“Can we nae just end this feud now?” he asked. “Is it nae nice to be speaking again?”
“Yes, it is,” she answered honestly. “And we can end this standoff between us right now if you give me your word this moment that you will not force Lillith to wed Rory if she still does not want to at the end of the courtship.”
Marion’s spirits immediately dipped when her husband’s hopeful expression disappeared. He cupped her cheeks and said, “Ye ken I kinnae give ye my word on that. But I will do all in my power to ensure he will treat her well and be a good husband.” Frustrated, Marion tried to pull away, but Iain held her in place. “I must protect the clan, Sassenach.”
“And I must protect Lillith’s right to choose as best as I can. I’ll bid ye good day, husband,” she said, turning away fromhim before she changed her mind and fell back onto his warm embrace. She did not even get one step before he caught her by the wrist. She glanced over her shoulder and arched her eyebrows at him.
“Eve came to talk to Royce in the solar after the contest last night,” Iain said, answering her unspoken question. This was but one of the many things she missed about talking to him every day. After so many years of marriage, they often did not even have to say things out loud. They could read things on each other’s faces. It made life easy.
“About Caleb?”
“Aye,” Iain replied.
“And will Royce consider helping him for Lenora’s sake?”
“The lad has been down at the beach since before dawn with Brus and Rolland training for the warrior test.”
Marion grinned at the news. “Then Royce approves the match?”
“Aye, he needed a little encouragement, which I gave him after speaking with Lenora and ensuring she did indeed want to wed this Caleb.”
Marion flung herself into Iain’s arms and kissed him. He responded instantly, turning what she had intended to be a chaste kiss of gratitude into one that tightened her belly and curled her toes. When she finally managed to pull back from her husband’s very persuasive lips, she said, “Thank you.”
Iain cupped her chin as he smiled tenderly at her. “Just like ye, wife, I would prefer a love match for Lillith and Lenora, if I’d had a choice, but it may be that they both get love matches in the end. Aye?”
“Yes,” Marion conceded, hoping Iain was right. “But Lillith still claims she doesn’t even want to wed, and until we know why, I’m afraid she’ll fight against love with all her might, and I cannot simply ignore her wishes.”
“I understand,” Iain said, “and I love ye for being our granddaughter’s champion.”
“I love you, too,” she replied.
Iain smiled at his wife’s retreating figure. The lass knew what she was doing, trying to manipulate him with her feminine wiles, but this was one time he had to stand firm. However, standing firm did not mean he wouldn’t do all he could to facilitate a love match. With that in mind, he set out to find Rory and have a little chat with the man. He assumed, given the hour, Rory would not be abed still, and if he was, he certainly was not the man for Lillith.
The thought made Iain frown as he made his way to the courtyard to go in search of the Scot. The guilt he’d been trying to repress since agreeing to wed one of his granddaughters to a stranger rose to nearly choke him. It was true that he and Marion had been long ago wed under similar circumstances, and things had turned out exceptionally well for them. Still, he was acutely aware of the countless arranged marriages where things did not turn out well, and it was usually the poor lass who suffered the most.
But Iain’s hands were tied. The king was an unpredictable, oftentimes vindictive ruler, and Iain had no doubt the man would make Iain’s family pay dearly if they did not comply with his edict. A bad marriage was a horrible thing, but so was losing your home and men’s lives to feuds. Still, the knowledge of the grave peril they could face if they defied the king did not lessen Iain’s guilt. It was with him through the passageways and into the courtyard, distracting him every step of the way, so that he overlooked Rory until the man was walking toward him in the courtyard.
Iain waved him over, and the man quickly complied, coming to stand before Iain. He’d found in his years as a negotiator, first as laird of the MacLeod Clan, then for the king, that it was best to ease into the actual topic you wanted to speak to someone about when it might cause discomfort. “Where’ve ye been this fine morning?”
“Training below by the water with Royce, Rolland, and a warrior Caleb.”
Iain blinked in surprise. “Ye ken Caleb is training to pass the warrior’s test because he wishes to wed my granddaughter Lenora?” Well, there went his plan to ease into the uncomfortable conversation.
Rory nodded to Iain’s relief, and then he said, “Aye, Royce told me.”
Hmm. The man did nae seem vexed, still, best to be certain. “Ye’re nae vexed?”
“Nay. The man clearly loves yer granddaughter, and I’m told the feeling is verra much mutual. I’d nae want to stand in the way of that.”
Admiration filled Iain for the man. “’Tis verra reasonable of ye.”
Rory chuckled. “Aye, well, we Mathesons can be reasonable when given the opportunity.”
Iain laughed at that. “As can we, MacLeods. Does yer nae being vexed about Lenora mean ye are wishing to choose Lillith?”
Rory looked thoughtful for a long moment before saying, “Aye, I think so.”
“Ye think so?” Iain prodded, curious about the hesitation that Marion had mentioned and that Rory now displayed.
