Alexander decided he was growing very weary of his now constantly sober brother’s skilled, sharp tongue. “Ye seem to be determined to forget what Ailis is.”
“Nay, brother, ye do.”
“She is a MacFarlane,” Alexander hissed, then pounded his fist on the table. “That is all that matters.”
“She is a young lass who, I now ken, has struggled to maturity despite indifference at best and cold cruelty at worst. More the latter than the former. She had naught to do with the crimes of her uncle. Therefore, the only honorable thing for ye to do is to wed the lass.” Barra met Alexander’s stunned expression with perfect calm.
“Ye may have ceased to drink too much, but I think your brain is still well soaked. Are ye completely mad? Me to wed a MacFarlane? Colin’s niece and heir?”
“The innocent lass who now bears the weight of your growing seed.”
“Sobriety has made ye irritatingly pious.”
Before Barra could make any reply to that, Alexander was out of his chair and striding out of the great hall. He did not need his younger brother telling him where his duty lay and what honor demanded of him. After fetching his cloak, he went in search of Ailis. He had been cruel, and she had not deserved that. Shock had twisted his thoughts. It had roused all his suspicions and anger, and he had blindly lashed out at her. There was only one man who could have set a child growing inside of Ailis MacFarlane’s womb, and that was he.
When he saw her striding along at the foot of the western wall, he hurried toward her. The girl had a strong stride, he mused, then came to an abrupt stop when, while he was barely a yard away, she whirled around to glare at him. She grabbed up a handful of gravel and proceeded to pelt him with it. He used his heavy cloak as a shield as he slowly advanced on her.
“Get away from me!” Ailis ordered as she backed up a little, grabbed another handful of gravel, and continued to throw the small rocks at him. “I told ye I would have naught to do with ye if ye couldna even be courteous. Well, ye were just as far from that as ye could be, so now be gone with ye. Away with ye, ye bonny-faced, foul-mouthed, unfeeling, lustful sack of meanness.”
“Will ye cease?” He cursed and paused to wipe a smear of blood from his cheek after one of her pebbles scratched his face. “I have come to talk to ye. Ye can at least hear me out.”
“Why? So ye can spit more poison at me? I think not.” As she bent to grab some more pebbles, he lunged at her, easily catching her up in his arms. “Brute!” she cried. “I grow weary of ye grabbing at me!”
While careful not to do her any harm, Alexander got her pinned on the ground beneath him. “And I grow weary of being pelted with rocks. Now ye must heed what I have to say.”
“Nay, I dinna. If I wasna afraid it would fall back on me, I would spit in your face, ye heartless rutting pig.” Even though she knew it would not get her very far, she tried to squirm out from beneath him.
“Be still!” he yelled and cursed with exasperation when she did as he ordered, but glared at him, her lips pressed tightly together. “I shouldna have said what I did. ‘Twas a baseless accusation.”
“If that is meant to be an apology, ‘tis a very poor one.”
“Ye canna tell a man such news as abruptly as ye did and expect him to act sanely.”
“This apology isna getting any better. Get off me. Ye grow heavy.”
Recalled to her condition, he quickly got off her but sat right next to her, ready to grab her if she tried to run. “ ‘Twas wrong of me to speak so, but ye might have done better to restrain your own temper.”
Ailis almost laughed as she sat up, brushed off the bodice of her gown, and idly smoothed her hair. The man clearly found the wordsI am sorrymore of a mouthful than he could tolerate. She doubted that she really wanted to hear his explanation for why he felt he was wrong to have so grossly insulted her. It would probably only make her angrier. What she wanted to do was to tell him to go away and stay away, but both her heart and her mind gave her a dozen reasons to strongly resist that urge. He richly deserved such treatment, but if nothing else, she had to consider the child she carried. She would have to compromise her own honor—again. It was growing tiresome being the one who always compromised, who always gave and tried to be understanding.
“Ye deserved far more than I gave ye,” she snapped. “If I were a man, we would be fighting to the death over such a bitter insult. In truth, sticking ye with a dagger holds a great appeal for me just now.”
He grabbed her by the shoulders and gave her a light shaking. “Will ye set aside your anger for a moment so that we might talk? Aye, I misspoke and ‘twas an ill thing I said. However, I was set aback by your news. I had thought I had taken care not to seed ye.”
“Aye—except for that night against the walls of Rathmor, when lust overtook my good sense and your fine care.” When he began to smile, she swatted him on the arm. “Only a man would find such a thing something to take pride in.”
Alexander fought his amusement, knowing it was a poor time to reveal it. “Are ye sure that is when it happened?”
“One can never besure,and yet, in my heart I do feel certain that conception took place that night.”
“Then we must be wed.”
“Wed? But a moment ago ye accused me of lifting my petticoats for all and sundry, thus putting the parentage of my child into serious question. Now ye wish to wed with me? Your wits are sadly addled, my fine laird.”
She stood up and began to brush off her clothes. Alexander stood up as well and studied her closely. He had admitted his wrong, and considering she was a prisoner at Rathmor, he felt that was more than enough. In his heart he knew that she deserved so much more, that there was so much more he wished to give her, but he could not. That there was now a child only reminded him of how deeply he could be hurt if he did not hold himself at a distance. He would not allow himself to weaken, to soften, for it could too easily break him.
“My wits are quite fine, Ailis,” he said. “We will be wed as soon as I can find a priest. Ye ken better than most what pain can be dealt to a bastard child. The one we have created will be legitimate. My child may have to carry MacFarlane blood, but by all that is holy he willna carry that accursed name.”
He turned and walked away, leaving Ailis to gape after him. She threw one last pebble at him but missed. Not only had she not gotten any real apology, but his parting words had been another insult. Ailis closed her eyes and took several deep breaths to calm herself. It was time for some cold, hard truths, and getting angry at a swine of a man would not help. She needed cold, unemotional, common logic.
