“You are too wise for your own good, Angus,” he said before kicking his heels and taking off out of the stable. He rode hard up the lane leading to the main road west. His brother had been tracking this buck for quite some time, and he wondered if today was the day he would be successful, or rather allow the king to be successful. Not that the man was without skill. Aye, he was well skilled in battle, but on the hunt was another matter indeed, for patience was the greatest virtue one possessed on the hunt, not strength.
After riding for what seemed like hours, Alexander found the men near a copse of trees standing in a circle and looking down. He approached them and dismounted.
“What goes here?” he asked.
“Brother,” Thomas turned with bright red cheeks. “The most incredible thing.” He moved aside to reveal the fallen buck. “He just stood there as if knowing his fate and did not run at all.”
“He submitted to his king as he should have,” the king said with asatisfied look on his face.
Alexander checked the animal who was for certain no longer of this earthly world and noted the single arrow into its chest and clean slit across its throat. He placed his hand on the animal’s forequarter and when he did, all the other men found a place on the animal’s body to do the same. Eventually, the king placed his hand there too.
“Thank you for your sacrifice, old hart. You will be honored.” Then to the king, he said, “You have your prize, Your Majesty. Are you pleased?”
Alexander was not overly pleased. For why should this creature be slain because it had survived all others of his kind and risen to the admiration of its kin? The animal should have been left to roam as he saw fit.
“Aye, that I am, Argyll. I thank you for this gift and am now indebted to you.”
Not for long.
“Is there any favor I may bestow upon you?”
Alexander could think of only one thing. “I wish to formally court Lady Marion,” he said.
The king’s brow knit. “If you like the lass so much, why not marry her outright?”
“Because her father is not here to ask, and her family is not here to witness it.”
“But I can approve it,” he said.
Sometimes there was such a thing as too much progress. While Alexander admired the king’s interest in spreading the written word to the masses and inviting philosophers and astrologers to court, some traditions were worth keeping, and Alexander would not begin any sort of relationship with Marion without her family’s formal consent. What would be appropriate considering his encounter with her family at Linlithgow was a formal courtship.
“I thank you, Your Majesty; however, I wish only to court heruntil such time as I can speak with her father directly.”
“Very well, Argyll. But take it from me, the long way around is not always easy. You have my blessing to court Lady Marion.”
“Thank you, Your Majesty.”
Chapter Eleven
Marion was seatedby the fire when the queen and Alexander’s sister entered the library. She had already straightened her gown and hair, but she was certain she was somewhat disheveled. Or maybe that was her insides. The madness coursing through her veins left her uncentered like a ship adrift at sea and seeking something with which to tether.
“Lady Marion, are you unwell?” the queen asked. The two women sat with her, both wearing concerned expressions. “The earl, while tearing off, told us to see to you.”
See to her? She wasn’t ill by any stretch of the imagination and she was not about to tell them his kisses had turned her insides to jelly.
“I assure you both, I am quite well. Maybe his lordship merely wanted me to have some company.” Or maybe she wanted company different than his to distract and help process just what was happening to her.
She’d been around women who had become newly involved in an amour and had never viewed anyone seeming to possess masking or managing these types of feelings. Either they didn’t feel them, or they were very good at hiding them.
“Very well,” Lady Jean said, “I shall have refreshments brought to the great hall if you like.”
“Lady Jean, might we take our refreshments in here?” There wassomething quite comforting about this place. Like it had a welcoming and easy presence.
“Aye, my lady,” she said. “I am pleased you like our wee collection. ’Twas my mother’s favorite place in the whole castle, bless her.”
“I can see why,” Marion said. She liked the room, and she liked Lady Jean. The woman knew a great deal about the history of her clan and her pride shone through in her every action.
They chatted for a while as Jean described the portraits on the walls as well as the tapestries that had been handed down. She explained Inverary had only been around for less than half a century, but they’d worked hard to preserve the family’s heirlooms and treasures.
