by Willa Blair
Annie fell back against the pillow behind her. What had she done?
* * *
Iain noticed the air of celebration the moment he and Kenneth entered the great hall. The hunt had gone well, and he’d made progress with James Rose in his suit for Annie, so he felt he had something to celebrate, too. Perhaps his mood colored how he perceived the gathering. But Kenneth seemed to feel it, as well. A broad grin lit his face as he surveyed the people sitting at the long tables filling the hall. They were excited about something.
Then James entered from his solar. Behind him came Annie and Catherine. But one more lass followed and as she entered the room, the crowd broke out in cheers.
James took his accustomed place at the high table and arrayed the lasses all on one side, then beckoned to Iain and Kenneth to take seats on his other side. The new lass smiled at the people greeting her, then sat closest to the laird. She looked so much like the other two lasses, Iain guessed this had to be the missing Mary, returned from Inverness.
James confirmed that moments later as they reached their seats. He stood and introduced his eldest daughter.
Mary nodded to each of them as Iain and Kenneth welcomed her home. She gave Iain a long, searching look that had him wondering what was going through her mind. Had Annie already confided to her what they’d done at the spring?
Before he sat, he tried to catch Annie’s eye, but she refused to look at him. Her pinched expression told him either she was still angry with him, or something else had upset her. Wasn’t she happy her sister was home? Or had her father spoken to her?
The sisters glanced at each other, then down at the table as Iain took his seat.
James gave each a quelling look.
Then Kenneth leaned back in his chair.
Iain noticed Catherine doing the same, and she and Kenneth exchanged a longing look behind her father’s back.
Iain elbowed Kenneth in a way that looked like an accident. “The whole hall can see ye,” he hissed in a whisper aimed at Kenneth’s ear. James appeared not to have noticed or heard, much to Iain’s relief.
The meal progressed oddly, James engaging Iain in conversation, and drawing Mary in as well. She seemed friendly enough, but subdued. Iain chafed at having Annie so near, yet too far away to talk to…or touch. Annie kept her gaze forward, occasionally turning her head completely away from him to speak with Catherine. With two other people between them, he could barely hear the sound of her voice.
He caught Mary studying him several times, but when she saw him look at her, she turned away. Annie must have told her what happened at the spring.
Something was going on. Whatever it was, Iain got the impression he would not like it.
* * *
After the strange mood of the dinner, Iain fairly vibrated with a sense of urgency. He’d met all three Rose daughters. He’d made his decision. In fact, he’d made it the moment he spotted Annie in the bailey, cradling the whimpering puppy and threatening the lad who’d kicked it. He just hadn’t known he’d become so certain, so eager, and, though he could scarce believe it, so much in love with the lass in the space of a week. It was time to offer for Annie and take James’s agreement or counteroffer home to the Brodie.
He followed James into the laird’s solar and accepted the evening dram of whisky.
“Ye appear to have something on yer mind, lad,” James said as he settled into a chair and took a sip of the strong spirit.
“Ye ken my errand here,” Iain started, then kicked himself. The word “errand” made him sound like a messenger, nothing more. “I am pleased to have met all yer daughters,” he amended. Here, he represented Brodie, and he must remember he negotiated for his clan as well as himself. “Ye have a treasure in each of them, as ye ken fine. A man would be lucky to take any of them to wife.”
James nodded and cocked an eyebrow.
Iain took that as acceptance of the praise he’d heaped on the man’s daughters, as well as permission to continue. “I am gratified to confirm to ye what ye must already ken. Anne suits me, and I believe she will make a perfect Lady Brodie…when the time comes. As to that, ye ken I must soon return to Brodie with a betrothal agreement, or the news that I must look elsewhere. Yer hospitality has been most welcome and appreciated. Since Annie has found favor with me, I’d like us to wed as soon as possible.”
“Anne.”
“Aye. I am most pleased with her.” It took a moment for Iain to realize James had not asked a question, but stated his daughter’s name. His expression was…unreadable. “She has made her preference for me clear enough, and I have come to cherish her above all others. I have made my choice,” he plowed on, anxious to receive James’s agreement. “Brodie will accept, and will look forward to her arrival for the wedding, with the Rose’s permission, of course.”
“Well.” James cleared his throat.
All at once, Iain’s certainty fled and a frisson of doubt curled in his middle.
“Ye make it sound so simple,” James finally said. “But I fear ’tisna.”
Iain braced himself, tightening muscles that had begun to relax as he exchanged pleasantries with Annie’s father. “It seems simple enough to me. We agreed I would meet the lasses and choose. I have done so. I choose Annie.”
“I’m sorry for that.” The bottom of James’s whisky glass hit the table next to him with a thunk, sloshing the amber spirit up the side. “I’ve had second thoughts, ye see. Mary…Mary Elizabeth that is, being eldest, must marry first. If ye are interested in her, our arrangement can go forward without delay.”
“Mary…Elizabeth?” Iain couldn’t believe he’d heard James correctly. “Ye refused her from the first. Ye plan to keep her with ye as yer chatelaine.”
“I’ve changed my mind.”
Iain’s mouth went dry, preventing speech. He could not even take a breath. Not that it mattered. He couldn’t find words to express his dismay. He wanted Annie and no other. He managed to grind out one word. “Why?”
James shifted in his seat and tossed off the rest of his whisky. He looked uncomfortable, his gaze on the table top and his lips pursed. “My reasons are my own.” He stood. “Ye may return to Brodie with my offer of Mary’s hand. Or ye may look elsewhere for a bride and an alliance.”
Iain stood, too. But despite James’s signal to end the discussion, Iain wasn’t ready to give up. Perhaps the Rose tested him, to ensure his interest in Annie was sincere. “Ye recall Brodie’s visit here many years ago?” He didn’t wait for James’s acknowledgement. “I accompanied my father. I met your daughters during our visit. Even then, and ever since I arrived here, though I enjoyed meeting Mary and Catherine, Annie has been the only lass for me. Though I ken she’s angry with me at the moment, since my arrival she has changed from not wishing to marry at all, to being, I believe, willing, even eager, to marry me. Why would ye gainsay her wishes?”
“As I said, my reasons are my own. Neither ye nor my daughters need be privy to them. Accept that Mary Elizabeth is available to ye, and nay other. Or leave Rose at first light.” James sat back down and poured himself more whisky, but offered none to Iain.
“I hope before then ye will change yer mind,” Iain said and left James to his drinking.
Chapter 6
Annie tossed and turned all night, unable to get Mary’s words out of her mind. Ye sealed yer bond when ye kissed him back. Why had she never been told about this? It couldn’t be true. An old wives tale, nothing more. She would not marry Iain. She would not marry anyone, not yet. Not until she had time to get to know the man, and he to learn to accept her—all of her. Iain, with his eye for beauty, would never be able to. No matter how much she wanted him, she had made up her mind.
Finally, she threw off the covers and got up, stepping carefully until her leg warmed up. A glance out her window told her the sun would be up soon. It was too early to ride, but not too early to visit cook and get something to break her fast. She dressed and started down the hall toward the stairs.
> Outside Mary’s door, she paused, listening. Someone was crying. Mary never cried. Cat must be in there with her, or one of their clanswomen. What could possibly be wrong? Despite the clan’s joy over Mary’s return, Annie had noticed…tension…between her older sister and their father at dinner. After Mary’s revelation that afternoon, Annie hadn’t felt like talking at supper—or seeing the eager anticipation in Iain’s eyes. Only Cat had had any spirit, flirting behind their father’s back with Kenneth Brodie.
She tapped on the door, not wanting to awaken the rest of the keep, then opened it and went in.
Mary lay curled up on her bed, alone. She lifted her tear-stained face to Annie as she approached. “What are ye doing in here?”
“I heard ye crying as I passed by. What’s wrong?”
“Ach, Annie. Nothing. Everything.”
Annie settled on the edge of the bed and patted her back. “Surely no’ everything.”
Mary wiped her eyes and sat up, wrapping her arms around her knees and leaning her chin on them. “’Tis something I never told ye. I met a lad, Dougal MacBean, at a friend of Auntie’s the last time I went to Inverness with Da. I liked him—a lot. I’ve been trying to convince Da to arrange a match, but ye ken how he is.”
“Aye. He canna do without ye.”
“And an alliance with the MacBeans gains him nothing. Well, he delayed long enough to avoid marrying me to the lad I wanted. Before I left Inverness, Auntie told me Dougal is betrothed.”
“Ach, Mary, I’m sorry.”
“As am I.” She raked a loose curl away from her face. “I ken ’tis been hard on Da since Mother died. ’Tis been hard on all of us. But soon I’ll be too old to marry, and then I will never have a home or family of my own.”
“I ken how ye want one.”
“And who will inherit once Da is gone? If ye marry Iain, he’s already the Brodie heir. He wouldna stay.”
“I’m sure Da has someone in mind. Besides, ’tis his responsibility, no’ ours.”
“If he dies suddenly, it could become ours. I said as much to Da before ye and Cat joined us in his solar to go to supper. I hoped it would make him think about the opportunity he missed—Dougal would not inherit MacBean—but it just made him angry. I’ve been tossing and turning all night.”
“I, too. Is the story of the fairy pool real? Am I truly fated to marry Iain Brodie?”
“I used to think so, but nay. Da changed his mind after I challenged him. He said if I was so eager to marry, I could marry Iain.” Tears welled from her eyes.
Annie gasped. “He said what? Why did ye no’ tell me?”
“Da told me no’ to mention it until he spoke to Iain after supper. So ye needna worry. The old superstition canna be true. Father planned to tell Iain that as eldest, I must marry first. Iain will carry my name to the Brodie.”
“Mary, I…”
“So ye see, it will turn out well for ye. Ye will take over for me here, and I will go to Brodie.” Mary wrung her hands. “Iain is a handsome man. He seems kind. He will make me a good husband.”
Annie stood and walked to the window, staring out without seeing anything. Iain was kind. And strong, and handsome, and he wanted her. Only her. Her stomach twisted as the idea of Iain married to anyone else, even Mary, suddenly became real.
She did care for him…but enough? Could she stand by while he married someone else? Even if that someone was Mary? Or should she convince her father to change his mind…again?
* * *
Iain looked around the empty stable and frowned. Annie’s horse, Belle, languished in its stall. It came up to him and nudged his shoulder. “Sorry, lass, I didna bring ye an apple today.” Where was Annie? By now, she usually had the stable boy busy saddling her mare. He wanted to ride with her this morning, even more than usual, to get away from the keep and the rest of her family. Maybe then, she could explain her father’s decision to him. Why had James Rose gone back on his word? Why was he suddenly set on offering Mary, not Annie for the alliance? Iain could not leave Rose without the answer.
Had Anne convinced her father against their match? After the way she’d kissed him at the spring? He couldn’t…wouldn’t believe that.
He checked on his mount, who snorted a greeting. “I ken ye are ready to run, lad, but no’ yet. Annie must be avoiding me. That does no’ bode well. I have to find her. I have to fix this.”
He headed for the stable doorway just as Kenneth and Catherine entered.
“I thought we might find ye here,” Kenneth told him.
“What’s amiss?” Iain asked, taking in the frown on Catherine’s face.
“Mary just told me about Da’s decision.”
Iain grimaced. “I thought Annie and I had come to an understanding. Did she convince yer father to change his mind?”
“’Tis none of Annie’s doing,” Catherine objected.
His heart lifted. Not Annie’s doing? Did that mean she wanted to marry him after all? “Then why did he?”
“I dinna have the whole of it yet, but it seems Da thinks he’s doing Mary a favor. Mary had her heart set on another lad and found out while she was in Inverness he’d tired of waiting for her and become betrothed to another. I dinna ken whether Da simply feels guilty or thinks if she was ready to marry one man, another—ye—would do as well. As the eldest, she should marry first, and Da must have become willing for Anne to take over the things Mary has been doing for him. But Mary’s wound is too raw. She doesna wish to marry ye.”
“It seems none of ye Rose lasses wish to marry me.” He looked at Kenneth and raised his brows as a reminder of the wager that stood between them.
Kenneth cleared his throat but didn’t say anything.
“Dinna be so sure,” Cat said. “Annie may be having a change of heart. Da’s decision may be exactly what she needed to make her accept her feelings for ye.”
“I’d rather she wanted me. I’ve always wanted her to agree, not to be forced into it.”
“Exactly. After this, if Mary and Annie and I can convince our father to give Mary time and let Annie marry ye, I think she’ll be happy for the chance.”
Could Cat’s plan work? The Rose had changed his mind once in a misguided attempt to please his eldest daughter. If the sisters could convince him he’d made a mistake, Iain might go home with an offer for the daughter he wanted, after all.
“What can I do?”
“Nothing yet.” Catherine patted his arm. “Let us work on Da. He canna stand against all of us. At least, he has never been able to before.”
* * *
Annie hadn’t seen Iain all morning and feared he’d left for Brodie. She decided a ride would help clear her mind of her problems, and Mary’s. But Cat intercepted her on her way out of the great hall.
“We need to talk. Us and Mary. I need yer advice,” Cat told her. “But ye must no’ tell anyone. Especially Father.”
“About what?”
“Do I have yer word?”
Annie hesitated, but relented and agreed. What was Cat up to, now?
“What do ye think of Kenneth Brodie?”
Annie paused, turning to face her younger sister. “I barely ken him. And ye are too young to be asking that question. So why did ye?”
Cat shrugged. “I’m no’ sure yet, but I might want to marry him.”
“What?”
“Is that so hard to believe?”
“Ye are still too young to think about marriage.”
“I’m the same age as Maman when she and Da married.”
Annie considered Cat’s statement, then nodded. “Aye, ye are. But ye barely ken him. And ye speak as if he and Iain are still here.”
“They are.”
The weight on Annie’s chest lifted a bit.
“And ye and Mary barely ken Iain, yet it seems one of ye will marry him, whether ye will it or nay. But what if my marriage to Kenneth would satisfy Da’s desire for a stronger alliance with Brodie? Then no one would have to marry Iain.”
Cat gave her a brilliant smile, as if she’d just solved the greatest problem in the world.
Annie glanced longingly toward the stable. She keenly wanted a ride, but this had to take precedence. “That willna work. We need to talk to Mary. Da will listen to her counsel before he’ll consider ours.” And Mary might be able to talk sense into Cat before she took her brilliant idea any further.
“Then let’s find her.”
They headed back into the keep and found Mary in the ladies’ solar, staring off into space, her stitching lying in her lap.
“Mary,” Catherine called and grinned.
Mary jumped and her head jerked toward them. “Ye surprised me! What is it?”
“We need to talk,” Annie told her. “But not here. Yer chamber, aye?”
Mary frowned at Cat, who bounced on her toes in her excitement, then nodded and set her needlework aside. “Let’s go.”
Upstairs, they closed the door to Mary’s chamber. Mary and Cat settled on the bed. Annie pulled the shutter closed so their voices wouldn’t carry into the bailey and sat on the window seat.
“What are ye two up to?” Mary eyed each sister in turn.
Annie nodded to Cat, giving her silent permission to speak first.
“I may have a solution that will save ye…and Annie…from marrying Iain Brodie.”
Mary frowned and straightened. “How…”
“I like Kenneth Brodie, his cousin,” Cat told her. “And he likes me. From Da’s perspective, a marriage between us would still be a marriage between Rose and Brodie, for the sake of the alliance. And that would keep either of ye from having to marry Iain.”
Mary blew out a breath and cut a glance to Anne. “And ye agreed to this?”
“Nay.”
Mary turned back to Cat. “It willna. Have ye forgotten Iain requires a bride to inherit Brodie from his father—and he has to marry before his father is gone?”
Annie’s shoulders slumped at the reminder. “And he thinks his father willna live much longer,” she added. She knew Iain was a far better prospect than anyone else her father was likely to marry her to—at best they’d be thrice her age and have bad breath. One way or the other, Cat was right about one thing. She or Mary would wed Iain Brodie.
