“Er, forty-two, I believe,” her father mumbled.
Looking at Rory, that number seemed to make sense to Isla—for he appeared as though he might be nearing fifty. His long brown beard was heavily threaded with white, and the lines on his gaunt face were long and deep. He stepped across the threshold and attempted a deep and reverent bow. As he did, Isla could hear cracking sounds in his back and knees, like wet tree branches breaking off after a storm. It took all of her self-control not to grimace.
“Lady Isla,” Rory said, taking her hand and kissing it, “it is a positive delight tae meet ye at last! I’ve heard such marvelous things from yer da!”
“Aye, and they’re all true, I can assure ye!” Hamish spoke up quickly.
He nudged, and Isla gave the man a big smile and an exaggerated curtsey. “The pleasure is all mine, sir, I can assure ye. Perhaps we might have a few moments alone, so that we might attempt a proper first impression upon each other without the added pressure of scrutiny?”
“Well, what a charmin’ wee notion!” Rory replied excitedly. “By yer parents’ leave, of course? I wouldnae wish tae seem improper by acceptin’ so readily.”
Hamish looked exceedingly bleak at the prospect of leaving Isla alone with him, but Elspeth cleared her throat sharply. “Certainly. Ye are known as a man of impeccable morals and honor, and we are confident that Isla will comport herself admirably… won’t ye, lass?”
“Just as I always do!” Isla chirped.
Her mother and father exchanged a dubious look, as though they were already having second thoughts. Nevertheless, they weren’t able to verbalize such doubts in front of Rory without making him apprehensive about courting Isla, and they knew it—just as Isla knew they knew it.
She’d deftly out-maneuvered them both, and she’d only been downstairs for a handful of minutes.
“Come,” Isla bade him, “let us walk tae the stables!”
“The stables?” He laughed, bemused. “Why would ye wish tae converse there?”
She affected a tone as though the answer were the most obvious thing in the world. “Why, because I wish tae meet yer horse, naturally!”
“Ye… ye wish tae meet my, er…?” he sputtered.
“And it’s even more important that ye meetmyhorse, Thistledown!” Now she was starting to slowly contort her face into the expression she’d practiced in the mirror—the appearance of a dangerous lunatic. “Oh, I cannae consent tae be courted by any man until my beloved Thistledown gives his approval! He’s a terribly sensitive and beautiful creature, ye know, and only he can determine whether a fellow is truly worthy of me!”
“H-How does he… that is… how does the horse convey such a thing to ye?”
“He tells me, of course!” she tittered.
Rory’s eyes widened to the size of shields, and his jaw dropped. “D’ye mean tae tell me the bloody animal talks tae ye?!”
Isla threw her head back and cackled maniacally. “Horses cannae talk, ye silly man! Honestly, the notion of such a thing!”
He looked visibly relieved. “Good, good! I was a trifle concerned for a wee moment!”
“No, he has many ways of communicatin’ his thoughts and feelings tae me,” Isla clarified matter-of-factly. “With his eyes, the way he whinnies, the number of times he stamps his hoof. We have an entire secret language between us, he and I. We often have our most meaningful conversations in the wee hours of the night.”
Rory’s eyebrows nearly jumped off his head. “Do ye expect me tae believe that ye spend yer nights in thestables?!”
“Not in the least!” Isla maintained the intensity of her eyes while allowing the smile to drop slowly and ominously. “It’s all well and good for Thistledown tae spend his days in the stables with the other horses… after all, they are his dear friends! But tae leave him tae pass his nights out there as well? Nae, he spends every night in my bedchamber!”
“In yer bedchamber?!”
“Aye, he’s gotten quite braw at managing the stairs!” she assured him. “If we are married, ye’ll learn tae love his nightly company as much as I do!”
“That’s the bloody end tae it!” Rory exploded. “I’ll nae remain here a moment longer, an’ I’llneverbe a suitor tae a madwoman!”
He turned on his heel and stormed out of the manor in a huff.
Isla rejoiced inwardly… but her triumph only lasted a moment or two before her father ran into the room, red-faced. “I just looked out of the window and saw Rory Haggart run from this place as though his backside was aflame! What in God’s name did ye say tae the man, Isla?”
She blinked at him innocently. “Why, nothin’, father! I was merely telling him about Thistledown, and I suppose he found that topic uninteresting!”
“An’ ye expect me tae believe that rubbish, do ye?” he thundered. “This cannae go on any longer, lassie! Ye cannae keep defyin’ me an’ chasin’ off every lad I find for ye!”
