“Aye?” he asked, letting go of her slowly before offering his hand to Katherine. “I suppose ye’re owed thanks.”
“Ye daenae have to thank me,” she said, surprised at just how strong he was, pulling her upright as though she weighed nothing. His strength was nearly as imposing as his stature. “Me attempts only worked until they didnae. I didnae get here in time. It’s for the best that ye arrived when ye did.”
“It’s only because of ye that I am still able to stand,” the older woman insisted, so patient despite the fact that she was likely in pain. “Ye deserve all the thanks we can give ye.”
Katherine was unsure of how to behave around them. The man whose presence made her stomach turn in a completely new way simply stared down at her, his expression entirely unreadable. And the woman who radiated matriarchal energy smiled on.
It was a rare occurrence for Katherine to be at a loss for words. She supposed today was different from others, though.
“Katherine!” Annabeth called, waving at her from across the courtyard. “The auction will be startin’ shortly!”
Katherine lingered for just a moment longer, her eyes locked on the man’s. Then, unsettled despite the fact that she knew she should feel grateful that he stepped in, she rejoined the circle of women. She tried to shift her attention to her impending sale, the massive change she was on the cusp of, but she couldn’t think about anything buthim.
He was frowning deeply, his eyes scanning the crowd as though he were waiting for someone to cause a problem. Or perhaps, she thought as a shiver ran through her, he was looking for a problem to cause.
He seems so cold… I daenae want to go from one cruel man to another.
Chapter Two
“Ishould make ye visit this castle’s healer right away,” Liam said out of the side of his mouth, his arms crossed over his chest, his back rigid.
“If ye usher me into the castle now, we will miss the auction,” Lady Agnes, his grandmother, retorted. She carefully adjusted the sleeves of her gown, the movements incredibly refined for a nearly eighty-year-old woman who had just been sprawled on the ground. “I may nae have much longer on this earth, but it will take more than a fall to usher me out.”
“I wish ye wouldnae speak so flippantly about yer age,” Liam said, scanning the women for a beat before searching the crowd for his man-at-arms. The idea of her, the woman who raised him, no longer being alive wasn’t something he liked dwelling on.
“And I wish ye would stop tryin’ to find excuses to avoid gettin’ yerself a wife,” she replied, grabbing his elbow as she stepped incloser to let more bidders join them. “When the biddin’ starts, I believe the woman who kept me from havin’ a more serious fall should be yer choice.”
“Nay.”
The word left his mouth almost immediately. It wasn’t that he hadn’t considered it the moment he’d laid eyes on her. At his grandmother’s behest, they were attending an auction. It was only natural to wonder.
But I cannae say any of the other women have caught me eye.
“And I’m sure ye have yer reasons,” she said sarcastically.
“Ach, I do,” Liam said, nodding when he finally caught sight of Cillian. “That woman is too young.”
And she wouldnae like bein’ stuck with a brute like me.
“All of these women are young,” Lady Agnes replied, her gaze never leaving his face despite his not looking back.
“I came for a wife that would bring order.” He frowned, squinting against the sunlight as a coordinator guided the women. “Someone that is suitable to raise Agnes and protect her while I’m rulin’. That is all. I need someone older.”
His grandmother sighed. She watched him with quiet patience, holding her tongue until he finally gave in and met her eyes. It was disarming just how much of him she seemed to see.
“Ye ken that’s nae truly why we’re here,” she replied, keeping her voice low and private. She delivered each syllable with a sureness born of years of knowledge. “I’m dyin’, and ye ken it.”
Liam’s jaw tightened, but he didn’t look away. While he wasn’t keen on acknowledging the biological truth, his grandmother had been openly planning for when she’d no longer be with them. If it hadn’t been for her, he wouldn’t have bothered with finding a wife. He could hire a tutor, a young, educated woman who would be able to teach his daughter in his grandmother’s stead.
“When I’m gone, Agnes willnae have anyone to offer her warmth,” she said bluntly. It wasn’t a judgment on his character, rather an acknowledgment of the reality his only child would be facing. “All she will have is discipline and order.”
“Discipline and order are more than enough to raise a child,” Liam replied, the argument so familiar that it was almost a comfort to have. “Me daughter will be strong, capable, and prepared.”
“A child needs to be more than strong and capable and prepared,” she said with an exasperated click of her tongue. “Ye may nae remember what it was like to be me wee grandson, but ye werenae always so guarded. It’s nae healthy to disallow children to be children.”
Lacking a proper answer for her, Liam turned away once again. Cillian was nearly there now, wearing the kind of smirk that said he found more humor in this situation than he’d dare speak. Had he not been bringing his grandmother along, Liam would have much preferred to make this trip alone.
Ach, but if he and Grandmother werenae along with me, I wouldnae have attended this gatherin’. A wee lie to her would have spared the three of us a mess of time.
