“Too much wine,” Lorna said. “Fair-skinned as she is, the drink makes her color run high.”
The woman also laughed louder, talked louder, and pounded on the table when entertained by whatever she had just said. Gunn eyed her as if unable to believe the sight.
Jasper sat back in his chair with his head bowed and a hand over his eyes. Lorna felt sorry for the war chief turned matchmaker. As a ruddy ginger, his skin always seemed a little red, but at the moment he could pass for a boiled lobster. “Will Gunn…er, I mean, the chieftain punish Jasper for picking her for the arranged marriage?”
“Jasper is kin, so I dinna think Da will kill him,” Bella replied. “But they have been known to spar a bit to settle their differences.”
“Spar with each other?”
“Aye.” The child held up her fists. “Fight it out, ye ken?”
“Maybe we should go over and coax Lady Murdina to retire to her chambers?” Lorna suggested. She leaned over and looked at Hesther. “Ye know her best. Reckon Bella and I would be able to get her to go?”
Hesther’s pale blue eyes flared wide with fear, and the young lass seemed to shrink into herself. “I dinna ken. Sometimes the drink makes her even more filled with hate.”
“Lovely.” Lorna rose from the bench. “We need to try. For the chieftain’s sake, aye?”
“She was his idea,” Bella said.
“I know. But I hate to see him suffering.” Lorna tugged on the girl’s sleeve. “Come on. A good daughter always saves her da.”
“Did ye always save yer da?” Bella stayed close as they wove their way through servants and tables to get to the head of the room.
Lorna swallowed hard and forced a smile. “I would have if I had ever known him.”
“Did he die in battle?”
“Aye.” No harm in the lie, and better that Bella not hear the ugly truth. Lorna paused a few feet from the head table and leaned down to level her gaze with the child’s. “I am going to introduce ye to Lady Murdina, and then we need to figure a way to get her to her rooms.”
“I could tell her she looks like the devil from all that wine.”
“Tempting. But we better not. Remember what Hesther said about her becoming a mean drunk?”
Bella shrugged. “What then?”
“I dinna ken.” Lorna straightened and took her hand. “I will think of something. Just go along with whatever I come up with, aye?”
The lass cast a sly glance at their objective and nodded. “Aye.”
Lady Murdina didn’t notice their approach. She had one eye shut, and her upper torso slightly swayed from side to side as she concentrated on hitting her glass with more wine.
Gunn rose from his seat and met them before they reached the table. His tense expression displayed a mixture of relief, embarrassment, and grave anxiety.
“Bella wanted to get the introductions over with, and then I thought we might help Lady Murdina to her rooms.” Lorna offered him a sympathetic look and lowered her voice. “We didna think ye would mind if we stole her away.”
“Dangle a keg of wine in front of her,” he said through clenched teeth. “She would follow that straight through the gates of hell.”
Lorna couldn’t resist getting in a jibe. “Just remember—ye are the one who invited her.”
Bella bobbed her head in agreement. “And dinna be blaming Jasper. He just did as ye bade him.”
“Arabella.” Gunn’s tone indicated he was not in the mood for taunting. “Not tonight.”
“Out of the way, so we can save the day.” Lorna cast a glance toward the shadowy alcove beneath the gallery. “Over there would probably be safest.”
“I cannot. Not in good conscience. I willna leave ye to deal with”—his gaze returned to his wife-to-be—“that.”
Lorna pushed around him while motioning for Bella to follow. “Lady Murdina, I have someone here who would like to meet ye.”
