“Ye are nae makin’ this clearer. Why should it nae be? She chose to come here, and her sister is already Lady MacLeon. She’s perfect, and I never thought a perfect lass would settle forye.”
Callum ignored the joke. Lucas was clearly trying to lighten the mood. Lighten Callum’s mood, especially.
There’d be no lightening of his mood today. Not with a night of poor sleep behind him, broken sleep scattered with guilty dreams of Melody’s hurt face. No, Callum did not deserve to be in a good mood. Hewasn’tin a good mood and was not going to let anyone break him out of it.
“Tell me what the council wanted from ye,” he said at last. “Or, more accurately, tell me whatAnguswanted from ye.”
Lucas pressed his lips together, shooting Callum a look which seemed to say ‘I ken that ye are not tellin’ me the whole story, and I’ll get it out of ye one way or another.’
“Angus is very pleased with how Lady Melody has done,” he said at last. “She did well at the ceilidh, despite ye whiskin’ her off and sendin’ her tobedof all things. Apparently, that made the clan ambassadors think that she was sweet, obedient, and biddable.”
“She certainly is nae.”
“I did nae say that she was. I said that theythoughtshe was. Anyway, she did well at the ceilidh and at the festival. Angus wants to schedule a formal council meetin’…”
“Lord, save me.”
“…and he wants Melody to be there.”
Callum had not expected that. He flinched, frowning. “What? Why?”
Lucas shrugged. “To solidify her position as future Lady MacDean, I suppose. After all, she’ll be involved in serious decisions for the clan. Her word will matter. We want to ken that she has political acumen, and can conduct herself properly. I think I understand what he’s sayin’. Besides, we’ll have to plan the weddin’.”
“Theweddin’?”
Scowling, Lucas leaned forward, resting his elbow on the desk. Callum leaned back. The pencil still sat on the table between them. Melody’s pencil, which he’d stupidly picked up and carried around, as if it meant something. He was a fool. He felt the urge to snatch up the pencil and hide it from Lucas, but of course, that would look too strange. Besides, Lucas had no idea what had gone on.
It was just apencil.
“Why are ye so surprised? Of course, the council wants to organize the weddin’. Think of how much work they put into the betrothal celebration. They’ll want to make a big deal out of the weddin’. That means feastin’, dancin’, important guests, all of that.”
“I daenae want a big weddin’,” Callum responded flatly. “I’ve already had a big weddin’, remember?”
Lucas let out a ragged sigh and raked his hands through his hair.
“I thought ye already kent this, but it does nae matter what ye want, or what Lady Melody wants. It’s about the clans. It’s about the people, and the council, and the look of the thing. Ye have avoided remarriage for too long, and ye have been very vocal about it. People were startin’ to worry. And now ye are ready to wed again, to a fine, sweet woman who everybody likes, and we need to celebrate that. Angus said that we need to make it clear that this is a new era for the Clan MacDean, and that means a big, noisy weddin’. He wants to extend the celebrations to the villages so people can join in. That would be a popular decision, but it would take some organizin’.”
Callum could sit still no longer. He bounced to his feet, striding over to the window. Outside, rain was falling. Hardly unusual for the Highlands. It was all gray outside, gray and gray on gray, with veils of gray rain blurring heaven and earth. Raindrops shot down the windowpane.
“Ye are Laird MacDean,” Lucas said softly. “Yer life is nae yer own. Ye ken that. Ye have always ken that. Ye took a bride before, and ye will do it again.”
Callum closed his eyes. He said nothing, and Lucas pressed on.
“Ye made an heir before, and this time…”
Callum rounded on Lucas, finger stabbing the air. “Enough!”
Lucas jerked back as if he’d been slapped.
“I hate to say it…” he ventured, but Callum shook his head.
“Then daenae.”
“Somebody must. What happened to yer wife and child is a tragedy, a hideous one. Of course, it haunts ye. It hauntsme, and they were nae even my family. But ye cannae let it drag ye back. I’ve seen many common men let grief and anger pull them down into despair and an early grave.”
“Enough,” Callum snapped, striding across the room. He came almost nose to nose with Lucas, staring him down. “Enough.”
Generally, Lucas would drop his head and look away, nodding. This time, however, he held Callum’s gaze and refused to back down.
