Love Letters from Largs: Brodie and Celestina (Highlander Clan Grant Series Book 3) by Keira Montclair Page B

should never treat their daughters in such a way. He was wrong, no ’ you. He should cherish you.” He gently rubbed her arm and old wounds, “The bruises on your arm tell too much. You must escape from him.”
    “I will. I am betrothed to Fredrik Ivarsson. He will take me from my father.” She pulled her hands back and twisted her skirts before shifting away from him and his concern.
    “Celestina, I know you can no’ want to be that man’s wife. He has cold, cruel eyes. Please tell me you are no’ in love with him.”
    Celestina’s heart broke. “I must marry him, but I do not love him. How could I, for we have only just met tonight…My father arranged the marriage. It is for my king, for my country, that I do this. The wedding must take place.”
    “Nay, refuse him. He will treat you just as your father does. Scots can refuse to marry. ”
    She shook her head in confusion. Refuse? She had no choice in the matter. The decision about her engagement had been made without her being consulted. How could she possibly refuse when she had never been asked for permission in the first place? What kind of world did Brodie Grant live in that you could agree or disagree to a match that had been foisted upon you?
    Her father’s screeching voice broke through her thoughts. She glanced around Brodie in time to see him racing toward them. He grabbed Brodie by the shoulder and shoved him away from her.
    Before either of them had time to react, her father’s arm swung and brutally clouted her face.

 
    Chapter Five
    A Fight for Honor
     
    Celestina’s father moved to strike her again, and she brought up a trembling hand to protect her face. “You are a whore, just like your mother before you. I knew it.” Her eyes closed, but the blow never connected.
    A low growl ripped through the haze of her fear. Her eyes flew open in time to see Brodie lift her father into the air and slam him against the wall. Her father’s eyes protruded from their sockets in shock, or so she thought. Then she realized Brodie was holding him by the throat, choking his windpipe so that he gasped for air.
    Her father swung his fists a t Brodie, but his captor never once flinched. Celestina fell back against the opposite wall, paralyzed by the sight in front of her.
    Brodie slammed her father against the wall over and over again, easily avoiding the older man’s attempts to pummel him. “You filthy swine! How dare you hit your own flesh and blood! You slapped your own daughter for nothing. No reason. You will rot in hell, you slime. If you hit her again, I will kill you with my bare hands. You should be protecting your daughter, no’ hurting her.”
    Brodie’s bellows rang out in the corridor. Celestina heard a flurry of activity headed their way, but she couldn’t tear her eyes away from her father and the look on his face. He was demented, beyond furious that Brodie had interfered with his punishment of her. While a part of her cheered for her hero, another part of her wanted to run, afraid of what would happen if her father ever managed to free himself from Brodie’s grasp.
    “Guards, guards! Save this man from the wild savage who’s attacking him!” Her betrothed stood watching the scene unfold from the end of the corridor, spewing lies for all to hear. “The Highlander has gone mad. Stop him!” Hatred and fear poured from him as he stared at Brodie.
    The hall soon filled with the king’s guards. Her betrothed continued to screech, but she was unable to distinguish any more words in the sound. Three guards surrounded Brodie and the swift sound of metal scraping against metal filled the air as the guards pulled their swords from their sheath, all three aiming their sharp edges at Brodie’s neck. Still, he did not release his hold on the baron.
    Once Brodie was contained, Ivarsson sauntered toward the group of men. “Now kill him.”
    “N ay!” Even Celestina surprised herself with the power of her vehemence.
    “Kill him, I say.”