“Nothing. Not a farthing,” his mother replied, her smile stretching into a grin. She was enjoying this.
“I find that very hard to believe. How then did he stop him from making a scene?” he asked, folding his arms curiosity gnawing at him.
“Well, he made him an offer he couldnae resist. Something worth more than money,” she replied with an enigmatic chuckle.
“Tell me that none of the artifacts were promised.”
At that, his mother threw her head back and laughed loudly.
“Ye daenae have to worry,” she said as she caught her breath. “It doesnae involve any material goods.”
“So what is it?” he asked, growing frustrated.
She sighed. “Jenson promised Laird Alan that he would help him find a wife, one who would love him for who he was and wouldnae jilt him at the altar.”
“Jenson offered to be a matchmaker?” he sputtered.
“In a matter of speaking, aye,” she confirmed, chuckling at his shocked expression.
“That is the most ridiculous thing I have ever heard,” he said, when he finally managed to pick up his jaw from the floor.
“Nae the most absurd thing, surely. Ye also acted out of character today,” she reminded him.
So he went mad one time, and then everyone decided to go crazy.
Jenson as a matchmaker. God help them all.
22
“And what do ye think of this color, Talia dear?” Orlagh asked, holding up a sample of pale blue silk. “I think it would look absolutely marvelous on ye.”
Talia nodded in agreement, but her eyes kept straying to the man standing across the room, giving instructions about the changes to be made to the hall in preparation for their betrothal.
Since he admitted to being in love with her, their relationship had changed so drastically that she wondered if he had been replaced by someone else.
Gone was the brooding man who avoided her, and in his place was a man who wore his feelings for her openly.
Preparations for their betrothal were well underway, and while they were both busy, he always found a way to be around her, and it annoyed Orlagh endlessly how he stole her away in the middle of the day.
Talia could never resist him, especially not when he gave her mischievous smiles full of dark promises.
He was nothing like she could have expected, and with each day they spent together, she found herself loving a new side of him.
He turned and caught her eye, and gave her a wink that made her blush. She quickly hid her face and turned to the women around her, who smiled at her with knowing looks.
“I ken ye would rather spend yer time with me son, Talia, but ye must help us make these preparations in time for the betrothal,” Orlagh said with a smile. “And I would thank me son to stop distractin’ ye as well.”
“He isnae distracting me, Orlagh,” Talia assured her. “‘Tis me?—”
“Daenae deny it, Talia,” Darragh interrupted, walking up to them. “It flatters me that ye cannae concentrate because of me.”
Talia blushed again, but she wrinkled her nose and folded her arms. “It wasnae ye I was lookin’ at,” she insisted. “I was observin’ the decorations.”
“Indeed?” he drawled, raising an eyebrow. “Could the decorations have put such a delectable blush on yer face?”
Orlagh swatted his arm and laughed.
Amber and the other women laughed, making Talia blush even further.
