“I heard you up and milling about last eve, Marion,” Alice said. “Did you not sleep well? Anything in particular on your mind?”
Nothing she would confess to her meddling sister for certain. “Nay, just overtired from the festivities, I would imagine.”
“She might have had something to keep her occupied, had she not wanted to leave so early. Just when the earl had started to show an interest in her—”
“Now, now, wife. There’s no need of stirring that up. She was tired and we came home and that is the end of it.”
“The earl?” Alice asked. “What earl?”
“The Earl of Argyll, no less,” her mother said.
Alice grinned. “Is he handsome?”
Marion was absolutely not about to answer, and she was grateful her mother also did not comment.
“He is handsome enough,” her father said, “but more importantly, he is a good man with a good head on his shoulders. He has had the burden of looking after his family, along with the clan and the region for three years now, and he has done so admirably. You could do far worse than he.”
“I am not doing anything with anyone. I am going to these events because you have forced me. I had one dance last eve, and you are already selecting wedding clothes. Please do not embarrass me today.”
Marion wasn’t sure she could take it if her parents really showed a greedy side in front of the earl or the royals. For good reason, she did not want any of them to think she was like that. There were certainly enough young ladies with marriage on their minds for everyone to leave her alone and in peace.
“No one will embarrass you, sweet daughter,” her father said. He then looked at his wife who was practically pouting. “That much I promise you.”
“Very well, I shall hold my tongue. But mark my words, the longer you are in a man’s company, the more likely he will propose. And that is all I shall say on the subject. Now, if everyone is ready, we shall call for the carriage and make our way to the palace.”
They rode to the palace, only making small talk about the day’s events. The joust would commence first and then repast, and after that, the men were all invited to a boar hunt while the ladies would be offered a formal tour of the gardens and menagerie. Marion had seen both but was eager to learn more about the animals mostly, but from what she’d seen of the gardens, they were very elaborate. It appeared everything the king drew his attention to turned into the mostincredible array of beauty and style.
The carriage stopped just inside the courtyard, and they exited and made their way again to the tournament area on the back of the castle by the loch. The queen smiled widely when she made eye contact with Marion and patted a seat next to her.
“How fare thee this morn, Lady Marion? Did you rest well?”
“Aye, that I did, Your Majesty. And you, did you rest well?”
“I did indeed. I do hope you are looking forward to today’s schedule. I believe your earl is to lead the procession.”
“He is not my earl,” she said quietly.
“I believe he might think differently,” she said in a low voice, thankfully, so that only Marion could hear.
“What makes you say that, Your Majesty?”
“A young lady’s father has enquired after the earl who retired not long after you left, by the way. My husband told the father he was wasting his time and that the earl would not be interested in the man’s daughter, for he had already formed designs on someone else.”
“But you do not know that someone to be me, do you?”
“I do not know it for certain, but I did see how he looked at you last eve and how he held you while you danced.”
“He danced with more than just me, though,” Marion said. “It is possible he was referring to someone else.”
“Would you like me to ask him?”
Marion was mortified at the thought. “No, please, I beg you do not.”
The queen smiled. “Then no more talk of denial. The earl likes you, Marion. There is nothing wrong with allowing that to happen. Are you afraid of him?”
She shook her head. “I am not afraid of him. I am just not eager to be married off to a man I just met.”
“Married off? No one is saying that. But there is no harm in allowing a man to get to know you and for you to get to know him to see ifthere is something there.”
