“But you know a betrothal is as good as a marriage.”
“Only if you consummate it,” Ewan pointed out. Eoin nodded. His clan would attend the Highland Gathering, and if he didn’t accept the ruse, it would force him to stand beside his father as the older man accepted a betrothal to the woman he loved.
“I need to speak to Father,” Eoin announced.
“Aye. Bram, why don’t you and I find something to eat and drink?” Ewan suggested. “You’re freshly arrived after a night and day of riding, and I’m always hungry. Eoin, I’ll ask Father to come here.”
Eoin nodded as he walked toward the arrow slit where bright sunlight illuminated the dust in the air. He closed his eyes as the sound of Cairstine’s laughter played through his mind before it turned into the soft moans she’d made as he brought her to climax. He pictured her face as she laughed at him and held a buttercup beneath his chin. He recalled how her lips plumped from their kisses and the bliss on her face as she came undone in his arms.
“Ewan says you’d like to see me,” Andrew said as he walked into the solar. Eoin glanced over his shoulder and nodded before turning back to the window. “Whatever Bram’s told you troubles you greatly.”
“It does. As you can imagine, it’s aboot Cairstine.” Eoin turned to look at his father, bile rising in his throat. “Her father wants you to marry her. He’s sending a missive with his request before the sennight is out.”
Andrew offered his son a fatherly smile as he joined him at the arrow slit. “If she weren’t the woman you’re in love with, I would marry her.”
Eoin’s eyes widened as he turned his head toward Andrew. He’d attempted to hide his feelings for Cairstine and the moroseness that grew each day that they were apart. He realized he’d failed.
“You could offer her the life she needs,” Eoin said flatly.
“And you could offer her the life she deserves.” Andrew countered. He watched his son for a long moment. “She would understand if the arrangement suited you both.”
“I will not take a mistress. Absolutely not.” Eoin growled. “I won’t betray my vows, I won’t do it just so I can keep bedding women, and I certainly won’t do it to sire a passel of bastards. And whether or not Cairstine agreed to it, it would hurt her.”
“It was just a suggestion,” Andrew said placatingly.
“Da, I can’t have a marriage like you and Mother. I can’t live with a woman who can’t return at least a portion of my feelings, and I can’t search outside my marriage for what I’m missing.”
“They say God heals all wounds. Perhaps in time, she will come around.”
“I’ll never pressure her, Da.”
“I didn’t say you should. But I think there is more than just desire between you. Love has a powerful way of changing people. Look at your brother!” Andrew chuckled, and Eoin couldn’t help returning the smile.
“I’ve thought aboot that, but Ewan and Allyson want the same thing. Cairstine and I don’t.”
“What will you do?”
“She asked me before we left Dundee if I would pose as her betrothed long enough for her sister to wed. I refused, but she’s asked again. I feel she’ll do what Allyson did if her father forces a betrothal. She’ll end up fleeing into the wilds of the Highlands. Villages are further apart than in the Lowlands. There’s even more harm that can come to her than what Allyson faced until Chillingham.”
“Are you considering it? How would it end?”
“She says that once Fenella weds, she’ll call it off and claim she can’t ignore her calling to join the church.”
“There is an end in sight. Do you fear what people will say if either of you break the betrothal?” Andrew asked, and Eoin nodded. “Betrothals are made and broken all the time, even after people sign the contracts. I can claim that I didn’t see the need to secure our alliance with the Grants with a marriage. We already have close ties. People would believe that.”
“So you believe I should go through with it? I should lie to her family? Wouldn’t that ruin things with the Grants?”
“Let me worry aboot that. Do you see any other solution that keeps her safe besides pretending to be betrothed or me marrying the lass?” Andrew gave Eoin a pointed look, and his son shook his head. “Make no false statements aboot your feelings for her and don’t make promises you must break.”
Eoin considered what his father said. He knew he’d already decided to help Cairstine, but the reassurance from both Ewan and his father helped him reconcile his choice.
“I leave in the morn. Cairstine hopes her sister can wed before the gathering because her father intends to announce Cairstine’s betrothal there. If Fenella marries before then, Cairstine has a better chance of evading marriage.”
“Have Ewan ride with you.”
“Nay, Da. I won’t ask him to leave Allyson. They haven’t been wed long, but she’s already expecting. He’s exchanged watches with me just so he doesn’t have to leave her in their chamber at night. He won’t want to leave the keep, and I don’t blame him. He’s never had a pregnant wife before. I won’t do that to either of them. I’ll ride with Bram.”
“Take two guards with you,” Andrew decided. “Arrive as the son of a laird should; show you’re there to make a formal request.”
