Now there, Lyall thought, was the best question.
The earl watched her for a long time. Glenna was trying desperately to make him angry. He did not bluster and order them about, a sign of how Sutherland had risen to his high position. The man was thoughtful, and Lyall had to admire him.
“Watching you, my lady, I wonder…” Earl Valan said quietly. “You are quite fearless.”
“Thank you.”
“That was not a compliment,” the earl said bluntly. “You are also quite willing to speak your mind.” When she started to speak he held up his hand. “Also not a compliment. It has been my experience that speaking out is not the best way for a woman to get what she desires.”
“Neither is becoming a mute, and I did not know you had experience as a woman speaking out, my lord earl.”
Lyall bit back a laugh but his stepfather did not and Ramsey shook his head, still laughing. “She has you there, Valan.”
The earl exchanged an interesting look with his stepfather that gave Lyall a heartbeat of hope. To Glenna, the earl said, “You might be better served with a husband to watch over you.” He turned his thoughtful eyes on Lyall and studied him, then sat back in his chair. “Speaking of blood relations, my lady, you are very much like your sister. “
“My sister?"
That had gotten Glenna’s attention.
“Aye. Lady Caitrin has been my ward for all these years.”
“Was she lied to also?” Glenna asked bitterly.
“Like you, she, too, recently discovered the truth, and she has made her thoughts known to me,” the earl said calmly,refusing to give rise to Glenna’s clear baiting. “Her new husband must deal with her opinions.”
“New husband? So she was pawned off for the sake of the Crown? She might easily accept that fate, but I will not be so meek and biddable.”
The earl choked on his wine and coughed and wheezed until one of his knights slapped him hard on the back, and he slowly recovered, his face going from bright red to a flush. He cleared his throat and said, “The choices your father made were difficult ones. I was there. I saw what he went through. His actions and orders were for your protection.”
“What you call protection, I call lies, Earl Valan. Why could we have not known the truth and still been kept safe?”
“You are young. The truth could never be worth the risk. You do not know the extent to which your very existence could have fueled the struggle for the right to the Crown. Your father’s enemies would see you married off to the kind of man who would control you for his motives. I can assure you that would most unpleasant. Your father is also your king. Until you understand what he has faced, you cannot understand what he had to do. You have been raised in obscurity and what we believed was safety. You do not like that your identity was kept secret? Only someone who knows little of the world would want a life filled with only truths.”
“As I see it, my lord, the king is not here. But if he were, I would argue to him what I have said to you. However, here or in exile, neither he nor you will dissolve my marriage. And trust, my lord earl, there are many secrets you do not know about me,” she added.
Lyall understood what she was saying. Her brothers would never betray her or themselves and admit freely of their life of thievery. Earl Valan had not seen the plunder inside that cottage, and he was not privy to Glenna’s skill. As Lyall watched his wife, he had the strong feeling that she deserved to keep her own secrets.
Long minutes passed in silence as Earl Valan appeared to study the table, then looked to his stepfather. No words were spoken and the air in the room began to vibrate, like before a great battle. Finally Earl Valan looked at Glenna and said,"I---"
The door rattled thunderously with someone pounding on it and one of Sutherland’s knights opened the door. Alastair Gordon rushed inside, pushing past the knight and ignoring everyone and out of breath, waving a rolled parchment. “Glenna!” His face broke out into a wide grin. “I have it! We have brought your proof!”
34
Alastair was here. He was here. Glenna took the parchment from him and threw her arms about him, whispering under her breath, “It took you long enough.” She turned and approached the earl with the swagger of a conquering warrior. “You say a royal marriage must be witnessed. You claim if there is a witness, the marriage stands?”
She lay the parchment down on the rough hewn table, rolled it open and pressed down. “Here, my lord. Before you is the witnessed document, scribed at the abbey at Beauly, and sealed by the prior himself.“
Lyall was right behind her and he laughed under his breath, telling her he was aware that they had just taken their opponent’s queen. His arm slipped around her waist as she straightened and he gave her a quick wink. She smiled and placed her hand on his shoulder.
Together they could do anything, she thought.
There was another commotion at the door and El appeared, his face excited, his smile wide. “Glenna! Glenna look! Look what we have brought you!”
She heard a strangely familiar scampering sound, then a familiar bark and her heart leapt in her chest and somethingjoyous swelled in her. Glenna’s hand fell from Lyall’s shoulder as he stood abruptly. Then she heard Lyall finally say her hound’s name under his breath, whispered almost like a prayer. Next she heard him shout it, ”Fergus!”
Her hound leapt toward them both, huge and shaggy, high in the air. Through a blur of fresh tears she had a glimpse of a silly shaggy grin and a tail wagging, awkward feet flying…
Fergus sailed right past them, landing awkwardly on the top of the table, skidding and sliding, pawing the air and the table.
