Plead Forgiveness: Betrayed Twice (Loyalty Series) Read Free Page B

awe,
watching the warm greeting Ella received when they entered Colban’s cottage.
Helena embraced her as if she were a long lost sister while Colban, in a
fatherly manner, insisted on speaking with her in private.
    “Bring my healer
to me, and then be gone!”
    Before rushing
out, Helena mumbled threats to starve Colban while Paen defiantly crossed his
arms over his chest.
    With a smirk, he
said, “Ye can be quite nasty, old man, like a disagreeable bairn.”
    Not in the least
bit intimidated by the warrior before him, Colban responded, “Ye are naught but
a highly irritating young whelp who has over stayed his welcome.”
    A genuine smile
transformed Paen’s face when he responded, “Welcome am I?”
    “Nae, but out of
respect for the lady, I attempted to be polite,” Colban admonished.
    Paen quickly
realized the old man’s intention. Colban had raised Boyd and Iain, his younger
brothers, as well as his own two daughters to maturity. He now, with Ella,
returned to the role of paternal protector. Paen did not fault him, since the
older man had a hand in raising himself.
    On more occasions
than he liked to remember, Paen found himself at the stable master’s cottage
after a fight with his father. As always, Colban had welcomed while his wife,
Beth, tended to the bruises inflicted by his sire.
    “I will remain
outside,” he said with a nod of approval. “Take as long as ye like.”
    Although surprised
by Paen’s easy acceptance to leave the cottage, Ella had learned that Colban
held much more respect than that of a simple stable master. Once alone, the
older man signaled for her to sit in the stool next to the bed.
    “’Tis always a
pleasure to see ye again,” Colban said in a gentle tone.
    “You as well. How
are ye feeling this morning?”
    “My leg is healing
just fine and well ye ken. I rather talk about ye and how ye are fairing.”
    She managed to
shrug and say, offhandedly, “I take it you know I am now married to Gavin.”
    “Aye, I also know
why ye were reluctant to marry our laird.”
    “Not reluctant,
completely against,” she replied sharply.
    “Aye, this I ken,
too. But tell me this, if ye did go back to England and marry this Montgomery
fellow, what would become of yer aunt?”
    “Philip assured me
that Aunt Eleanor would be safe.”
    She displayed her
innocence quickly clearly, Colban thought. “Is Philip a man of honor?”
    The absurdity of
that statement almost made her laugh, instead, she answered honestly, “Nae.”
    “Yer aunt has nae
given him children,” Colban pointed out. “I’m told that Sir James acted as the
king’s watchdog these past five years, yet is nae longer in service at
Greystone, Aye?”
    Distraught that he
knew so much, she asked, “Who told you?”
    “Ye dinna answer
my question, lass.”
    “It’s true, all of
it. Now, who told you?”
    “That dinna
matter. What is important is that Philip intended to rid himself a barren wife
once ye wed Baron Montgomery. I am surprised he dinna have the marriage
annulled years ago.”
    “If Philip
annulled their marriage, he would lose both his title and land. King Henry
awarded Greystone to him upon his marriage to Aunt Eleanor and the death of her
father.”
    Pleased at the
direction of the conversation, Colban probed further. “If yer aunt died, would
Philip retain the title and land?”
    “Aye,” she
whispered slowly. The full impact of his words hit her like a lightning bolt.
Philip intended to kill his wife once Sir James completed his five years of
service at Greystone. She had been completely ignorant of her guardian’s
scheme.
    Colban covered her
trembling hands and gave words of comfort and advice for the future. He cared
for the bonny lass and hated to see the dismay in her eyes. The days ahead
would be difficult for her, but in his heart, he knew that she belonged here
with the Macleods.
    Ella departed
Colban’s cottage an hour later, feeling more confused and angry then she had
when she entered.