"Aye, lass, there is but a little business to finish. Do ye grow weary of court?"
"Aye, verra weary,” she muttered as she watched a fulsome woman give Iain a blatantly inviting smile.
"Aye, that is a nuisance and ye have one or twa sniffing at your heels. Do they give ye much trouble?"
"Nay, neither the ones after me nor the ones hunting him. They but grow verra tiresome."
"And ye have enough problems, eh?"
"I am not unhappy, Fither."
"But are ye happy?"
"Aye."
"Weel, I have caught ye looking wistful a time or twa."
"Wistful isnae the same."
"Islaen, lass, I ask ye to speak honestly with me. I wanted ye wed, aye, but I wanted ye happy too."
"Fither, I am happy. Aye, I willnae lie and say naught is wrong. There are problems. The mon's been most honest with me. I ken weel what might lay ahead. Aye, I may feel muckle sad at times, e'en hurt, but I will tell ye true, Fither, t'will be naught to what I would feel an I ne'er had the mon. I wanted him and I have what I wanted. Now, if there is to be some bitter with the sweet, ‘tis what I chose so I will swallow it and nay complain. Weel, not too much,” she added with a half smile.
He laughed softly and briefly hugged her. “I ken what ye mean, lass. My prayers are with ye."
Islaen was glad of her father's prayers but she soon wished she had accepted the silent offer he had made to help rid her of the unwanted attentions of Ronald MacDubh and Lord Fraser. She found herself neatly cornered by Ronald after an evening meal and looked around for some assistance in ridding herself of him but saw none. Iain was deep in conversation with the king and none of her kin was near enough to really see her or notice that she was trying to secure their attention. She resigned herself to trying to diplomatically get away from him, but it was getting harder and harder to be polite. While she did not want to insult the king's godson she was beginning to think that it would be the only way to stop his attentions. Polite refusals of his rather blatant bid for her favours were not working.
"I find it hard to believe your husband would leave ye unattended for so long."
"He has business with the king,” she said a little testily, trying to avoid his attempts to pin her against the wall.
"And so he leaves his bonnie wife all alone with naught to do. I could help ye pass the time,” he murmured huskily as he finally succeeded in getting her trapped between him and the wall.
Shock held Islaen still for a moment. She could not believe the man meant to kiss her or more right there in the crowded hall, yet it was clear that that was exactly what he meant to do. When he pressed his body close to hers, she shivered with revulsion and prepared to shove him away only to have him yanked free of her.
She saw that her rescuer was Alexander and was a little disappointed. It also surprised her that such a beautiful man could look so hard and threatening. Alexander held a now frightened Ronald by the back of the neck of his jupon and Islaen's eyes widened a little when she saw that Ronald's feet were several inches off the floor.
"I believe the lass has made it verra clear that she doesnae wish ye to help her pass the time."
"Rescuing my wife?"
Islaen wondered how Iain had reached her side so quickly, then realized that he was not as unawares of where she was and what she was doing as she had thought.
"I wasnae sure that ye had seen that she was in need of it."
"I could have managed,” she said defensively but neither man paid her any heed.
"I saw. The king wishes to speak to that.” Iain nodded towards Ronald.
Although she would not have thought it possible, Ronald went even paler and Alexander smiled coldly as he dragged the younger man off. She peered around Iain and watched the king signal Alexander and Ronald to follow him. It then came to Islaen's attention that everyone was avidly watching them and she blushed deeply.
Iain stared at her and fought to control his anger before he spoke. Despite the whispered slurs of some of the women he knew Islaen had done nothing to draw Ronald's attentions nor to make the man think they would be welcome. Many times he had wanted to step in when he saw the man or any other pursuing Islaen but he had held back. He believed it was best if she learned how to handle such matters on her own.
When Ronald had cornered her, Iain had not hesitated an instant. Even as he had leapt to his feet he had informed the king almost casually that he was going to kill his godson. Iain knew he would have, too, if not for Alexander's presence. He could not help but wonder if Alexander had sensed it, and that was why the man had been that one step ahead of him. Such was Iain's rage that he could not be sure he would even have given Ronald a chance to defend himself.
That rage bothered him. He realized he was failing in keeping a distance between himself and Islaen but he could see no way to do more than he was already doing. The girl was a witch, he decided crossly, effortlessly pulling him closer to her, bewitching him without seeming to even try. It was a dangerous bewitchment for he could see no way to successfully fight it.
Troubled by that thought his voice was almost accusing as he said, “Ye should have told me he was growing so troublesome."
