“Follow me, Ewan. Your meal awaits.” Margaret led them both to the dais, but before Ewan could offer to assist Allyson into the seat between her sisters, Margaret announced that was his seat. He glanced at Allyson, but she was already moving to the seat at the end of the table. He shot his brother a scowl but quickly eased into the seat.
The meal was delicious, but Ewan was miserable. Alice and Mary vied for his attention, plying him with wine and food. If they’d been at court before he learned of the betrothal, he would have relished the attention. He would have flirted with the women and even placed his hand on Mary’s thigh, letting her know he intended to visit her later that night. But as the conversation flowed around him, he watched Allyson sit in silence and push her food around her trencher. The constant chatter from Alice and Mary grated on his nerves, and he found the sisters annoying. Their disregard for their sister and his position as her future husband disgusted him even more than their mother’s comments, which were intended to humiliate Allyson.
A tinkle of laughter carried to Ewan as the servants brought out dessert. He looked down the table and caught Eoin saying something that made Allyson laugh. A rosy hue flooded her cheeks as Eoin continued to speak. It was too loud to hear what Eoin said, but Allyson’s reaction led him to believe his brother was flirting with her. He felt a surge of jealousy toward his brother that he hadn’t experienced since they were adolescents. They’d been best friends as young children, but entered a competitive stage as they entered manhood. It ended as quickly as it began, and Ewan hadn’t envied his brother anything in years. However, the longer the conversation lasted between Eoin and Allyson, the greater his anger grew. Once the servants cleared away the tables, and the musicians began to play, Ewan pushed back his seat, ignoring the women on either side and stalked down the dais. He pressed his hand on Eoin’s shoulder as he made to rise and pushed him back into his seat.
“Lady Allyson, would you share the first dance with me?”
Allyson’s gaze shifted between Ewan and Eoin while she bit her lip. Ewan wanted to punch his brother as he waited for Allyson’s answer.
“Eoin already asked for the dance,” she whispered.
“He can wait.” But Ewan didn’t. He took Allyson’s hand and led her to where the other dancers began to move.
“He’ll think I’m rude,” Allyson’s hushed voice barely reached Ewan over the sound of the music and the other people.
“He’s rude to ask for the first dance when he’s not the one betrothed to you,” Ewan grumbled.
“But you’re not betrothed to me either, Ewan. The documents weren’t signed, and the ceremony never took place. Besides, you don’t want a wife, or at least not the type of wife I want to be.” Allyson looked away as her voice trailed off.
“I think you mean you don’t want a husband, or at least not the type of husband I intend to be.”
“Aye.”
The answer felt like a blow between the eyes, but Ewan shouldn’t have expected anything else when he admitted that he hadn’t changed his mind on marriage, or least how he viewed it. His conscience screamed that he should correct Allyson’s misapprehension and explain the contracts had been signed. They danced the next two songs in silence before Eoin claimed his turn. Ewan retreated to a wall and glared at his brother’s back, ignoring Allyson’s sisters who passed by, their smiles offering more than a dance. Allyson danced with several of the young guardsmen, but they didn’t stir his envy like Eoin did.
“You’re a dog in a manger,” Eoin announced as he came to stand beside his twin. “You don’t want her, but you don’t want anyone else to have her.”
“I didn’t say I don’t want her.”
“Very well, you may want to bed her, which requires you marry her, but you don’t want to keep yourself only unto her. And she’ll never accept you like that.”
“Our fathers signed the agreements,” Ewan retorted. “It doesn’t matter what she will or won’t accept. She doesn’t have a choice.”
“You’d force her down the aisle? Into your bed?”
Ewan turned on his brother and fisted his hands to keep from grabbing Eoin’s collar.
“Neither of us has ever forced a woman. That you would imply, let alone say, as much hurts.”
“You know I didn’t mean physical force. Ewan, she’s a kind lass and deserves better than anyone has offered her. I listened to her brothers and the others at the table. It’s worse than we assumed. They don’t intend to disparage her. They’ve so little regard for her, they don’t even realize how dismissive they are. I don’t think they realize how their words come across to an outsider.”
“I noticed the same. Alice and Mary weren’t casting glances at Allyson or gloating that they sat with me. It was as if they didn’t have a younger sister. The only one who doesn’t seem to belittle her is her sister Laurel. And I suspect that’s because she’s married with her own family, so she has no interest in Allyson at all.”
Ewan and Eoin watched Allyson dance with a clan elder, and the face they recognized from court reappeared as the old man said something that made her laugh. Ewan’s breath caught as he watched her face transform into a work of art. She’d been so disheartened since before she left Stirling that he’d almost forgotten how breathtaking she was when she truly smiled.
“She deserves to smile like that every day, Ewan. You’ll break her heart worse than her family if you marry her and stray.”
“But it’s not as though she loves me, or I love her. She has no emotions invested in this, so it won’t be betrayal. It won’t hurt more than her pride, and she’ll get past that soon enough.”
“I’m going to beat you,” Eoin hissed. “Not a betrayal? It doesn‘t matter whether you love each other. You’re going to stand before God and her and pledge to keep yourself only unto her, then turn around and bed any woman who takes your fancy. How is that not a betrayal? How can those words mean so little to you? She’s not our damn mother!”
“Keep your voice down before you attract attention,” Ewan snapped.
“Then keep your bluidy plaid down. I’m telling you right now, Ewan. If you don’t intend to make a real commitment to her, to have a marriage with honor and faithfulness, then step aside. I’ll marry her.”
Ewan spun on his brother and was prepared to swing when Allyson stepped beside him and placed her hand on his arm.
“I don’t know what you’re arguing about, but people are taking interest. They’re accustomed to fights now and then, but not between two men the size of the Cairngorms. What’s the matter?”
