Jasper’s temper pounded in his ears. ‘Do not question me. I am master here.’
‘Aye, but not master of your desires. They drive you to folly, as always. You want that lass, and yet she looks at you with distaste. She should kiss your feet and be honoured that she is chosen by a Glendenning, but she looks down her nose at you.’ His mother’s mouth twisted in a sneer. ‘And, mark me, this one is no frightened rabbit. She is rough and hard. She is a MacCreadie – low, venal creatures, all of them, good enough for a quick tumble and nothing more. You could have the bonniest and most well-bred lass in the West March. Even Murtaugh Gunn has shown an interest in a union with Emeline Beattie.’
‘He is welcome to that bag of bones,’ said Jasper uncharitably.
‘His interest will lead him into a union that will give him power and an advantage over us.’
‘Power is one thing. But what about affection, kindness, warmth? Am I to have none of those comforts in my life?’
She shook her head. ‘You do not need love to rule, only strength. Why do you break your heart over women who are not your equal? They are vessels to carry your heirs, nothing more.’
‘Is that how my father treated you?’ said Jasper, instantly regretting the words, for he knew they had the power to wound.
His mother flinched. ‘Hugh understood the value of an advantageous match, as did I. We never expected to love each other, but between us, we managed to produce you and your sisters. After that, your father took his pleasure elsewhere, for I would as soon as lie down in a bed of rats as lie with him. But I gritted my teeth and did my duty, and for most women, that is what a bedding is.’
The rawness of his mother’s disdain for his sire was shocking. ‘You do not mean that,’ he gasped.
‘Do I not? A cold, hard arrangement is the best path, and it will bring forth an heir you can be proud of.’
‘I will have an heir soon enough, but I will also have loyalty and affection from my woman.’
‘Do not be a needy bairn, Jasper. A man, especially a laird, takes what he wants, and gives no quarter to the feelings of others.’
‘If I give her time, Rowenna may grow fond of me.’
‘Time is a luxury you do not have. A son must come, and soon, else your enemies will smell blood.’
‘I don’t need a child to fight my enemies. I will not force the lass, and I need not be cruel to get what I want.’
‘You need not be weak either. Do not feel you have to kiss her feet to open her legs.’
‘That is beneath you, Mother.’
‘Is it? If I do not make you see sense, who will? It is not as if your father could ever restrain your worst impulses.’ Her face twisted in bitterness. ‘Such a fine, strong son I have – brave and ruthless when you need to be. Yet you have one weakness, and it lies here.’
She thumped her fist to his heart with enough force to bruise. He would have cut down a man for half the insult. Jasper stared down at her hand, the veins standing proud of bone, the liver spots of old age tainting her skin.
‘Your heart is stout but soft, son,’ she said. ‘I fear it will be the death of you, just as love is the death of good sense, cunning and ambition.’
‘How can you say all this? What kind of cold monster are you?’
‘The kind that speaks the truth. Never apologise for being strong, Jasper.’
‘Perhaps strength is not the only way.’
‘Aye, but your way does not soften a woman’s feelings. Yours is a violent heart, Jasper. All you can summon is a desire too fierce and greedy or a cutting indifference, never the middle ground.’
‘You are wrong.’
She sighed. ‘Nothing so fragile as a man’s heart when he is in lust. Nothing so foolish. Have that lass if you must, then when you are sated, move on and wed the Beattie lass.’
‘No.’
‘But the MacCreadie Clan is on its knees, just waiting for the wolves to finish it off.’
‘Then it is ripe for the taking. If I wed Rowenna, I might one day have a legitimate claim to the MacCreadie lands.’
‘A few rocky acres that barely scrape them a living. And do not pretend that is the inducement. That lass looks like Brenna Bannerman, but she could not be more different, a lesser creature in all respects.’
