and mother were not talking, Ronnie became someone else too. It took the people weeks to recover from the trauma. Your father became withdrawn, almost going mad. He started talking to himself and wouldn’t eat for days. Your mother developed the winter sickness. She was very sick and your father was not helping”
Gabby shut her eyes as tears flooded down her cheeks. “Mother was sick?”
Sophie nodded. “She was, she still is but she is getting better. This is why she is always in her room and if you’ve not noticed, she limps. They went through a hard time when you were not there. Now that you are back, everything is going back to the way it was. The family is reunited again. Please, do not think of leaving them again.”
“But, I have a family over there as well,” Gabby said. “I love Callum so much and when he said I had betrayed him, I could see the pain in his eyes. I can’t let him live with the thought of being betrayed by his own wife. Our people have hurt him once, they took the first woman in his life and now, if he thinks I have betrayed him, he will lose all hope. I cannot live with that, Sophie.”
“You have to try, for your sake and the sake of your family. You need to forget about the Highlanders and focus on your family here. They are your true family.”
“So, how long do you think I will spend without thinking of Callum? Do you think it will be easy for me to just forget about my first love? The man who made me into a woman? The man who taught me how to love?”
Sophie gasped and looked at her in wonder. “You only spent three months, my lady and you are this way? What would happen if you spent a year?”
Gabby inhaled. “Sophie, I love Callum, I love everyone there. Whatever we heard about the Highlanders is wrong. They are not savages!”
“So, they do not kill people?” Brooke asked, as she came in.
Gabby could tell that she had been listening to the conversation all along.
“And when they burned our homes and stole from us, how far did that go to show how honorable they are?” she asked. Gabby could see how angry she was.
“Brooke, please. This is not a competition,” Gabby pleaded, rising up.
“Oh, I think it is. Because if you are trying to defend them then, maybe you are no longer part of us. Mother told me you want to leave. How can you be so selfish? You just returned yesterday, and you cannot wait to go back?”
“Brooke,” Gabby started.
“You have really changed, Gabby! Do you care about your family at all? About Ronnie? Do you know what he went through because of you?”
“I love my family and I can never choose you over anybody, but I need to make things right,” Gabby cried. “This is not about me.”
“Yes, this is about your savage husband, isn’t it?”
Gabby stopped crying and her face hardened.
“Yes, he is a savage, isn’t he? We used to call all the Highlanders that or have you forgotten? Maybe you have become one yourself. Look at you, Gabby! I used to admire your strength and courage but now, I don’t even know you anymore!”
Chapter 25
Callum opened his eyes to terrible pain. His arm throbbed as if on fire and his body ached fiercely.
“Easy, my Laird.”
He could hear Efgerald’s voice along with some others. He couldn’t open his eyes. They felt like something heavy was keeping them shut. He could barely lift his finger as well.
“Who is there?” He groaned.
Efgerald and the physician exchanged looks.
“It is I and yer father’s physician,” said Efgerald.
“Efgerald, is that ye?” He asked, groaning in agony. Even as he talked, every part of him hurt terribly.
“Aye, my Laird,” Efgerald replied. He moved closer to Callum, taking his hand into his.
“I need tae speak tae ye, alone,” Callum said.
Efgerald signaled to the other man to excuse him. Shortly after, it was just the two friends.
“We are alone, my Laird,” he said softly to Callum.
“She betrayed me, Efgerald,” he whimpered. “She fooled me. She… she wrote a letter tae them… I… took her tae Isabella’s grave… I trusted her. Just like ye asked me tae…she…fooled me.”
Efgerald sighed. “I know but we are not certain about what happened.”
“Look at me!” he shouted angrily. “I cannot even open my eyes. They came so suddenly. I could hae fought them off but… I was too weak. Seeing her go away with them willingly.”
Efgerald sighed. “Ye are going to be alright, my Laird.”
Callum sniffed. “How many of our men died?”
“About fifty-four dead bodies were found, eighty were found wounded.” Efgerald replied.
Callum’s head banged as he heard this. He groaned loudly. He had been so reckless, so stupid. Why did he think she would be any different? All the English were the same thing. Why did he take him so long to realize it?
“What about Malcolm?” He finally asked.
“He is making arrangements tae take care of those that were wounded,” Efgerald replied.
