That seemed to set Rose back for a moment. Fiona saw how much this marriage—or the alliance—meant to her new husband. He was wise enough to let his point stand, and let Rose absorb it. But whether he was fighting for the alliance or for her, it was plain that he could not afford to lose her. She was the means to the end he sought. She had a decision to make. Eithertrust that he’d become frighteningly angry in defense of his man as he said, and that he was still the tender husband he had been so far to her. Or accept that the Rose laird’s concern was real, annul the marriage, and stay at Rose.
Something in Erik’s eyes when he turned back to her, not a demand, but a wordless, almost helpless plea, convinced her. She turned her gaze to the Rose as she unfurled her “shawl” and displayed the blood. “’Tis too late. We are wedded in the kirk and bedded as ye wished.”
Mary’s gasp broke the ensuing silence as both men stared at what Fiona held.
Erik’s eyebrows climbed, but he didn’t contradict her.
She was confident that he wouldn’t. She kept her gaze on the Rose, waiting to see what he would do, her stomach in a knot, heart pounding. Was she making the right choice? Whether she was or not, she’d just thrown her lot in with Ross. With Erik. She wanted to look at him, to see if she could perceive what he was thinking, what he might do. But she didn’t dare break the Rose’s concentration on her and what she held. It was all she could do to support the man she believed her husband to be.
Rose frowned, glanced aside at Erik, then back to her. “Very well. Ye will go with yer husband if ’tis what ye want.” He turned back to Erik. “All Rosses will leave Rose now. I dinna want ye inside my walls any longer.”
Mary stood and her voice rang out before Erik had a chance to reply. “Ye canna throw Fiona out into the night, Da.”
The Rose waved aside Mary’s objection. “She made her bed. She belongs with him.”
“Ye forced her! ’Tisna right to do this to the Rosses, but worse to treat Fiona so.”
Fiona, determined, interjected, “I will go where my husband goes.”
Erik spoke up. “Nay, ye willna. I will take my men and leave as we came. ’Tis too long and cold a sail at night for a lass. So, ye will remain here. Within the sennight, I will sail back across the firth. If by then, ye still want this marriage, I will take ye to yer new home. Ye need time to accept all that has happened, Fiona. To prepare. To rest.”
Fiona left the door that had been holding her up and went to him. “Nay, I want to go with ye.”
Erik shook his head. “No’ this time.” He took her hand and pulled her into an embrace.
Fiona snuggled against his heat and strength, knowing if she allowed him to go without her, anything could happen, and she might never see him again. “Ye need me,” she reminded him softly.
“I do, but I will still need ye in a sennight.” He lifted his head and addressed Mary. “I’ll thank ye to take care of my wife, to help her prepare, and see her safely brought to mybirlinnwhen I next arrive.”
“Of course, Laird Ross. I would do nay less for Fiona.”
“And I wish to speak to the injured man, to apologize in person for the actions of my man. No matter who brandished the knife, if my man had acted with honor, the fight would never have happened.”
Mary shook her head, her gaze shifting to her father with a frown, and back to Erik. “None needed. They were drunk. Things got out of hand. As ye said, ’tisna clear who used the blade. Banishing yer man is sufficient. Our healer is caring for the injured man.”
Fiona still wanted to argue her case. “I dinna like this. My place is with ye.”
He lifted her chin with a gentle finger until she met his gaze. “It will be, my wife, once I can get ye home safely. Sailing across the firth in the dark is no’ safe.”
“Neither is leaving me behind, husband.” She would have time to reconsider her decision and if she decided against Erik while he was gone, she could admit her ruse. Didn’t he know he was giving her time for second thoughts? Of course he did. She saw the hesitation in his eyes when he glanced at the bloodied sheet she still clutched to her chest. He was pleading with her without words to stand by him. To be true to their vows. She nodded, letting him know she understood.
“Very well,” Rose said when they were silent for a few moments. “Ross, gather yer men, including the one in my dungeon, and get him off Rose land tonight.”
Erik nodded. “I will do as ye say, Laird Rose. And despite this, I will honor our alliance.”
Rose studied him, clearly taken aback that Erik would have made the honorable offer. “See that ye do. Or Rose will make certain ye regret it.”
Erik took Fiona’s arm and walked her out of the solar with the other Rose men, who quickly left them in the hallway with two of his own men. He waved them away.
Mary remained inside with her da. Even through the solid oak door Erik closed behind them, until they moved too far away, Fiona heard her yelling at him.
Erik stopped and took her shoulders in his big hands. “I have much I must do to ready my ship, my men and myself, Fiona. I dinna want to leave ye, but ye ken I willna risk ye.” He ran his hands slowly down her arms and back up again, pausing when he encountered the thickness of the bandage under her sleeve. “Ye cut yer arm?”
His tone told her he regretted her pain. She nodded.
“I dinna ken why ye did what ye did in there, but I thank ye for the bloody sheet. Yer intervention with the Rose, and yer distraction, may have saved my man’s life. I pray ye willna come to regret doing it.”
She reached up to caress his face. “I willna. I needed to ken ye were all right, and I had a sense that ye needed my help. Rose threatened much the same against Mary’s sister Annie and her husband, Iain Brodie.”
