"My woman for his lady," John said bitterly.
Appalled, Mhairi came to another abrupt stop. "What on earth did ye say?"
Her cousin's jaw hardened in stubborn determination. "Your father and I arranged it years ago. You'll wed me and take your place as mistress of Bruard. It's an obvious solution. Did ye no’ wonder why he never favored any of the suitors who came seeking you as a bride?"
"I thought he wanted to keep me with him as long as he could."
Looking back with newly opened eyes, she realized she should have guessed some scheme like this was afoot. She was well past the age when most girls were betrothed. But still she felt betrayed by two men she’d trusted. Not just that, two men she thought respected her right to make her own decisions.
"He does. If ye marry me, you'll never have to leave him."
"But I dinnae want to marry ye," she said, too upset to be tactful.
"No, because you've lost your head over yon Callum Dubh." More bitterness.
"No, because you're my friend and my kinsman. I've never thought of ye…that way."
"You'd rather wed your father's enemy and turn his old age to lonely misery?"
Mhairi regarded John with real dislike. "If in the unlikely event such a wedding ever takes place, my father can see me whenever the urge seizes him."
"The Mackinnon stole ye away. He’s wronged the Drummonds. If he willnae ransom ye, there will be a war and enough blood spilled to turn every burn between here and Bruard red."
"There will only be war if men of good sense dinnae prevail," she said sharply. "Once I’d have included ye in that list."
"You ken it will kill your father if ye wed a Mackinnon."
"And it will kill a lot of good men down the centuries if I dinnae." A wedding to his enemy wouldn't please her father, but she was convinced he was tough enough to survive the news.
John dropped her hand and stepped back. "I'm fair ashamed of ye, Mhairi. What's happened to ye here? You're ready to forsake the people who love ye. And in return for what?"
"John…" she said helplessly as she struggled to find words to explain something that made no sense to her either.
The music finished and Mhairi couldn't believe how relieved she was to go back to the Mackinnon. She'd itched to talk to John, to hear how things progressed at Bruard in her absence. Heaven forgive her, she hadn't even asked how her father had responded to the news of her kidnapping. But this arrogant, masculine disposal of her future made her so angry, she wanted to scream.
All her life, she’d enjoyed a freedom denied to most women. In many ways, her father had treated her as the son he'd never had. Yet in the end, he was ready to give her away to her cousin without asking what she wished. It wasn't that different from what the Mackinnon demanded of her, by God.
All her independence came to nothing, because she was a woman and men had the right to decide her fate. Not only that, but she'd been deceived in John. She'd never guessed he thought of her as anything other than his young cousin. But when they danced, she'd seen greed in his eyes, and his jealousy when she'd dared to defend Black Callum.
"Time for something a wee bit livelier, I think," the Mackinnon said from behind her. "Mistress?"
The music changed to a fast reel, and she noticed that this time, most of the people in the hall rose to their feet. This rough measure suited their liking more than the formal court dances did.
With shaming relief, she turned to her enemy and held out her hand. "With pleasure."
"By God, no, ye willnae!" John slapped her hand down and reached for his sword before he remembered he'd surrendered his weapons upon arrival.
The music faded and half a dozen brawny Mackinnon warriors loomed around them.
Black Callum gestured for them to stand back. "Master Drummond, what means this?"
John looked ready to explode, but as he glanced around, he must have realized he had no hope of prevailing. The men who had accompanied him were half a room away and also unarmed.
He sucked in a breath, and Mhairi prayed he would be sensible. Because despite his behavior tonight, he was a man of sense, the best hope for her clan’s future.
When he lowered his hand from his belt, relief flooded her and her knees sagged. Right now, he wasn't her favorite person, but she didn't want him harmed.
In the thorny silence, his voice emerged loud and harsh. "I brought ye an honorable offer of ransom for my cousin, Mackinnon. Will ye take it, or do I return to Bruard to prepare for war?"