Allyson was slow to nod, but finally she relented and agreed that they should return to court before they mounted and turned back to Allyson’s home. A place Ewan swore would no longer be her home within a sennight.
Chapter Twenty-Eight
Ewan and Allyson returned to Redheugh in time to see her brothers and fathers ride out for a three-day sortie. Ewan scowled. After what happened with Margaret and Mary, he’d planned to reveal the truth of Allyson’s parentage that evening. But now he knew he would have to keep the paintings in his chamber until the men returned. He wouldn’t reveal his discovery until all of Allyson’s family could be present. He also knew they wouldn’t be able to leave for court until after Kenneth’s return. His face remained grim until he glanced down and saw Allyson staring up at him, a question in her eyes. He relaxed his face and wound her arm through his.
They entered the keep together for a second time, but the atmosphere was palpably different. Five angry faces turned toward them. Allyson’s mother, sisters, and her brother-by-marriage glared at them as they approached. If it had been up to Ewan, he would have found them seats at a lower table, but that was impossible with so many watching. Ewan could only imagine what Margaret told her daughters and son-by-marriage, but whatever it was, it wasn’t enough to discourage Mary’s and Alice’s looks of interest as they neared the dais. Ewan guided Allyson to a seat that placed her between Eoin and him. His brother gave him a rueful glance, telling Ewan that his twin was aware of what transpired and more than likely had heard whatever garbage Margaret spewed. Except he knew it might not be entirely garbage since he’d been rude to his hostess and elder, but he felt no remorse for defending Allyson. It was time someone did.
Eoin looked over Allyson’s head and shook his before leaning back and canting his head to whisper to Ewan. “Rinn thu dìnnear cù ceart a-mach às an fhear seo. Bha am boireannach a ’hopadh às a rian agus a’ cagnadh mo asail a-mach a ’smaoineachadh gur e mise a bh’ annad. Dh ’fhaodadh tu a bhith air leum ann am meall de chonnadh agus a thighinn a-mach nas glaine.”You made a right dog’s dinner out of this one. The woman’s hopping mad and chewed my arse out thinking I was you. You could’ve jumped in a pile of shite and come out cleaner.
“Chaill mi an temper agam nuair a thuirt i gun do mheall Allyson mi agus thuirt i nach robh Allyson na maighdeann às deidh a bhith sa chùirt. Tha mi tinn gu bàs a ’cluinntinn sin.”I lost my temper when she said Allyson seduced me and claimed Allyson wasn’t a virgin after being at court. I’m sick unto death of hearing that.
Allyson went rigid as she listened to the two men discuss her as though she weren’t there. They assumed that in the Lowlands no one spoke Gaelic. They weren’t entirely wrong. No one in her clan did because they spoke Scots, and her family spoke both Scots and French. But they were wrong to assume that she didn’t speak Gaelic. She’d learned from the former cook who’d grown up in the Highlands. The old woman, Morgana, had been one of the few to take pity on the lonely child. She welcomed Allyson into the kitchens and not only taught her Gaelic but also to cook and bake. That was why a croft on her own, if Ewan or any other man left her a widow, wasn’t intimidating. She knew she could keep herself from starving. She listened as the brothers continued to speak.
"Bha i a ’bruidhinn mu dheidhinn gum biodh sinn a’ cadal anns na stàballan leis na h-eich. Ged nach biodh sin mòran na bu mhiosa na an tùr fuilteach sin. Ghluais i air adhart agus air adhart mu mar a dh ’fheumas tu a bhith a’ sniff suas a sgiortaichean gus a togail thairis air a peathraichean. Chan eil i a ’tuigsinn carson nach biodh tu ag iarraidh boireannach nas fheàrr ri do thaobh agus anns an leabaidh agad.”She was talking about having us sleep in the stables with the horses. Though that wouldn’t be much worse than that bluidy tower. She raved on and on about how you must be sniffing up her skirts to pick her over her sisters. She doesn’t understand why you wouldn’t want a prettier woman at your side and in your bed.
"Chan eil boireannach nas fheàrr na Allyson.”There is no woman prettier than Allyson.
Allyson couldn’t bear to listen to them speak around her any longer, and she felt guilty, as though she eavesdropped on a private conversation. "Gabhaidh i fois ach cha toir i mathanas dhut Eòghann. Chan ann mura h-aontaich thu Alice no Màiri a phòsadh. Bhiodh e na b ’fheàrr nam fàgadh an dithis agaibh.”She’ll calm down, but she won’t forgive you, Ewan. Not unless you agree to marry Alice or Mary. It would be best if you both left.
The twins froze as realization set in that not only did Allyson understand their conversation, her advice was for them to leave her behind. Ewan glanced down at her before glancing at Eoin then settling his gaze on her. He shook his head before leaning close to Allyson. “The only way I’m leaving is with ye. If ye are convinced that Eoin and I must depart, then ye’re coming with us. I dinna care that yer da is away, and I dinna care that we havenae received the betrothal documents. I’m bluidy well nae leaving ye here.” Ewan did nothing to hide his brogue; he saw little point if Allyson understood their conversation, and he was too angry. “If she willna let ye leave as ma betrothed, then we’ll handfast. We dinna need a priest for that. Ye’ll be ma wife, and God help anyone who tries to keep me from ye.”
Allyson sat stunned as the talk spiraled beyond her control. She’d expected to sit down to pottage and idle chatter. Instead, she was listening to her future being planned without her once more. She stared at Ewan, but no words formed in her mind, or rather plenty formed, but she couldn’t make sense of them enough to speak. She shook her head as her hands gripped the edge of the table. She feared she might be ill.
“Ewan, we can’t do that. The king would be irate if he thought you stole me away. He could invalidate the handfast and dissolve the betrothal. Then where would I be? Unmarried and ruined. You’d go on with your life, and I’d be left with naught. I wouldn’t be allowed at court. I wouldn’t be welcome here. I wouldn’t have a widow’s portion or dower lands.”
“Ye have so little faith in me that ye assumed I would allow any of that to happen?”
“How would you stop it if the king has you locked in the pit? There isn’t much you can do withering away in a dungeon.”
“The king willna put me in any dungeon.”
“How can you be so certain? He sent his own godson, Magnus Sinclair, to the Stirling dungeon.”
“Nay. Magnus was supposed to be under lock and key, but nae in the dungeon. Besides, after that debacle, none of the Highland lairds would stand for the king locking away another one of their lads, especially a laird’s heir. The king relies too much on our clans to fight on his behalf to alienate us all.”
“You have far too much confidence in your position. No one should underestimate King Robert. He didn’t find himself on that throne without a fight. Do you want to start a war with the crown? Do you think your father wouldn’t defend you? Do you want your clan dragged into this?”
“You’re assuming the worst, Ally, and none of it has come to pass. Don’t beg for trouble where it doesn’t exist.” Ewan reverted to his courtly accent, and Allyson wasn’t sure she liked it as much as his brogue. The burr suited him. She hoped he would abandon the clipped and flat speech once they returned to the Highlands.
“I still don’t think I can leave with you. It’s Lent. The church would uphold no marriage, not even a handfasting.”
Ewan sat back in his chair as he considered Allyson’s arguments. He cast his gaze on his brother, who remained silent during his exchange with Allyson. He raised a brow at Eoin, who shrugged. He leaned forward once more and covered Allyson’s hand with his.
“We aren’t leaving, Ally. Eoin and I will keep to ourselves as much as we can. We’ll continue to go to the lists in the morning, and I’ll spend what time I can with you in the afternoon just like we’ve been doing, but we’ll take our meals with our men.”
Allyson shook her head, but Ewan saw the resignation on her face. “You can’t eat with your men. It would cause too many chins to wag if you went from sitting on the dais to a table below the salt.”
“Your father and brothers will return in a few days, and then we will resolve all of this. In the meantime, I’m sending a messenger to court for the betrothal agreement. When the meal ends, we’ll slip into the gardens and make our pledge with Eoin as our witness.”
The rest of the meal passed with little talking among the three despite the conversation flowing around them. Allyson excused herself as soon as she could, claiming fatigue but made her way to the gardens as they agreed. Ewan and Eoin were already waiting.
“Ally, I’ve never wanted aught more than I want to make this commitment to you.” Ewan’s sincerity and eagerness were clear in his words and his gesture when he kissed the back of Allyson’s hand. Allyson and Ewan turned to face one another once Ewan unfastened the length of plaid from his shoulder. Eoin wrapped the material around their wrists as they joined hands. Ewan took a deep breath before making a pledge he never imagined would have such significance as it did in that moment. “I, Ewan Andrew Gordon, will take you as my wife upon the date we pledge our troth before God and priest.”
“I, Allyson Elliot, will take you as my husband upon the date we pledge our troth before God and priest.”
Ewan and Allyson stared at one another for several heartbeats before both of their faces broke into wide smiles. Ewan bussed a kiss on Allyson’s cheek before pressing a brief one to her lips. The brothers retired to their chamber, where Ewan and Eoin discussed what they would do until they could ride away from Redheugh with Allyson and put her past behind them.
* * *
