An Auctioned Bride (Highland Heartbeats #4)(52)

She stood to the side and slightly behind Hugh. Would Derek let loose with a shout and betray his brother, and her? What would—

“I was sorry to hear about Elyse,” Derek murmured, gesturing toward a cluster of boxes of stacked against a wall. “Sit.”

Hugh took her hand and guided her toward the boxes.

She sat, relieved to sit on something that wasn't moving for a change. She kept a wary gaze on Derek, who stared at her with curiosity, taking a spot across from his brother. The two couldn't stop staring at one another.

“Explain.” Derek said, knees spread, arms crossed over his chest, waiting, his gaze darting between the two of them.

Hugh glanced down at the floor, slowly shaking his head before looking up at his brother. “I came for two reasons…”

“The first then. What brings you to the coast, so far from the highlands of your heart?”

Hugh offered a slight frown but not of anger. “I came to find you… to tell you that…”

Derek lifted an eyebrow, waiting.

“Our mother passed away.”

Derek didn't blink, didn't move, didn't breathe. After several moments, he dipped his head and uttered a soft sigh, and whispered words that Dalla couldn't make out.

When he looked up at his brother, his face had lost some of its color and the pulse in his neck throbbed. He offered a nod. “You buried her well? In the lands she loved?”

“Aye,” Hugh said. “She is at peace on the land of the Duncans.”

“Good… good,” Derek said, his voice soft. He inhaled and then straightened. “And the second reason?”

“I was feeling a bit nostalgic,” Hugh began with a shrug. “Everyone's getting married, and I was feeling a bit… stifled,” he began.

“Who got married?” Derek frowned.

“The Laird—”

Again, Derek let loose a hoot, slapping a hand on his knee. “Phillip got married? To who?”

“Long story,” Hugh said. “And then Jake went and married her sister—”

“Jake married too?” Derek asked, eyes wide with dismay. “Whose sister?”

“Phillip married a healer from the lowlands named Sarah. Jake married her younger sister, Heather.”

Derek lifted a calloused hand to scratch at the stubble on his cheek, amusement on his face. “Will wonders never cease…” He returned his attention to Hugh. “Go on.”

Hugh sighed. “Just a couple of months ago, Maccay also married—”

“Maccay?” Derek laughed again. “You mean he actually found a lass who could put up with him?”

Hugh closed his eyes and nodded. “Yes. He did. And now the laird is expecting his firstborn, Heather and Jake are also due to become parents, and—”

“So many changes,” Derek mused, his gaze once again passing between the two. “And you? You never married after... after Elyse?” He looked at Dalla. “Until now?”

Dalla glanced at Hugh. Who was this Elyse? Obviously, she had meant a lot to Hugh, and even his brother, whom he hadn't seen in years, seemed surprised that he had not married. She did her best to maintain a calm expression, while inside, and quite unexpectedly, she felt a twinge of… of uncertainty. Hugh must've loved the woman very much. Would she ever experience love like that? With Hugh? One that was lasting and enduring over the years?

“No, I hadn't,” Hugh said, his tone impatient. “That's why I was feeling a bit—”

“Left out?” Derek asked, grinning.

“Annoyed,” Hugh admitted, like his brother, crossing his arms over his chest. “I needed some… I just wanted to get away for a while, and I decided to come north, to see if I could find that meadow and the hut we built…”

Derek's expression changed, grew softer. “Is it still there?”

Hugh grinned. “Aye, it is. I fixed it up a little bit, and—”

“So how did you find her?”

Again, Hugh gave his brother a look. “I'm getting to that, Derek. I went into a seaside village to get some supplies. I stopped in a tavern to get a mug of ale and…” He glanced down at Dalla. “They paraded in half a dozen women, Norwegian captives.”

Derek nodded, apparently understanding. “And she caught your eye?”

Again, Hugh closed his eyes and inhaled deeply, then sighed.

Frustration?

What? What had caught Hugh's attention when it came to her?

His next words tightened the knot in her stomach.

“Her hair reminded me…”

Derek gave her an appraising gaze and slowly nodded. “I can see. Her hair is the same color.” He studied his brother, then turned to Dalla. “Why is there a bounty on your head? Are you a spy as people are saying?”

She was too stunned by the direct question to reply.

Derek glanced at Hugh.

“Let me guess, she doesn't speak English very well?”

Dalla stiffened. “I speak English,” she said simply. “And the bounty on my head, and now on Hugh's, is because—I believe—my uncle is the one who arranged my kidnapping. I am no spy, sir. He tried to kill me, he tried to kill us, and Hugh was wounded—”