Binding Vows(39)
He had changed his clothes, but what he wore now was similar in fashion to what he had worn the past few days. The colors were more vivid, and the fit suited him better, but the shirt drifted beyond his hips, and his legs were covered in leggings appropriate in any Shakespearian play.
Tara took in the room, noticed the chandelier hovering above the great hall. The pulley attached raised and lowered it so candles could be lit before hoisting it overhead. No modern lights, no lamps, nor anything requiring electricity was visible.
Pale and trembling, Tara uttered her question with a barely audible breath. “What year is it?”
“1576.”
Blood dropped to her feet, and her head spun until she saw stars. Even when she was sure she would collapse, and he reached out to stop her from falling, she protested, “Don’t touch me!” Her words were cold and deadly. Her mouth gaped in disbelief.
“You should sit.” He stood near her side, but did as she told him.
“You brought me to Medieval Scotland without my permission.”
“You told me you would return to my home.”
“Not to the sixteenth century!” she yelled.
“I didn’t have a choice.”
Angry hands trembled through Tara’s hair. “You always have a choice!”
Duncan put his hand out to touch her.
She flinched. “I told you, don’t touch me.”
“Tara, please. Try and understand...” He reached for her again.
She flung her hands toward him to push him away.
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He ducked to avoid the sparks shooting from her fingers. Behind him, the wicks on the candles of the chandelier burst into flames.
Gasping for breath and frantic, Tara looked from her hands to the lit candles, producing flickering shadows on the wall.
She felt the anger and the heat pulse from her hands. She’d lit the candles like he had lit the fireplace.
He was telling the truth. Everything he said was true. Tara was stuck in a time she knew nothing about, without her friends, family, or anything.
School would start next week without her.
Gone were her plans, her dreams.
Every possible emotion passed through her while Duncan stood, staring, his mind ever present inside hers. But when he reached to comfort her, she screamed in her head.
Stay away from me.
His hand halted midair, then fell to his side.
“And stay out of my mind.” She tried, unsuccessfully, to control her breathing.
“I don’t know if I can.”
“Try. You’ve taken everything from me. The least you can do is give me peace in my own mind.”
Tears welled in her eyes. Her pain was enormous.
“I’ll help you to your rooms and have one of the maids draw you a bath.”
She blinked up at him through her tears. “Why don’t you get one of the maids to show me the way?”
“I will show you.”
Tara sent him a deadly look. “It wasn’t a request.”
115
Catherine Bybee
Chapter 10
A hole started to wear into the carpet thrown on the floor. No matter how many times Tara sat down, she couldn’t for more than a few minutes. It was a good thing the space was large and allowed her room to pace.
She heard the comings and goings of people beyond the door. When Duncan walked by, his thoughts were so loud she shouted at him, “Get the hell out.”
No one talked with her. Even the upstairs maid who brought in a tray of food said nothing. The poor woman kept her eyes on the floor when she entered the room. Tara did notice her look at her out of the corner of her eyes. Refusing to wear the dresses set out for her, Tara assumed the woman stared at her shorts and t-shirt.
Outside her room, Tara heard the maid talking with Lora. Their muffled voices of concern over what she was and wasn’t eating reached her ears.
Lora gave a stern warning that everything the maid saw behind Tara’s bedroom door should be kept secret.
Tara shook her head at their conversation, and continued to stew over what she would do about Duncan’s deceit.
****
“What do you mean you didn’t tell her?” Fin asked while putting the stone to his sword to sharpen its blade. “She didn’t give me a chance. Besides, she had 116
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all she could take in one sitting. Telling her we are bound together for eternity may have snapped her mind completely.”
“I’m still not sure why you went through with it.
How do you know if you will be compatible for this lifetime, let alone the next?” Fin enjoyed his women, but only one had gotten close enough for him to care for. He was never cruel to the many women who had been in his life, and when they parted ways he was always generous.
Duncan, however, was much more particular with his bedmates. Being the first born meant he shouldn’t spread his seed throughout the land like so many men in their time did. It also meant he needed to choose his bride wisely, to assure the next generation of MacCoinnich’s had a proper mother to raise them. Now his choice was made, even if the bride was oblivious to her new station in life.