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She turned her wrath on Connor She was so furious with him, tears filled her eyes "I won't have it"

The priest's mouth dropped open He'd never heard anyone speak to Laird MacAlister in such a manner, except Alec Kincaid, of course—but he could speak to him any way he chose—and for a slip of a wo and courageous If he lived through this ordeal, he must remember every word he had just heard so he could repeat the tale to his friends

Connor intended to put the fear of God into her to get her to calm down, but the tears swayed hi, but upset she was, and he kneouldn't get the ceremony over and done with until he found a way to make her cooperate

Lord, she was a nuisance

"Brenna, you will not raise your voice to me" He deliberately tried to sound reasonable Mean, but reasonable too

"You will not ar paint to our wedding"

Honest to God, she sounded as mean as he did He couldn't help but be io of his arm and crossed her arms in front of her "We'll wait"

"If you think…"

"I won't ever ask anything more of you"

Da Didn't she realize she was about to become his wife? It was an honor, not a death sentence

His bride didn't seen to understand, however One of theuessed it would have to be his duty

"This really matters to you?"

She couldn't believe he needed to ask such a ridiculous question The sacrament ofto a priest dressed for war insulted God, the church, the priest and her

"It's very iht then, but this is the last tilare at his follohen he noticed they were all nodding agreement Then he turned back to his reluctant bride "Have I made myself clear?"

"You have, and I a, but she maintained her somber expression until Connor walked away frorowl She did smile then; she couldn't help herself For the first ti while, she didn't feel afraid of her future, but then her mind had already snapped, she re now Connor was cooperating, which meant he wasn't a coe on, but she was going to be stuck with the man for the rest of her life, and she was a desperate woet, even if it was just a single thread of hope

She kept on sans who rode with the groonation by the ti to attend the wedding?"

She didn't have to say anythingto catch up with their laird

They didn't balk the way Connor had Several, in fact, glanced back to smile They seemed to want to accommodate her She didn't dare trust any of the, just to e their minds at the last minute She believed they'd done just that when they all lined up along the edge of the bank and stood there procrastinating while they talked to one another

Because she'd been so concerned about important matters, it hadn't occurred to her that thethe water Adnificant little victory to think about anything else

Their belts fell to the ground first She came to a dead stop and closed her eyes She still wasn't fast enough, for she saw every one of their naed backsides before they disappeared into the lake below

Their laughter followed She didn't h she was certain they had known all the while that she was there and were now laughing at her

The priest came up behind her "We haven't been introduced, us Sinclair of the Neatherhills"

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Father My nah I doubt you've ever heard of hiland"

"I had already sur and my speech are both sure indications, aren't they?"

"Yes, they are," he agreed with a sue

The priest radiated war while, she began to relax

"I e is quite re Gaelic for years"

Horrified, he staive me I meant to praise you, not insult you"

"I wasn't offended, just surprised," she assured him

His suages when you're angry?"

"No, I didn't know When did you notice this peculiar behavior?"

"When the war paint irritated you I was also irritated, but not for long The way you stood up to Connor ier I don't believe anyone has ever spoken to hi to see, all right"

"I shouldn't have been difficult It wasn't ladylike, and I do know better My teot the best of me and is a fault Iyou to hear my confession before I married"

"I would be happy to make the time, mi'lady"

"Then there is a chapel close-by?"

"We have few chapels here, but as long as we don't face each other while you confess, the rules of the church will be guarded"

The priest was already wearing the stole he used to hear confessions The tasseled strip of material was draped around his shoulders As soon as they reached the clearing, he pulled the ends loose from the rope belt he wore around the waist of his brown robe and turned to find a suitable spot

He finally settled on a tree sturound beside him

She bowed her head and closed her eyes He stared across the clearing, n of the cross with a wide sweep of his hand, and told her to begin

She quickly listed her transgressions, and when she was finished, she began to ask him questions in an attempt to stall the inevitable

"Is it sinful for htensfoolish?"

The priest wasn't about to admit that Connor terrified him He wasn't ashamed of his reaction, as everyone he knew felt much the sa her the truth would only make her more fearful