Thomas ignored him. He never even glanced at Callum. Instead, he stared at Melody for a long, taut minute, gaze raking the poor lass up and down.
“Pretty,” he murmured. “Tall, too. Ye always liked tall women, eh, Callum?”
“Enough. Thomas, I have nay objection to yer bein’ here, but ye cannae do this. A betrothal has long been sought after by me council, by meclan. Lady Melody is a fine choice.”
There was an edge of tension in Callum’s voice. He could hear it, the note ringing in his head like a tuneless fiddle string. He imagined that Thomas could hear it too. And worse, so would Melody.
Thomas continued to ignore him.
“I wish ye luck, me Lady,” he continued, still staring at Melody with that colorless, unblinking stare. “Ye are goin’ to need it.”
Callum prayed, just for an instant, that Melody would behave like an ordinary English woman. English manners were strict, he’d heard. A too-strong opinion or an uncomfortably strange statement could be glossed over and coolly ignored, if necessary. Curiosity, after all, was vulgar.
“What do you mean?” Melody asked, and he couldhearthe frown in her voice. “I don’t understand.”
Thomas swayed on his feet. Was he drunk? No, Thomas didn’t care for alcohol.
How do ye ken? That was then. This is now. Few things can drive a man to drink like the loss of his only child.
“I mean that I hope ye fare better than the previous lady of this clan,” Thomas intoned.
A shiver rolled down Callum’s spine.
Melody swallowed audibly. There was a small pocket of silence around them now, with a few guests staring unashamedly, trying to listen in on the conversation.
Great.
“If yer goal here was to scare her, Thomas, ye have succeeded,” he snapped. “Ye have gone too far.”
Thomas blinked slowly, like a cat.
“I only wished to warn her. I wish someone had warned me daughter before she married ye.” Then he turned to Melody. “Aye, lass, I was his father-in-law.”
Melody sucked in a breath, leaning backward. A ripple of murmuring rolled through the crowd. The conversation would be repeated throughout the Great Hall all evening; Callum knew that for certain. The conversation would be repeated often enough that the words would change, twist, and be amplified.
He growled, shaking his head, and tugged Melody away from Thomas.
“Ye should leave,” he said shortly, addressing the man. “We all grieved for her, but this is goin’ too far. I daenae wish to see ye again tonight, Thomas.”
“Why would ye see me?” Thomas responded, two spots of color appearing in his cheeks. “I’ve said what I came to say.”
He turned on his heel, plunging into the crowd. Cursing to himself, Callum all but dragged Melody away.
“Is he really your father-in-law?” she whispered.
He set his jaw. “He was. I’m nae married, as ye ken.”
Melody swallowed. “But youweremarried.”
He gave a tight nod. “I was. This is not a secret. Everybody knows it. It was common knowledge in the clan, and in neighboring clans, too.”
“Married,” Melody whispered, as if chewing over the word. He glanced briefly down at her and found himself wishing he could know what was in her mind. It seemed safest to take her to the dance floor. They could get a little space that way, and it would be harder to be overheard due to the music.
“Aye. Married.”
“What happened to her?” Melody queried.
Callum glanced away, swallowing down a familiar knot of sadness.
