“I asked for permission tae marry Isadora.”
That didn’t ease Niall’s shock. In fact, it made it worse. Suddenly, he was pitching to his knees, grabbing Cam’s hands for support. As Cam watched in horror, Niall collapsed in front of him.
“Forgive me,” Cam said quickly, trying to pull the man to his feet. “I shoulda… I dinna mean tae be so clumsy. Forgive me if I surprised ye.”
Niall had his forehead resting on Cam’s hands. “Surprised,” he muttered. “Surprised? God’sTeeth, lad… surprised isna what I’m feeling. Ye want tae marry my Issie?”
“Aye,” Cam said hesitantly, hoping that was the right answer. “I’d make a good husband, I swear it. I wouldna beat her—”
Niall cut him off. “She needs it!”
Cam seriously wasn’t certain if Niall was happy about this or not. “I willna lift a finger tae her,” he insisted. “She’s brave and beautiful… She wants tae be my wife, Niall. I’ll be true tae her until I die, I swear.”
Niall seemed to be having some sort of fit. He was laughing or crying; Cam couldn’t tell. Then he abruptly kissed Cam’s hands and stood up, throwing his arms around the man and pulling him into a powerful embrace.
“Thank God,” Niall grunted. “Thank God for ye, Cam Netherton. I thought I’d never find a husband for my Isadora. Ye willna change yer mind, will ye?”
Cam was coming to think he had Niall’s approval. “Never,” he said softly. “She’s a fine woman. I’ll be proud tae call her my wife.”
Niall kissed him loudly on both cheeks before releasing him. “Praise the saints,” he said. “Aye, lad, ye have my permission tae marry her. And good riddance!”
He laughed uproariously, causing Cam to grin. Now, he could see that Niall’s reactions, all of them, had been purely out of shock and joy. Truthfully, he was relieved because he hadn’t been sure how Niall would take any of this, but the man was clearly overcome with glee.
Grabbing Cam’s hand, Niall yanked him out of the cottage and dragged him out into the early morning, shouting to anyone who was within earshot that Isadora was to marry Cam. He began picking up a crowd, who crowed with delight at the news. It was news that began to spread, and more and more people were turning out to congratulate Niall and Cam. The only thing missing was the bride, and Niall informed Cam that Isadora had gone out to forage chestnuts in the Vale of Morning.
Cam was thinking seriously on heading out to the vale to locate Isadora and inform her that they were now betrothed. He wanted her to share in the excitement. He was happier about it than he ever thought he would be, now being congratulated by villagers he’d only just met. But they were good people; Cam knew that.
Since coming to Auchnacree, he’d had the opportunity to see that these were simple folk, not the warmongers that he’d always feared. They were farmers and shepherds, bakers and wheelwrights. Unlike the Lindsay, who had many warriors at their disposal, the Keith warriors were villagers who were only concerned with preserving their way of life.
Certainly not what Cam had always been taught about them, and after the destruction of Netherton, he was looking forward to finding a home again—a home, a wife, and a family. Everything he’d lost, he’d now found again.
He couldn’t have been more grateful.
As they moved toward the center of the village, more people were turning out and Ewan and Ossian appeared. Having been at the smithy because their shaggy ponies needed their hoovestended, they’d heard of their sister’s impending marriage from the village beer wife, who had heard it from the merchant’s wife.
The village gossips were working at full speed.
“What’s this I hear?” Ewan was outraged. “Ye intend tae marry my sister?”
Niall thumped him in the chest before Cam could reply. “If ye ruin this for me, I’ll kill ye,” he said. “Dunna let the man know what idiots ye are before he marries yer sister.”
Cam laughed quietly, putting a hand over his mouth so he wasn’t so obvious about it. “Do not worry,” he told Niall. “I’d marry her anyway.”
Niall was back to grinning but Ewan wasn’t finished with him. While everyone else seemed happy, he was oddly serious.
“Are ye certain?” he asked. “Ye want tae marry her?”
Cam could see the concern in him, which was surprising given Ewan’s usually flippant manner. Since leaving the Ludus Caledonia, Cam had come to see that Ewan was immature in some ways, but not in others. He had a genuine love for his family, which made his foolishness slightly more tolerable. Cam wasn’t hard-pressed to admit that he was coming to like Ewan. Ossian, too.
Deep down, they were good men.
“I am certain,” he said after a moment. “I’ll be good tae her, I swear it.”
Ewan studied him for a moment before nodding, turning to look at Ossian to see what his reaction was to all of this. The tall, white-haired brother seemed to be in agreement with everything he was hearing.
“We told Issie we were going tae buy her a husband at The Cal,” he said. “It seems that we were right, after all.”
Cam watched the pair snicker. “’Tis all well and good, but remember, from now on ye’ll have me tae deal with if ye harassher too much. She’s tae be my wife, lads. Ye’ll treat her with respect.”
