And with that, she turned and walked off.
He stood in the garden for some time after, stunned, replaying her indignant speech in his head over and over.
He could not recall the last time someone had spoken that way to him.
Someone who wasn’t his father, at any rate.
She had no real fear of displeasing him the way everyone else did, that much was certain. He was annoyed by this, of course, but there was a small part of him that couldn’t help but be impressed by her brazenness as well.
Had she said anything that was untrue? The point of this marriage was not romance, but merely convenience. It was little wonder, then, that a sensible lass would not concern herself with the appearance of submissiveness when alone with him.
What had he expected, after all? For her to show up and immediately act as though she was madly in love with him?
No, a voice within him grumbled,but I certainly expected more respect and civility than she just showed.
Under ordinary circumstances, he would have dismissed her out of hand, certain that no such union would be favorable. His advisors had been correct, however, in emphasizing the importance of making this wedding happen.
Alex had failed in securing one engagement. If he failed at another…
Well, for starters, it would give other potential brides the distinct impression that he was a thoroughly disagreeable man. He could scarcely afford that, not if he wanted to continue to expand his clan’s wealth and power.
If he could not manage that, then he did not deserve to be laird. A point he had no doubt his father would be eager to point out to him at the earliest opportunity.
Could it be that I am simply ill-suited to matrimony?he wondered, strolling among the flowers absently.
The thought frightened him quite a bit more than he would have expected, and not merely because he required a wife so that he might father an heir. It was more than that, as though he had suddenly realized he might have been born without some vital organ that all other men were equipped with.
Was marriage not the natural order of things? Were all men not expected to engage in that process sooner or later, as part of the overall fulfillment of their lives?
What might it say about him, then, that he had such trouble with it?
Alex brooded on this a while longer, then returned to his study and spent the remainder of the day busying himself with trivial matters so he would not have to dwell on his own potential shortcomings any longer.
7
“But why on earth are ye leavin’?” Isla demanded.
Two days had passed, and during that time, Isla had remained civil and kept a smile on her face. She asked polite questions, pretended to listen to the answers attentively, and gamely laughed at jests whenever they were made—though none of them came from Alex. Her mother had been by her side every time Isla left her room, a constant reminder for her to be on her best behavior.
Elspeth’s presence in that regard had been decidedly less than comforting.
Even so, Isla had been caught off guard when the woman had, that very morning, announced her imminent departure.
Now Elspeth stood in the center of her guest chamber as Lily packed her things in the trunk she’d brought with her. “I hardly see why I’d need tae stay longer, lass!” she retorted. “Ye and the laird seem tae be gettin’ on…”
“But… But it wouldn’t be appropriate for me tae remain here with him unchaperoned, would it?” Isla protested.
“Ach, really, girl!” her mother scoffed. “He’s a man of honor and decency, that’s plain tae see! Surely you dinnae have reason tae think otherwise, based on your time with him so far?”
Isla could not deny that—aside from his rather gruff demeanor—Laird Alex had done nothing at all to indicate he would behave in any way that would be considered untoward. If anything, he’d seemed somewhat uncomfortable with the prospect of the two of them being alone at any given moment, no doubt because he had no particular wish to receive the sharper side of her tongue again.
“How can ye just… deposit me here and then leave me?” Isla challenged. “In an unfamiliar place, surrounded by people I dinnae ken?”
“Honestly, Isla, ye act as if ye’re a wee bairn I’m abandonin’ in the wilderness! You’ll become familiar with the place and its people soon enough! That’s a large part of why ye’re here, after all! And did ye think I’d hang around the entire time, when yer father needs me home and by his side? Anyway, Lily will be here tae see tae yer needs and keep ye company!”
“She’s yer servant, not mine!”
“Well, she’ll be yers durin’ yer time here, right enough. Ye’ve nae seemed all that pleased tae have me around these past few days, lass, so I dinnae ken why ye’ve suddenly decided I need tae be here now! We can correspond aboot the weddin’ plans when ye’ve had more time tae consider them.”
