Chapter 8

CHAPTER EIGHT

O ch, nay! This cannae be happening!

Yet no amount of inward curses could change what Murdoch was witnessing. At the other end of the room were his friends, come to see the celebrations, and amongst them was Avery, Eloise's brother.

He will kill me for this.

Avery's eyes flitted between the pair of them, with such a firm crease in his brow, the disapproval could not be ignored.

"If looks could kill," Eloise whispered beside him.

"I'd be shot with an arrow in this chair." Murdoch agreed as Eloise nodded beside him.

"Welcome, welcome," Fergus called across the room, continuing his eager greeting. Unable to sit still, Murdoch's knee continued to bounce up and down as he stared at Avery across the room.

Already, Avery was marching toward the pair of them, circling the tables and the dancers. Behind him and hot on his heels were the other three, though they shared smiles, clearly amused at the turn of events.

"Forgive the unexpected arrivals, but when I discovered my son was tae be wed, I had tae invite his friends tae come and witness the ceremony."

Murdoch jerked his head toward his father, realizing that one thing was quickly leading to another. If Fergus had invited them all, then he surely intended the celebration to take place very soon indeed.

"As Murdoch is me eldest son," Fergus paused long enough to clap Murdoch on the shoulder again. Any hope Murdoch might have had of leaping from his chair and escaping the room before Avery reached him was gone. He was stuck to the spot. "We shall celebrate his wedding tae Eloise first. In the next two weeks, we shall see them wed."

"Two weeks?" Eloise spluttered quietly beside Murdoch. Her hand reached for him under the table and gripped his bouncing thigh, making it fall still. The tightness of her touch was an unwelcome distraction at this time. His eyes shot down to her hold, for that touch was high on his thigh, again. "Murdoch! Dae something," she hissed.

"What can I ddae?" he asked, his voice as quiet as her own.

The hall now erupted in applause, with many wishing them well.

"Hurrah!"

"Two weddings in a month, aye, what a celebration that will be."

"All the laird's sons married. What children there will be running around soon!"

Children!?

Murdoch's eyes shot to Eloise. Everything was changing. Now he and Eloise were expected to produce bairns ? This was only supposed to be for a few days!

"Murdoch?" Avery called to him through the commotion. Murdoch's eyes darted to Avery and the redness of his cheeks. His wife, Callie, took his arm and tried to hold him back, still with the humor on her face. Plainly, Avery could not find the same humor that the others could in this situation.

"Now, for a celebratory dance," Fergus took control of the room again, his voice booming across the crowd. "I'd like tae invite both of my sons and their betrotheds tae dance one more time for us all, so we may cheer their happy unions."

Murdoch would have happily denied dancing, for he had little love for it, but with Avery marching toward him, practically pushing a tartan-clad guard out of the way to get to him, suddenly dancing seemed like a great idea. He snatched Eloise's hand off his thigh and stood.

"What are ye doing?" she whispered in panic as he drew her around the table. Applause sounded louder as the pipers took up their places, all standing on a bench ready to begin the next song.

"Ye and I must talk before we speak tae Avery. We need tae ken what we are going tae tell him."

"And ye think I can talk with ye throwing me in the air fer a volta!?"

"Try, Eloise," he whispered with a challenging smile as they reached the dance floor. "We should behave if we are tae convince our friends as well as everyone else here."

Eloise was clearly nervous, swallowing awkwardly as he led her toward the floor. When she didn't object anymore, Murdoch turned to watch his brother and Harper take to the floor too. Harper appeared nervous, hanging her head with her hand not completely in Clyde's own. Clyde was only too happy to be on the floor and smiled at those watching on, applauding him.

"Murdoch!" Avery called again, but his voice was half lost under the cheers.

Murdoch halted in the hall, releasing Eloise as they curtsied and bowed to one another. Over her shoulders, his eyes flicked to look at Avery. He was now not only being held back by Callie, but Ian too, who had a hand on his shoulder. It was rather like watching a feeble farmer try to hold back a raging bull, for Avery's face was so red that the sinews in his neck had grown taut.

"Forget killing me with one look," Murdoch muttered to Eloise. "He wants tae kill me with his bare hands for this."

"He is my brother. Of course, he is going tae be protective," Eloise murmured, stepping closer toward him. When she came so near, Murdoch's eyes flicked down to meet hers. At this close proximity, he was lost in her sweet scent. It was a distraction with the liquor in his system and the difficulty of Avery being nearby.

"What dae we dae now?" he whispered.

"Well, ye wanted tae dance, did ye nae?"

Murdoch offered his hand to Eloise and pulled her in for another dance. His gaze dwelled on her as the music filled the air, far more dramatic than the last piece they had danced to. As he urged her from side to side, his other hand came up around her waist, and he could have sworn that the brush of his fingers made her gasp. Her lips parted, did they not? As if his touch did something to her.

"What are we going tae dae?" she whispered, as he turned her around to face the other way, so they danced opposite Harper and Clyde.

"I cannae face any questions, Eloise," he murmured in her ear. By bending down toward her, he tried to affect the illusion of whispering loving things to her, rather than the panicked whispers that were ensuing.

"Questions?"

"About me past. I cannae bear it, and I willnae have our friends poking their noses into what is past. It is done."

"What questions?" She turned to face him once more. They turned around one another, his hand wrapped around her waist in a different way. She was delicate, and he could direct her around the floor with that touch alone. When her eyes darted down to that touch, it made a heat stir within her.

This cannae be avoided. This attraction isnae going tae go away.

"Remember our agreement? Ye cannae ask me me secrets."

She playfully narrowed her eyes.

"Ye are a man of many secrets indeed."

"Dinnae pretend tae be an innocent soul in this."

"Me? I am an innocent!"

"Ye? The escort?" he hissed. She pushed away from him at the right moment. Though it was choreographed to be a moment where the pair of them stepped apart, she put more vigor into it than was supposed to be there, and it caused entertained laughs from the crowd.

"Lover's tiff already, eh?" one voice cried.

Murdoch leveled a glare at her, reminding her of what they were doing. When he offered his hand to her once more, turning her back in so that her body was pressed to his, she didn't pull back.

"I cannae have me brother ever discover what I have done," she whispered as he took one of her hands. With their bodies still pressed together, he walked her back. "If he kenned…" She trailed off, blinked, then her lips flattened together. Murdoch looked down at those lips.

"Dinnae look at me like that now!"

"Like what?"

"As if ye are going tae kiss me again."

"It would complete the illusion, would it nae?" he reminded her.

"Murdoch!"

"Aye, all right." He looked at her eyes again. "If ye and I come clean of this tae our friends, Avery would kill me fer hiring ye."

"And I dinnae want Avery ever tae discover what I am doing or… or why."

Avery longed to ask her what the ‘why' was. How could a woman as demure and proper as Eloise end up being an escort in the first place?

Aye, she must have been desperate. What other cause is there?

Yet just as he had pleaded with her not to ask questions, he knew he could not ask the same from her now.

"So, we are in agreement," Murdoch murmured, turning her under his arm. "We have tae maintain this ruse fer our friends fer now as we decide what tae dae next. Perhaps if yer brother believes ye dae care for me, then he willnae feel the need tae run me through with his sword."

"Dinnae count on such a thought," Eloise nodded her head to the edge of the crowd watching on. Murdoch followed her gaze as he saw Avery waiting for him, his arms tightly folded and that same crimson tinge of anger on his cheeks.

"Well, I can live in hope," Murdoch murmured.

"Was that a jest? Aye, ye are capable of levity in moments of darkness."

"Ye will keep the secret too then?" he asked, needing to have her agreement once more. "We willnae tell the four of them the truth."

"I agree without hesitation." She turned to face him, her hands on his shoulders as he took her waist. "They will never ken the truth."

"Good." He launched her into the air for the end of the dance, throwing her higher than Clyde could toss Harper. It made the crowd ‘ooh' at the appropriate moment. When he caught her, he turned her back into his arm and tilted her backward, moving his face close to hers. His eyes flitted over every part of her face, noting that this time she hadn't yelped in fear as she had done the time before. "Ye are starting tae trust me then, Eloise?"

"Well, ye did say ye wouldnae let me fall," she reminded him of his earlier words with the hint of a smile on her lips.

"And I meant such a promise." His eyes tarried on her lips. He felt a sudden urge to kiss her, one so strong that he couldn't pull himself back.

"Murdoch…" she whispered as the applause began. "They are expecting something. Yer father's guests, I mean."

"Then we better give them what they want."

And what I want as well.

He pressed his lips to hers, his arm wrapping tightly around her waist to lift her body that inch closer to hers. He had to pray that when Avery witnessed this kiss he believed it, and thought Murdoch was acting honorably toward Eloise.

Any such thoughts swiftly left his mind as Eloise kissed him back. There was that heat again, the excitement, the touch of her lips on his. It didn't last long, for he was all too aware of people watching them, but the momentary indulgence was enough to sustain him.

He put Eloise back on her feet and they turned to bow to one another once more. As the applause grew, Murdoch took her arm, his gaze darting to the side of the room where his friends waited. He knew this wasn't a meeting he could avoid for much longer. As he and Eloise slowly crossed toward the group, he felt her arm tightening through the crook of his elbow, her fingers growing stiff. He slowed their walk even further, rather keen to delay this conversation for as long as he possibly could.

Aila and Callie cheered, joining in the applause, with Callie in her usual exuberance being the most vocal.

"Well, well, what a dark horse ye are, Murdoch," she said as he reached their side. "Tae think ye had been courting sweet Eloise all this time and yet none of us kenned anything."

"Aye, nae a thing." Avery's voice was instantly dark. He stood tall, with his shoulders broad. He was a little taller than Murdoch, and although Murdoch knew they were pretty level in a fight, he didn't fancy his chances at this moment in time.

"Oh, Avery, calm yer blood," Callie urged, waving a hand at her husband. "Is it nae wonderful? Yer sister is tae be wed!"

"Aye, so she is. Strange I kenned nae a thing about it." His angry eyes now shot to Eloise's, narrowing to slits. "Eloise, how could ye nae speak of this?"

"I… It is hard tae explain." She glanced up at Murdoch and stood closer to him still. The proximity of her was distracting and he certainly didn't need it at a moment like this.

"Ha! Well, I long tae hear this explanation," Ian declared with raucous laughter. He stepped forward and clapped Murdoch around the arm, good-naturedly. "Always kenned ye had yer secrets, but they just keep on coming, dinnae they?"

"Ian," Aila pleaded at his side, elbowing him quite harshly in the rib. "Ye arenae helping poor Avery." She pointedly glanced at Avery, whose expression had darkened as he looked at the hold Eloise had on Murdoch's arm.

"Why nae? It is mightily entertaining," Ian said with warmth. Clearly, Callie agreed with him who laughed as Aila hid her own smile behind a clasped hand. "Ye two did very well indeed hiding it from us all. None of us suspected a thing. Ye should have seen the surprise on our faces when we got yer father's letter yesterday."

"He wrote tae ye?" Murdoch slowly put the pieces together. When he arrived and told his father that he was betrothed, Fergus must have written to his friends at once, deciding they should be there for the union.

"Aye, he did," Ian continued to chuckle. "Noah couldnae come unfortunately, but he sends his best, and his surprise! He may have a few wedding gifts fer ye at some point."

At the mention of wedding gifts, Avery jerked his chin toward Ian.

"Why are ye glaring at me like that?" Ian held his hands to his chest. "He is the one courting yer sister." He thrust a finger at Murdoch. Once more, Aila elbowed him in the chest. "Ow, what was that one fer?"

"Ye are still nae helping matters," she urged him to be quiet as he laughed once more.

Avery's eyes turned on Murdoch.

"Ye wish tae speak tae me, dae ye nae?" Murdoch asked, without needing to hear the answer.

"Aye. Outside, now." Avery pointed to a door in the hall, urging him to leave. Murdoch released Eloise's arm, though she gripped his sleeves tight.

"Avery, is this the time for such a conversation? Murdoch is needed here by his father. It is why we didnae tell ye. We… we were waiting fer his father's blessing."

"Aye, that's right." Murdoch nodded, seeing what a good answer this was.

Avery glanced between the two of them, and silently pointed at the door one more time.

He isnae going tae let this go.

"Hurry back," Ian called as Murdoch was marched to the door, with Avery close at his heel.

When they reached the doorway, Murdoch didn't stop there. He continued to the back of the castle and took a side door out into the grounds, knowing that Avery would not want to stay inside for such a discussion where their booming voices could be overheard. They stepped out onto the terraced gardens, ending up by crenelations that overlooked the next layer of gardens set below them on the hill.

"If ye wish tae hit me, I understand it – woah!" Murdoch dodged the first blow. He barely caught sight of it as Avery's hand came up toward him in the moonlight.

"Ye cannae encourage me tae hit ye then dodge it, Murdoch."

"I am still yer friend, Avery."

"Me friend!?" Avery scoffed, stepping toward him as Murdoch held up his hands in innocence. "Ye are courting my sister. Ye are intending tae marry her. When exactly did ye plan on telling me about it?"

Murdoch was backed up against the crenelations. He looked below, to see that if Avery forced him over, it wouldn't be a fatal drop, but he'd certainly suffer some broken bones.

"When I had me father's blessing," Murdoch said in a rush. "I have held onto many secrets –"

"Aye, so I see!" Avery declared with vigor. "Ian had tae be the one tae explain tae us ye are the son of a laird. Why did ye never tell any of us about that?"

"Because it isnae something I like tae talk of. We all have things we keep tae ourselves, dae we nae, Avery?" Murdoch asked in challenge. "Such as why ye and Callie ran off last year together. Ye never did explain tae me why ye ran, did ye?" He remembered keenly how Avery had disappeared with Callie one day, much to the shock of everyone in the Chattan Castle. Only after a note from Callie had been found did they realize the pair had gone to put past demons to bed. It was a dangerous adventure, and yet they had fallen in love on their journey.

Avery backed up. Murdoch was given a little breathing room, so he sat between the crenelations, staring as Avery marched up and down on the lawn in front of them.

"Aye, I take yer point," he said after a minute or so of silent pacing. "I hardly told me sister when Callie and I…" He gestured in the air, clearly struggling for the right words to describe their rather unorthodox courtship. "Yet this is different." He rounded on Murdoch again, one hand shooting to the weapons belt at his hips. "She is me younger sister. Our father is a waste of space, a man who steals air from other good people tae survive. He may nae be the man tae look out fer her, but by God's blood, I shall."

He marched toward Murdoch, the threat implicit with his hand on the belt. "I will protect her, Murdoch. Even if that means going against a friend tae dae it."

The vigor of his determination was admirable. It softened Murdoch as he sat with his spine slumped between the crenelations.

"Avery, please listen to me." He made his own voice gentle, but Avery was plainly not wishing to hear it. He turned away, shook his head, and returned to pacing, his boots moving fast in the dew that glistened in the moonlight. "I am nae here tae hurt yer sister."

"What are ye doing then? Hmm?" Avery challenged, flicking his head back around to face him. "Dae ye truly intend tae marry her? Because all I have ever heard from Ian is that ye have nae interest in a relationship at this time. That there is something that holds ye back from it." Avery stomped toward him, moving slower this time. "Was that all a lie? Some ruse ye told so ye could secretly get closer tae me sister?"

"Ye have a suspicious mind, Avery," Murdoch whispered, staring at his friend. At this time, it felt as if he knew his friend very little, despite how long they had trained side by side for the last couple of years at the Chattan castle.

"I need tae ken the answer. How long have ye been courting me sister?"

"Nae long," Murdoch answered honestly, though he was not going to go into details. "Avery, me situation is a delicate one." He slowly stood and stepped toward Avery, trying to put them more at equal height once again. "Aye, we didnae talk of what was happening, because neither of us wished tae dae so. I had me father tae consider, the clan, everything. The heir tae a clan has tae think about marriage carefully, because they choose a lady of the clan, nae just a wife."

"Aye, aye, I understand all that." Avery waved off the matter. "What I wish tae ken is why ye didnae tell me." He thrust his hands into his chest. "Ye would have needed either me father's or me blessing at some point. Were ye never going tae ask fer it?"

"I…" Murdoch paused and breathed deeply. He was down the rabbit warren now of this ruse. He had no idea how he and Eloise were ever going to extricate themselves from this deception, but he couldn't avoid it. If she wished her job never to be known, and he didn't want Avery and the others discovering his past with Lillie and what had happened to her, then he had to continued it. "I was going tae ask for yer blessing eventually. I wished tae have me father's blessing first. That is all. I had nay idea he would be making a public announcement and inviting ye on top of it, as me brother was tae be married shortly"."

His words took the wind out of Avery. His shoulders slumped and he breathed deeply, hanging his head forward an inch or so.

"This is nae the future I thought Eloise would have," he murmured after a minute and chuckled. "Well, fer a long time I feared our father would force her into a marriage she didnae want. After all, he first tried tae betroth her tae Laird Chattan."

"Aye, I remember." Murdoch smiled sadly, thinking of how Lady Scarlett had taken Eloise's place, for Noah and Scarlett had fallen in love. Even Murdoch had heard Eloise counting her lucky stars that she was not the one who had turned up at Laird Chattan's castle. "They would have made an ill match."

"Aye, they would have done." Avery lifted his head, his glare narrowing at Murdoch once more. "Neither am I sure I would have put ye with me sister."

Murdoch breathed deeply. He understood such an objection. Eloise was proper and well educated, whereas Murdoch was a brutal soldier. They didn't necessarily fit, but he had to make Avery believe him now.

"Sometimes it isnae about choice. It is just what happens. Who yer heart…" He didn't finish the words. He was no great romantic or wordsmith. He felt strange even beginning the sentence.

"Aye, who yer heart chooses." Fortunately, Avery finished the sentence for him. "God's blood, what a mess." He turned on the spot, scratching the back of his head before he came back to face Murdoch again. "There is just one thing more I need tae ken."

"What is that?"

"Ye willnae hurt her, will ye?" Avery stepped toward him, that redness in his face visible in the moonlight. He didn't blink out of the strength of his words. "I need tae ken this, Murdoch. More than anything in this world will I protect the women that matter tae me. I need tae ken that ye willnae hurt Eloise, that if ye marry her, ye will keep yer vows tae yer dying day. That ye will never hurt her."

The questioned summoned the image of Eloise in his mind. He thought of waking to find her that morning sleeping in the chair, just how awkward and uncomfortable she looked. He couldn't bear the thought of her in pain, so surprisingly, the promise came from his lips very easily.

"I will dae better than that." He stepped toward Avery. "I make ye a vow now, Avery. I will never hurt Eloise. Ever. Were I tae harm her in any way, ye can run me through with yer sword yerself and I will happily take it."

"Ye'd rather die than see her hurt?"

"Aye." The word fell from his lips fast.

"Well, that is something." Avery smiled a little but cocked his head to the side. There was a suspicious glint in his eyes. "We'll just see how long this courtship of yers lasts before I decide if I completely believe ye or nae."