modern city.
Here, if she was lucky, she’d be found by Damron or a Ridley search party before she was a mile away. If a stranger found her, she’d soon be struggling beneath him in the dirt. If she lived past the assault, she’d become some lout’s slave.
Damron would never agree to an annulment. It was how
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85
his first marriage ended. This proud man would never allow another woman to disgrace him.
While Maud went to the kitchens to see to what should have been a betrothal banquet, Elise and her aunt Cecelia spent the next hour showing the servants what to pack in the sturdy trunks. When Brianna looked around the now familiar room and knew she would be leaving it, she shivered with apprehension.
What if she left Ridley and this was where she had to be to find her way back to her own time? But then again, she was in Scotland when the storm struck and sent her here. To return, perhaps she needed to be high atop the battlements at Blackthorn Castle.
Elise, her face mottled from crying, handed her a heavy green tunic and hose for traveling. Cecelia took Elise by the hand and said they would search the storage room for young men’s leggings. The garments resembled heavy pajama bottoms with feet, and would be suitable for riding. Brianna could still hear Elise’s sobs and the older woman’s murmurs of comfort as they went down the stairwell.
Brianna sat on the floor as she slit the green tunic and another brown one down the center so she could ride astride.
Fortunately, the tunics had ample material.
“’Tis unfortunate ye learned of this in such a way,” Damron told Galan. “All must follow as the king decrees. We canna turn from that.” In the baron’s solar, he let Galan talk freely as he watched him pacing back and forth.
“We planned to wed,” Galan whispered, his heartbreak in his words.
“No matter the circumstance, ye canna intervene in what the king has ordered.”
Little did the young man know Damron was as much dis-
86
Sophia Johnson
pleased at being forced to marry as Galan was at losing his Brianna. But now that Damron had control of Brianna’s honors, he would fight to the death to keep the security they represented for Blackthorn. They were a steady source of income, and more important, of fighting men.
“You had not the right to wed Brianna without her knowledge,” Galan said. “You neither sent greetings nor informed her of her status.”
“I had the right,” Damron said quietly. “King William demanded it. I did send word, though the man ne’er arrived.”
William insisted on the proxy marriage, knowing Damron would have held off the deed as long as possible. Mayhap until he was old and gray, Damron thought wryly. Once he was safely wed, even Malcolm of Scotland turned a deaf ear to his requests to delay fetching his bride.
“Do you not care how cruel you have been to her?” Galan stared at him, his eyes reflecting his ruined dreams.
“I need not answer to ye, Galan. Only to my king. As ye must also.” He frowned, declining any more discussion on the matter. The deed was already done.
Damron realized the havoc he had created. He and Connor had been arguing over the matter when the mare pitched Brianna onto the ground. He knew he had been churlish to marry his bride and not come for her immediately, but duty had forced him to go to Mereck at Stonecrest to see to its garrison and repairs.
’Twas a shock to Brianna. She had planned to live her life close by Ridley. Now, she was uncertain of her future in a land many considered barbaric. He couldna fault her for fighting him earlier, though she had been unduly angry when he told her she was his property. Her independence was strange. A husband conquers, but she refused to be conquered. Like his family motto, With a Strong Hand, he would control her.
ALWAYS MINE
87
Damron turned to the baron. As Ridley’s overlord, he outlined what he expected. Yearly, he had improved Blackthorn’s defenses until
Here, if she was lucky, she’d be found by Damron or a Ridley search party before she was a mile away. If a stranger found her, she’d soon be struggling beneath him in the dirt. If she lived past the assault, she’d become some lout’s slave.
Damron would never agree to an annulment. It was how
ALWAYS MINE
85
his first marriage ended. This proud man would never allow another woman to disgrace him.
While Maud went to the kitchens to see to what should have been a betrothal banquet, Elise and her aunt Cecelia spent the next hour showing the servants what to pack in the sturdy trunks. When Brianna looked around the now familiar room and knew she would be leaving it, she shivered with apprehension.
What if she left Ridley and this was where she had to be to find her way back to her own time? But then again, she was in Scotland when the storm struck and sent her here. To return, perhaps she needed to be high atop the battlements at Blackthorn Castle.
Elise, her face mottled from crying, handed her a heavy green tunic and hose for traveling. Cecelia took Elise by the hand and said they would search the storage room for young men’s leggings. The garments resembled heavy pajama bottoms with feet, and would be suitable for riding. Brianna could still hear Elise’s sobs and the older woman’s murmurs of comfort as they went down the stairwell.
Brianna sat on the floor as she slit the green tunic and another brown one down the center so she could ride astride.
Fortunately, the tunics had ample material.
“’Tis unfortunate ye learned of this in such a way,” Damron told Galan. “All must follow as the king decrees. We canna turn from that.” In the baron’s solar, he let Galan talk freely as he watched him pacing back and forth.
“We planned to wed,” Galan whispered, his heartbreak in his words.
“No matter the circumstance, ye canna intervene in what the king has ordered.”
Little did the young man know Damron was as much dis-
86
Sophia Johnson
pleased at being forced to marry as Galan was at losing his Brianna. But now that Damron had control of Brianna’s honors, he would fight to the death to keep the security they represented for Blackthorn. They were a steady source of income, and more important, of fighting men.
“You had not the right to wed Brianna without her knowledge,” Galan said. “You neither sent greetings nor informed her of her status.”
“I had the right,” Damron said quietly. “King William demanded it. I did send word, though the man ne’er arrived.”
William insisted on the proxy marriage, knowing Damron would have held off the deed as long as possible. Mayhap until he was old and gray, Damron thought wryly. Once he was safely wed, even Malcolm of Scotland turned a deaf ear to his requests to delay fetching his bride.
“Do you not care how cruel you have been to her?” Galan stared at him, his eyes reflecting his ruined dreams.
“I need not answer to ye, Galan. Only to my king. As ye must also.” He frowned, declining any more discussion on the matter. The deed was already done.
Damron realized the havoc he had created. He and Connor had been arguing over the matter when the mare pitched Brianna onto the ground. He knew he had been churlish to marry his bride and not come for her immediately, but duty had forced him to go to Mereck at Stonecrest to see to its garrison and repairs.
’Twas a shock to Brianna. She had planned to live her life close by Ridley. Now, she was uncertain of her future in a land many considered barbaric. He couldna fault her for fighting him earlier, though she had been unduly angry when he told her she was his property. Her independence was strange. A husband conquers, but she refused to be conquered. Like his family motto, With a Strong Hand, he would control her.
ALWAYS MINE
87
Damron turned to the baron. As Ridley’s overlord, he outlined what he expected. Yearly, he had improved Blackthorn’s defenses until
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