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MacKay lass.”
    “Aye, I heard, but I doona believe you. Isna she the lass who flew at you with her sword?”
    “The verra same.”
    “I doona ken why MacKay would offer his lass to you.”
    “MacKay has lost two sons, Uncle, and we, too, have lost loved ones. He wants the feud to end in order to save his surviving bairns. I canna blame him. He offered his daughter as a means of uniting our clans.”
    “Wheesh, lad! Seana is going to throw a fit. She had her heart set on marrying you.”
    Ross stiffened. “Seana knew I had no intention of making her my wife. Forget her. I am to wed Friday next, and on that day the feud between the MacKays and the MacKennas will officially end. Will you notify our allies and invite them to the wedding? I want every clan chieftain to witness the marriage, and to be aware that as their overlord, I will tolerate no breaking of the peace.”
    “Aye, Ross, I will see to it, though it doesna give us much time to prepare. You had best speak to Cook and ask Donald to organize the servants. You should do the wedding up right; ’tisna every day that the laird of Clan MacKenna takes a wife.”
    “Aye, Gordo, we will make my wedding a celebration of magnificent proportions.”
    “Who is getting married?” Seana asked as she sauntered over to the two men.
    “Ross. Congratulate him, Seana,” Gordo said. “He is marrying the MacKay’s daughter.”
    Seana tilted up her head and laughed raucously. “Stop jesting, Gordo. Ross would never wed the daughter of his enemy.”
    “ ’Tis true, Seana,” Ross confirmed. “MacKay offered his daughter to me as a means to unite the clans and end the feuding, and I accepted.”
    “You accepted? Where does that leave me? I have given you two years of my life.”
    “Aye, you have, but you were free to leave at any time. I promised you naught, if you recall. And did you nae make yourself available to others when I wasna in the mood?”
    “I willna make your wife welcome,” Seana replied, refusing to answer Ross’s accusation. She sidled close to him and lifted her face. “A marriage between a MacKay and a MacKenna is a marriage made in hell. Never fear, Ross. I will be here to pick up the pieces.”
    The two men watched her flounce off.
    “She is right, you know,” Gordo warned. “I hope you enjoy taming wildcats, because you are going to have one in your bed, if you can get the lass there at all. I wish you luck, lad—you are going to need it.”

Chapter Three
     
    Ross arrived at the chapel well ahead of the ceremony. The day was cool and oppressively dismal, with dark clouds hovering on the horizon. Not an auspicious day for a wedding, even though it was a Friday.
    Ross waited at the altar of the tiny chapel, which was filled to bursting with allies of Clan MacKay and Clan MacKenna. Outside the door the cotters stood in the cold, waiting for the bride to arrive.
    Ross watched in consternation as the elderly sexton made his way to the bell tower. The hour of sext was approaching with nary a bride in sight.
    “This could be a trap,” Gordo whispered in Ross’s ear.
    “Nay, Uncle, mayhap the bride got cold feet. I doubt Gillian is eager to wed me.”
    The bell began to peal. Ross counted beneath his breath. One, two, three, four, five ... Just as the bell tolled the final time, the chapel door opened, blowing the bride and her family inside in a gust of frigid air. Gillian paused regally in the doorway, her head held high.
    Ross gawked like a green lad when he saw his betrothed standing in an errant patch of sunlight that had suddenly and mysteriously split the dark clouds. For a moment it looked as if her head had burst into flame, and he blinked.
    She was still standing there when he opened his eyes. He noted that she was wrapped in the MacKay plaid, to annoy him, he supposed. But Ross was far from annoyed. His breath hitched, and his heart began to pump furiously in his chest.
    Her head was uncovered; her red hair flowed down her back and