“Nay,” she whispered. “Naught of that.”
Seamus’s jaw worked as he sat back. He scratched at his beard, keeping his gaze leveled on her. Blair couldn’t handle it anymore and dropped her gaze to study her hands in her lap.
“Well then, lass. It seems we have a bit of predicament of what to do with ye. While I might believe what you tell me, there are those who believe ye worked in tandem with your dead husband. So I volunteer a solution, one that protects ye, guards ye, and keeps the Campbells at bay. Ye’ve met my son, aye?” He gestured to the man standing behind her.
Blair’s hands froze in her lap. Her heart stopped in her chest. The mention of the laird’s son – that could not be a good thing.
Nay,her mind thought frantically.
“Aye,” she squeaked out.
Said son shifted behind her and huffed. Blair’s heart sank. Reade already knew what his father was going to say, and from the sound of it, he didn’t like it.
Which meant she probably wasn’t going to like it much, either.
“The best way to do that is to make a union with the MacDonalds, erase the Gordon name from ye completely.”
She lifted her face to stare at the laird. “Nay,” she whispered, more to herself than to him.
“And the most efficient way to do that is through marriage. To my son, Reade.”
No words came from her mouth, but a despairing squeak burst from her chest. It was overpowered by a growling groan behind her. So Reade was not fully on board with his father’s idea any more than she was.
“I-I canna marry anybody! I’m — I’m in mourning!” It was a desperate grab, but it was the best reason she had to reject the offer. Blair had the sense that her own reason –she didn’t know or even really care for Reade – would fall on deaf ears. When had her desires ever been a consideration?
And why hadn’t Reade protested this crazed arrangement?
“Reade has already been made aware and has agreed that this is the best course of action for our clan.”
His growling begs to differ,she thought.
Seamus lifted his gaze from her and narrowed his eyes as he looked past her at his son.
So mayhap his agreement was made out of loyalty to clan and kin, and less because he wanted to wed. That was an inauspicious start to any marriage.
Blair had learned that unfortunate truth with her marriage to Mungo. And now here she was, being offered up as a sort of twisted prize. Once again, her fate was not her own. She blinked back the burning tears that welled in her eyes.
“Now, lass.” Seamus returned his gaze to her and softened his expression. “I know ye are shocked at your sudden turn of circumstance, and while I’d like to give ye your time to mourn, time is of the essence. I’d rather ye no’ fall into the treacherous hands of the Campbells, for I deign to think of what they will do if ye dinna give them the answers they seek about Mungo. We MacDonalds are a smidgen more forgiving, aye?” He gave her a weak smile.
Ahh, the underlying threat. Not that Blair disagreed with him. The Campbells had killed her husband, after all. What would stop them from making her join her husband in the afterlife?
And, she was certain, this arrangement also kept her under the control of the MacDonalds, so if she did recall anything her husband might have done, or say something useful, they would have access to that information, not the Campbells.
Blair swallowed, trying to dislodge the choking lump in her throat. Was he waiting for her to agree? To say aye? To —
“Ye have three days to mourn your husband, then ye shall wed Reade before the entire MacDonald clan.”
Aye, to make sure no one might question the union.
She had no answer, no response. What could she say? She might saynay, but she’d still find herself standing in front of a priest three days hence. And if she tried to escape again, and the Campbells found her, then the priest would be standing over her grave, reciting theProficiscere animaprayer instead of the marriage mass.
“Och, lass. Reade will take ye back to your chambers. Use the time to get to know him.” Seamus’s lips curled up to one side as he looked over at his son. “Ye might find ye like him, despite his tough exterior.”
From behind her, Reade grunted at his father’s assessment. Seamus then dropped his gaze back to his parchments.
She was dismissed.
