The scribe arrived, bringing his quill, ink, wax, and the clan seal.
Logan sidled up and elbowed Hew with a grin.“A bairn already.”Then he leaned close to whisper, “So tell me again how this vow of chastity works.”
Before he could cuff Logan for his taunt, Hew’s arm was grabbed by his sister Jenefer.
She was furious.But marriage had moderated her temper.Instead of using fists and bellowing, she was biting out curses between clenched teeth and squeezing the blood out of his arm with her archer’s grip.
“What the devil were you thinking, you sarding cad?”she hissed.“I sat by while you dallied with half the village like a bloody rutting bull.I said nothing when you trysted with other men’s wives and tried to bed a nun, for God’s sake.Anun.But this, Hew.Lucifer’s ballocks.This is beyond even you.Seducing your cousin’s betrothed.A laird’s daughter.Getting her with child and abducting her to live in exile.And all that without even securing a legitimate marriage.How could you?”
No one could get Hew’s blood to boiling like his older sister.He was already on edge from the stress of the morn.And now his arm was tingling, and he couldn’t feel his fingers.
It would feel good to engage her in battle.It wouldn’t be the first time they’d settled their differences with blades.And a bit of violence might be just the thing he needed to get his mind off the turmoil upstairs.
“Do I need to defend my honor?”he bit out, skewering her with his gaze.
“Do you?”she bit back, burning into his eyes with a glare.
And then he took a breath.
Bloody hell.What was he doing?He didn’t need to defend anything.Every step of the way, he’d done what he thought was best.Carenza loved him.And she was upstairs, fighting the battle of her life.The last thing she needed to hear was the clash of swords below from her husband’s clan.
“Nay,” he decided with a sigh.“I do not.”
To his surprise, Jenefer backed down as well.Her eyes slowly turned from fire to molten wax.Her chin quivered.She released her grip and rubbed her hand along his arm in apology.
“I don’t want to fight you,” she admitted.
He smirked.“’Tis a good thing.You’ve drained all the strength from my arm.”
“Och, Hew,” she sighed, “I can’t wait to be an aunt.”
The document was signed and sealed.The laird of Dunlop handed it back to the laird of Rivenloch, who handed it to Hew.
“Your marriage is now official,” she said.“My grandchild will be a Rivenloch.”
She winked then, letting him know it meant more to her than that.
“Thank you both for your haste,” Hew said.Then he glanced around the hall.“Where is Sister Eve?”He wanted to thank her and tell her about the gown they’d left in the byre.
Deirdre replied with a long-suffering sigh.“That is a tale for another day, one that is not yet finished.”
Before he could wonder at her enigmatic words, his cousin Isabel crashed into him with a hug and a giggle.
“’Tis so romantic, Hew,” she gushed, “like a Viking of old, abducting his bride.”
“That’s not quite how—”
“And Lady Carenza, trapped at Darragh, pining for you for days and days.”
“’Twas only a sennight or so.”
But there was no stopping young Isabel, who loved turning a wee spring into a raging sea.
“I told you you’d find The One,” she said.
“You did.”
Suddenly, a maidservant emerged from the stairwell into the great hall.The room immediately hushed.The maidservant froze, blinking in confusion.
