Alex opened the letter, reading it:
Laird Alex,
Your cousin Kirk informed me that you are seeking a bride, and have chosen to provide my daughter, Isla, with that opportunity. It is with the deepest pride and greatest pleasure that I write now to inform you she has accepted this proposal.
If the offer still stands, please let my messenger know. Upon his return and confirmation, Isla will be sent to Castle Oliphant at once so that you may be married.
I am most grateful for this chance to unite our two clans, and until we meet again, I remain,
Yours Sincerely,
Laird Hamish MacDonell
Alex put the letter down, stroking his chin thoughtfully.
“It’s a funny thing, is it nae?” Lorna observed.
“Mm? What’s that?” He was still distracted by the contents of the message.
“Ye, sittin’ behind that desk,” she clarified. “This is nae how any of us thought things would go when we were younger, now is it? Everyone was so certain that Duncan would become laird… and that it would nae be for some time yet, since nae one could have predicted our father’s ailment.”
“I’ll thank ye nae tae mention that man’s name,” Alex said through clenched teeth.
She arched an eyebrow, teasing him as she so often did. “Duncan, ye mean?”
“My older brother, aye. I’d as soon not speak of him, if it’s all the same tae ye.”
“It isnaeall the same tae me,” she replied mildly. “We were all raised together. Indeed, Idida great deal of the raisin’, once yer mother passed. Ye cannae expect me tae believe ye can pretend he’s nae important tae ye anymore? That ye feel ye can simply erase him from yer mind and heart?”
“I can, or at least I was managin’ it well enough before ye chose tae bring him up.”
She was right, in fact—Alex thought of Duncan far more often than he wanted to, but he wouldn’t give her the satisfaction of knowing that.
“At any rate,” she went on breezily, “now here ye are, and in need of a bride. I assume that’s what the letter was about? Laird Hamish’s daughter? He’s offering her tae ye so that the clans may be allied?”
“He is, aye.”
“And do ye intend tae accept?”
Alex had been thinking the matter over carefully since Kirk and Bryan had first broached the idea to him. The match made sense, that much was certain. The MacDonells were not a large clan, but they had wealth enough to make an alliance with them appealing. More than that, he knew that his advisors were correct in saying the sooner he married and produced an heir, the more secure his position as laird would be.
Would she meet his standards, though?
He supposed there was only one way to find out.
“I believe I shall,” he answered pensively.
“Good,” Lorna said firmly. “‘Tis long past time that our two clans stopped tiptoein’ around each other regarding that business between grandfathers. This way, we can all finally put it behind us. Besides, from what I’ve heard, the lass is quite fetchin’.”
Now it was Alex’s turn to raise an eyebrow. “Fetchin’ enough that ye’ve heard about her from such a distance?”
She shrugged innocently. “I… may have asked around a bit, knowing that Bryan and Kirk have been recommendin’ her as a potential bride for ye. They say she is gorgeous.”
“That’s good tae hear.”
“They say she has a keen wit as well.”
“Excellent.”
