“Do ye… anticipate any hostilities with other clans, then?” she asked.
“Nay, but that doesn’t mean one ought not to be prepared for them,” he retorted stolidly. “Or bandits, or anyone else who might threaten the peace and safety of the clan and its people. Incidentally, my lady, Alex would nae have admitted it himself, but I believe he was quite happy tae see you out of your chambers. Before your arrival, he’d even mentioned that he hoped you would be able tae join him for supper tonight. Might I tell him you shall?”
His invitation caught her off guard. Alex had been speaking of her to Bryan? He’d requested her presence at supper? She’d believed that he was upset with her, and now this!
She nodded. “Aye. That would be lovely.”
Bryan looked pleased. “Excellent! I will tell him at once!”
And with that, he turned and walked back toward the castle.
“From the sound of it, Alex seems tae be warmin’ up to ye, my lady!” Moira squealed, excited.
“It does seem that way, doesn’t it?” Isla agreed softly.
But she’d gotten her hopes up too quickly before, and had no desire to repeat her mistake. Better to proceed with caution, she thought, and be prepared for his ill humor to return.
Isla passed the rest of the afternoon in her room, her emotions swinging like a pendulum between optimism and anxiety. Moira came to check on her a few times in case she needed anything. Lily did likewise, asking probing questions of Isla and receiving vague answers in return—Isla was polite enough, but she had no desire to reveal anything that Lily might put into a note bound for Elspeth.
As the appointed hour drew nearer, she went through her clothes to find a dress that might be fetching enough on her to meet with Alex’s approval. She fussed and fretted her way through her entire wardrobe, driving herself mad with intense speculation about which ones he might like the best. In the end, she opted for a simple dress of subdued green, with a sensible neckline and a bit of lace around the cuffs.
She spent far too much time in front of the mirror, examining herself from every angle and nodding periodically with quiet satisfaction.
At last, the time came, and Moira knocked on the door softly.
When Isla bade her to enter, Moira’s eyes widened and she broke into a dreamy smile. “You look magnificent, my lady! Positively radiant, tae be sure!”
Isla grinned. “Thank you! I hope Laird Alex feels the same.”
“Och, I’m sure he will, if he has nae gone blind! Come, this way!”
Isla followed Moira down to the Dining Hall… but when she saw the look of consternation on Alex’s face, she stopped short in the doorway. He appeared deeply crestfallen and apprehensive.
It was not difficult to see why.
Instead of Alex sitting at the head of the table, as was his right, certainly, to say nothing of his custom, Laird Douglas sat there instead, forcing his son to find a different perch.
Isla had not seen Douglas since the day she’d first met Alex. The man had aged tremendously, and not well—his hair waswhite and hung in bedraggled strands, his flesh was pale and pockmarked, and his hands were skeletal and clawlike. His teeth had yellowed considerably, and his gums had withdrawn from them sharply, giving him a crudely vulpine appearance.
But his eyes were as malevolent as ever, and they flashed across the room hatefully, surveying Isla.
Alex stood for her.
Douglas did not.
“Laird Douglas.” She lowered herself into a curtsey. “Forgive me, I had nae expected that you would be dining with us this evening!”
“You mean you thought I’d continue tae rot away in my chamber upstairs, never showing my face again until I finally expired?” he wheezed nastily. “Aye, I’d wager that’s what my son believed as well. But no matter what these thrice-damned ‘healers’ tell me, I got life in me yet!”
His words were dashed upon a sharp and prolonged coughing fit. He lifted a napkin to his mouth, and when he lowered it again, Isla noticed that the corners of his mouth were red with flecks of blood.
“Aye, what of it?” he snapped, seeing that her eyes were drawn to his napkin. “I’ve bled on battlefields since long before you were a wee bairn, and still I live! A bit of coughing won’t claim my life, lass! Not tonight, at any rate! Not before I’ve had a proper chance tae take the measure of the bride my boy has chosen for himself.” He lapsed into more coughing, and this time, he did not bother with the napkin at all.
“That is still tae be decided, father,” Alex observed quietly.
Douglas let out a raspy laugh. “Nonsense! Her clan needs this even more than our own does. She may pretend to dither about it all she likes, but the outcome is certain, as it must be. Now sit yourself down, lass, this instant! No need tae linger in the bloody doorway like a servant, even if you are dressed as one!”
Isla felt her face turn a deep crimson at the insult to her dress, but she did as she was told.
