“I see now that the Laird never intended to wed ye,” Angus said shortly, not meeting her eye. “I feel like a fool for havin’ believed him. He is a liar.”
“Ye are too prickly,” Thomas responded. “He did nae mean to deceive us, Angus.”
“Oh, nay? He certainly did, and I daenae ken if I can forgive him. Lady Melody would have been a fine match. As it is, Lady Melody, me advice to ye now would be to pack up yer things and return to England. I’ll be honored to help ye arrange yer things, and I’ll be sure to see ye taken safely back to yer home. He’ll nae wed ye, and perhaps it’s best that ye leave.”
“I disagree,” Thomas said lightly.
Both Melody and Angus stared at him, faintly shocked.
“Well,” Angus managed at last. “This is a change of tune.”
“Indeed, it is,” Melody agreed, frowning. “You made it clear, sir, that you do not want to see Callum marrying anybody, certainly not me. How can you possibly have changed your mind from the council meeting last night?”
“Aye, tell us, Thomas,” Angus agreed, with an edge in his voice.
Thomas took his time in responding. He sighed, shaking his head.
“I willnae deny that I was thrilled when me daughter became Lady MacDean. It’s a fine position for any woman, and I was particularly proud of me daughter. I had a fine son-in-law in Callum. Theirs wasnae a love-match—me Elsie was never romantic—but he made her happy. Never gave her any cause for complaint. Never gavemeany cause for complaint. I was happy to see her with him, and she was happy with him. I never had a son, and part of me started to feel about Callum as if he were my son. Then the tragedy occurred, and I stopped feelin’ much about anythin’.”
He broke off somewhat raggedly, letting out a breath. Melody waited patiently for him to continue.
“He looked at ye a certain way, at the council meetin’,” Thomas murmured, his brow scrunching up. “It made me think… ach, forget what I thought. I daenae think ye should leave the keep, Melody. In fact, I think it is very important that ye stay. Maybe it’s time that we tried to save Callum.”
There was a brief silence after he’d finished speaking.
“Well,” Angus said, breaking it first. “How very lovely of ye, Thomas, but forgive me if I daenae take yer change of heart seriously, considerin’ how low and miserable ye have been lately. Lady Melody, listen tome. Ye seem to be a kind, sweet lass, and I daenae want to watch ye waste yer life tryin’ to save a man who doesnaewant to be saved.” This part seemed to be aimed directly at Thomas.
Thomas, however, only gave a faint smile and wandered over to the window. He folded his arms, peering out. There was a lightness about him that she hadn’t seen before.
Melody dragged her attention back to Angus.
“I have not made up my mind,” she said at last. “I don’t know if I want to leave. I could at least wait out the length of our betrothal.”
Angus sighed. “Daenae say that I was wrong about ye, lassie. I thought ye were smart.”
“She is smart,” Thomas countered. “And because she is smart, she’ll do the right thing for everybody.”
Angus huffed. “Oh, pipe down, ye. I wondered why ye wanted to come with me. Did ye just come to throw trouble in me way? I am actin’ in Lady Melody’s interests. She does nae belong here; she kens that. She is good and kind, and I think it is a waste for her?—”
“Is that all I am? Good? Kind? Sweet?” Melody interrupted.
Angus blinked at her, mildly confused. “Have I given offence?”
“Not exactly. But I’ve been a wallflower all my life, you know. Wallflowers are good and kind, and generally sweet, but also very dull. I don’t want to be dull.”
He missed a beat. “Well, I daenae ken about that. Ye are nae dull, of course nae, Lady Melody. But ye will become dull if ye stay here and try to win over a man like the Laird. He’ll only grow more entrenched in his ways, and with ye here, it’ll take away any chance for us to help him form an attachment to another woman. Ye understand, surely? If ye choose to defend Callum, if ye choose to remain by his side, ye could doom us all. It’s that serious! Clans have crumbled over the lack of an heir, after all.”
Melody flinched. “Goodness. How serious.”
“Aye, it is serious. I’m glad ye understand.”
Somebody knocked at the door, making all three of them flinch.
“Lady Melody?” came Jane’s tentative voice. “Lady Sophie came to see if ye were up. I’m to help ye dress and bring ye down to breakfast.”
“N-No, thank you, Jane,” Melody called back. “I’m busy at the moment.”
“Very well. But she’s concerned about ye. Come see her, when ye can.”
