Highland Soldiers: The Betrayal (3 page)

Jenny was stunned. She knew her father was ruthless in business matters, but she never expected him to treat her like this. If Duncan were here, he would know what to do. He would stand up to her father, take care of his parents, and marry her. But Duncan was gone, and the fate of his parents now lay on her shoulders. If she refused to marry Tavish, Duncan’s parents would lose their home. Without Duncan, they would be helpless. His father would drink, and his mother would suffer. After years of hard work, she was in no condition to travel on foot searching for work and a home.

If Jenny went against her father, he might throw her out, too. Where would she go? She could try to find Duncan, but how? He was in the lowlands, but where? Even if she knew more, she had no idea how she would get there. No proper lady would travel alone, nor would she know how. All of her life had been focused on becoming accomplished. She had learned how to sing and do needlework, neither of which would see her safely through the rough Highland terrain. In her quest to find Duncan, she could lose him forever.

Jenny faced a hard truth. Without a home, Duncan’s parents might not survive the winter. At all cost, she had to keep Duncan’s parents safe until his return. As for Jenny, there would be no wedding yet. Tavish was leaving to catch up with the rest of the men. He would return with the others, Duncan included. After that, she and Duncan would find a way out.

With Jenny now quiet, Andrew smiled and kissed her on the forehead. “That’s my Jenny.” He led Jenny back into the sitting room.

*

Tavish led Jenny outside for a walk. As they went down the garden path, his hand drifted toward hers. To evade it, she reached up to brush her hair from her face. They followed the path around and a birch tree, where Tavish stopped and lifted her hand. She could not make herself to look at him.

“Jenny.” Tavish studied her, seeking her full attention. “They must have told you that we are to be married.”

“Only just.” She glanced at him long enough to be polite. She could not hold his gaze. Her thoughts centered upon Duncan and his family. She reminded herself that she had to buy time until Duncan returned.

“I’ll be leaving tomorrow to join the other men.”

In that moment, the thought struck her. Duncan was one of those men. Tavish would join them and tell them. Then Duncan would know. He would learn of the wedding, but never know why. She had no way to tell him. Even if she could get a message to him, she could not tell him now–not without putting his parents at risk. She was going to break his heart, just as hers was broken already.

Tavish said, “When I return, we’ll be married. Jenny, do you hear what I’m saying?”

“Aye,” her voice broke.

Misreading it as a sign she was moved, Tavish smiled.

Jenny fixed her eyes downward, hoping he would say what he had to say quickly.

“We’ll be married, and you’ll be my wife.”

She inwardly cringed.

He stepped closer and kissed her. She had not expected a kiss, although she supposed that she should have. Nor had she expected his tongue to seek a way past her closed lips. As she drew back, Tavish slipped his palm behind her head and resisted. By reflex, she gasped.

“You’re to wed me. Now gie us a kiss.” His eyes burned as claimed her lips with a devouring kiss. There was no escaping his mouth or his serpentine tongue.

“Tavish.” She pressed her palms to his chest and pulled away.

He released her but appeared bewildered, yet not too much to stare at her mouth. “You’re so very bonnie. You hardly can blame a lad for wanting to kiss his sweetheart before he goes off to war.”

She discreetly wiped his kiss from her lips with her fingers. “It is not quite war that you’re going to, Tavish.”

His eyes narrowed. “Take a care, my love, lest you sound like a harpy.”

Now indignant, Jenny looked up, her lips parted in protest.

To her surprise, Tavish’s mouth spread to a grin. “You’ve a bit of fire in you, girl. I like that.” His hungry eyes bore through her as he leaned down to kiss her.

Jenny started to turn, but he took her jaw in his hands.

“Tavish…” She tried to hold him at bay, but he was strong and insistent. “I pray you, grant me some time.”

He released her with scorn. “Time for what, Jenny?”

“I barely know you.” She wanted to weep or vomit but managed to do neither. “I’ve only just found out we’re to be married.”

“You’ll have your time after I’m gone. Until then, I’ll have a proper kiss.” And he took it.

*

The next morning, Tavish rode off with the handful of men who had stayed behind with him. Jenny donned a brave face and wondered. How long would it be before Duncan found out? A few days? A week? What did it matter? He would find out. When he did, he would be certain that she had betrayed him.

August 1680

Jenny had had more than a year to prepare for this day. Yet there were times when it seemed like her betrothal to Tavish was just a bad dream. While Duncan and Tavish were away fighting for the king against Covenanters, the days had slipped by with no change. No one knew when the men would return, if at all. The pain of such thinking drove her to set plans for the future aside. She had never intended to go through with the wedding, and yet she had spent more than a year making plans with her parents. All the while, she yearned for Duncan. She had broken his heart, and hers with it. But their love was still true. They would find their way back together. After that, Duncan would know what to do. Until then, the wedding plans remained in place. As the months passed, it seemed less and less real, until Jenny found it easy to set thoughts of marriage aside.

Then the men came home. Word spread quickly as everyone gathered to welcome them. Most of the soldiers would stop here for a meal, a dram, and some rest, before continuing on to their homes, so a growing crowd of nearby families was ready to greet their loved ones. In its midst, Jenny stood, and she watched their arrival with anxious eyes.

From beside her, came a voice. “Hello, Jenny.”

She had not wished to remember the voice, but she did. “Tavish.” She turned, sure she had managed to hide her disappointment, but a fleeting light in his eyes proved her wrong. “I dinnae see you,” she said, forcing a smile. How would she have noticed him? She had been watching for Duncan.

They talked of the journey, the weather–anything but what was really on their minds. Her parents joined them and took over the conversation, which eased Jenny’s discomfort. Tavish would stay at their house for the night, before riding on to his home.

Jenny spied Duncan’s friend, Alex, and excused herself to go to him. He stood out from a crowd, not for his beauty. He was almost too rugged to be handsome. But his quiet presence compelled those about him to take notice, for he had a strength that was as much mind as muscle.

“Alex!” Jenny put her hand on his arm. When he turned to face her, she saw something was wrong.

“Jenny.”

She continued to smile, but her eyes betrayed her. “Is Duncan with you?”

“No.”

Dread drained the color from her face. Her lips formed the beginning of a question. “Steady, lass.” His chilled manner now gone, Alex grasped her upper arm to support her.

“Are you alright, Jenny?” A concerned Tavish had joined them.

Jenny said, “Yes, I’m fine. Just a bit overwhelmed.”

Tavish studied her.

As Alex released her arm, she said, “Did everyone–is everyone with you?”

“Come, Jenny,” said Tavish. He turned and took her hand to lead her away as though she were a child.

Jenny turned back to Alex and whispered, “Where is Duncan?”

He and Duncan were part of a close group of friends who had grown up together, with Jenny like a sister among them. The men went on to train and fight together.

Alex took note, not only of Jenny’s hushed agitation, but also of Tavish’s watchful insistence. Alex proceeded to fill Jenny in on the news of their friends. Callum stood nearby with a raven-haired beauty beside him. He was the chief’s son, although for years unacknowledged. He had brought home a wife from the lowlands. Tongues had wagged for weeks over that, but Hughie’s mother, Nellie, assured everyone that Mari was lovely, both inside and out, and that Callum was lucky to have found her. Behind Callum, their friend Charlie turned to embrace one of the many young women who seemed to fall under his charm almost daily. It was hard to fault him for his confidence, when his mere smile made women blush. His coarse sand-colored hair and square jaw made them stare, while his powerful build and bearing made knees weak.

Impatient, Tavish said, “My parents are waiting.” He tugged her along for a few steps, as Jenny looked back. They had spoken of everyone except Duncan. Tavish stopped. Jenny nearly bumped into him. The next moment, he was talking with someone else. Now distracted, he released Jenny’s hand.

Jenny took a discreet step toward Alex. “What has happened to Duncan?”

“Calm yourself, lass.” He eyed Tavish warily.

With Tavish beside her, Jenny could not explain herself. Alex would not know of her love for Duncan. She and Duncan had hidden their feelings from their friends, for fear the inevitable teasing might ruin what they shared. But as their love deepened and they knew they would marry someday. Jenny had confided in her mother. That had been a mistake. When her father heard of it, he made it clear that nothing would come of it. It was a childhood fancy that would pass. From then on, she and Duncan kept their love secret from everyone.

Alex cast a level gaze at her frantic eyes and quietly said, “Nothing has happened. He is well.” His eyes flickered toward Tavish, still talking.

Jenny exhaled and clung to what was left of her composure.

Alex said, “He took a job on a merchant ship.”

“He dinnae come home with you?”

“No.”

“How long will he be gone?”

Alex leveled a frank look. “I dinnae think that he’s very eager to come home just yet.”

Before Jenny could respond, Alex’s sister flew into his arms. His brothers and parents surrounded him, while Tavish led her away toward his parents.

*

The next morning, Tavish was gone, but he promised to return in a week to see Jenny. He did, and he returned every week for a month. Talk of the wedding was relentless. When would Duncan come home? The wedding was one month away.

She escaped to the woods and the shelter of the yew tree where she and Duncan had spent their last evening together. Over the past year, she had often come here to feel closer to Duncan. Here she could think of him, free of the lie of her betrothal to Tavish. For a year, she had thought about how it would end. Jenny leaned back and gazed up at the sheltering branches, and then shut her eyes to daydream. She had to believe that Duncan would return to her. With one look, he would know that her love had not changed. She would tell him the truth, and he would understand. Before her father could evict her parents, they would all run away, and life would be as they always had hoped.

Jenny walked out of the woods. A mist hovered over the ground, with scattered clear patches drifting on the crisp autumn breeze.

“Jenny?” He came out of the haze.

“Tavish.”

“One of the farmers’ lads thought they saw you heading this way.” He grinned. “I’ve decided to stay one more day.”

In her dismay, Jenny failed to watch where she was going and stumbled on a tree root. Tavish took hold of her arm to steady her, and left his hand there as they walked through the mist.

The path led past Duncan’s cottage. She did not expect to see him come around the corner of the byre and stop. Why had no one told her he was home? His deep-set eyes locked on hers. Jenny opened her mouth as if to speak, even though they were too far away to do so. Duncan’s eyes darted to Tavish and his arm on Jenny’s arm. His dark, troubled eyes held her transfixed. Duncan turned from her abruptly and went into the byre. He was gone, and still she could not take her eyes from the spot where she had first seen him.

“Jenny?” Tavish stared.

Distracted, she looked up at him.

“Stop staring. You disgrace yourself and make me look a fool.” With a tug, he led her on down the path.

She forced her attention toward home, but her heart and her thoughts were with Duncan.

Duncan surveyed the field he had left to his father’s care. The tacksman, Jenny’s father, had already come calling to ask for the overdue rent. Duncan’s father was gone, as he was most days, leaving Duncan and his mother to run the farm and answer for the unpaid rent. His mother would not cry in front of Duncan, so he left her that morning with a cup of tea and a kiss on the forehead, and then went outside to work out his anger. The untended field contained little that was fit to harvest, other than a patch of vegetables his mother had planted and tended, so he went to the byre to put things in order. It appeared as though no one had touched it since he had left for the lowlands. Anyone else might have cursed, but Duncan had expected little more of his father. He clenched his teeth and put his mind and his muscles to cleaning the mess. In the midst of mucking out the stables, he heard Jenny say his name softly from inside the doorway.

Duncan was not one to reveal his feelings. Perhaps he had learned by example. His father hid feelings inside a bottle, while his mother concealed hers with stoic perseverance. One would think nothing fazed her, but that would be wrong. She had passed on her pride and her dogged restraint to her son. Duncan hid what he felt were weak shows of emotion with steely control, which was now being tested. Just the sound of Jenny’s voice pierced the thin shield he had hewn to prepare for this moment. It was not pride that kept him from turning to face her. It was his heart, which he could not rein in. He would not let her see him like this. Yet, as much as she had hurt him, his heart would not give up. It would seek out the pain that would crush it. And so, with tenuous control, he convinced himself that it was better to face her now, in this place, than in public. He filled one more shovel and heaved it to the barrow, before turning to face her.