by Amanda Scott
He wished he could believe that, but he knew how rumors flew around the Borders—throughout Scotland, come to that. If the King and his contentious cousin, the Lord of the Isles, each sent him felicitations, he would not be astonished.
Smiling at his absurd imagination, he held Robby a little away from him and said, “Just hope that you’re speaking the truth and that Rosalie did, too.”
However, Wednesday morning, before they had finished breaking their fast, a messenger from Scott’s Hall arrived to inform them that his lordship and the ladies Meg, Janet, and Annabella Scott would take the midday meal with them.
Two hours later, when Wat arrived with Lady Meg, his sisters, his fighting tail, and two dogs, Robina, Dev, and Rosalie greeted them in the courtyard.
As Robina exclaimed over how much Bella had grown since they’d last seen each other, she heard Rosalie say, “I see that you brought Father Hubert, as I requested, sir.”
Noting then that one of the riders was a priest, Robina gave Rosalie a sharp look and then followed Rosalie’s gaze to Dev.
His expression must have told her, as it did Robina, that he was angry, because she said hastily, “I recalled your saying, sir, that Benjy needs someone to teach him his letters and numbers. I thought Father Hubert might know someone suitable, but I knew he’d want to discuss the matter with you and that you’d want to meet him. I hope I did not overstep.”
“It was kind of you to think of Benjy,” Dev said evenly.
Robina wanted to strangle her.
“Whether she did it for Benjy or to provide a priest for your wedding matters not, Beany. It was thoughtful, and you should thank her prettily.”
More proof, if she needed it, she decided, that Rab wanted her to marry Dev.
Even so, she saw no reason to add to what Dev had said to Rosalie.
As they went inside to the great hall, she expressed a hope to Wat that his lady wife and his mother, the lady Lavinia Scott, were in good health.
“They are,” he said with a smile. “Molly would have come, but she is newly with child and still getting sick too often to travel, and Mam prefers to stay home. Both send their affection to everyone here and their felicitations to you and Dev.”
“In troth, sir…” Intending to disclaim a need for felicitations, Robina hesitated when Dev caught her eye and shook his head. Recovering rapidly, she went on, “I should exert myself more to visit them. From one cause or another, time passes without notice, and I have been remiss.”
“Whatever the cause, we must all do better,” Wat said. “We knew we had to put our next visit forward, though, when I heard that you meant to marry on the eve of Beltane. We’re prepared to stay for a sennight but will leave whenever you like.”
Before Robina could think of a reply, Dev said, “You and I can talk more about that, Wat, but your ladies will welcome a rest before we dine. If Robina will take them upstairs…” He looked at her, quizzically raising his eyebrows.
Smiling, she turned to Lady Meg and said, “Would you like that, madam?”
Lady Meg said with a warm smile of her own, “I would, aye. I have not been here in nearly a year, I think. But you must tell me just how all of this came about so… so quickly, dearling.”
“Come into the inner chamber with me,” Dev said to Wat. “Your lads and ours can sort things outside, and I see that you brought Lady Meg’s Sym along, so we’ll trust him to take control of the high table. I must talk with you.”
“I’ll go with you if you have a night jar in there,” Wat said. “Gram does not approve of men hopping off their horses to relieve themselves at the side of the road when she travels with us, so I am as much in need of relief as my ladies are.”
Chuckling, Dev said, “So be it, my lord. On the lower shelf yonder, the covered jar, mind, not the jug above it with the cork in it.”
“I do recognize a wine jug when I see it,” Wat said dryly as Dev moved to put a fresh log on the hearth fire. When Wat finished his business, he said, “So, what’s amiss?”
“Perhaps nowt,” Dev said. “But your ‘saintly’ grandaunt created a dilemma for Robby and me, so I need your sage advice on how things might proceed now.”
“Aunt Rosalie has a knack for creating difficulties, but she is a goodhearted woman,” Wat said. “Just how did she create this problem?”
Dev explained, and Wat chuckled. “That sounds as if she might willfully have misunderstood. But if you don’t want to marry Robina, just say so.”
“It’s not that I don’t want to marry her,” Dev said. “Robby’s the hesitant one, and she feels forced into it now. Had it remained between the three of us, perhaps it would be easy just to say yea or nay. But then Rosalie sent for a seamstress in Hawick to finish a gown they ordered the day after you left, and she sent her man to get you and your priest. She swears she said nowt of bridals, but we both know that people can create a wedding out of nowt save priests and gowns. Add to that the fact that two lads setting the high table were looking over her shoulder when she declared that I had asked Robby to marry me.”
“Did you?”
“I did not, but I did say something that Rosalie decided meant the same thing.”
“Is Robina unwilling?”
“I’m not sure. I told her the decision is hers to make. She seems to like me well enough when we’re not at loggerheads, and she says she’ll decide but wants time. She also says it is all too abrupt, too soon, and demands too much of her.”
“Completely understandable,” Wat said, reaching for the wine jug and pouring claret into two pewter goblets. Handing one to Dev with a straight look, he added, “How do you honestly feel about the whole thing? I ken fine that you’ve not looked for a wife.”
“I told Robby I’m willing, and I am.” Grimacing, he added, “Until Archie appointed me warden here, Father wanted me to marry Anne Kerr.”
“Anne would not suit you,” Wat said. “Moreover… But that is irrelevant. If you’re behaving honorably because Rosalie put you in this pliskie fix, I can help.”
“How?”
“As far as I know—and I would know—no one else has sought Robby’s hand. Since her father’s death eighteen months ago, and Rab’s more recent one, she has had her hands full, so I’ve made no effort on her behalf. But she is certainly eligible to wed, and I can provide any number of eligible suitors for her hand.”
“She is gey particular,” Dev said, slightly nettled. “She knows her own mind.”
“She needs a husband who will keep her too busy raising children to get into trouble,” Wat said bluntly. “Come to that, Ormiston may be willing to aid us in that endeavor. Robby also knows young men in the area, so—”
“She has no interest in any of them; she wants to stay at Coklaw,” Dev said flatly. “She would not willingly leave Benjy to marry a man of property elsewhere, and I’d object to any husband of hers raising the Laird of Coklaw. As for my father, I’ve learned that, despite having invited the Kerrs to spend Beltane at Ormiston, he will honor us with his presence here on Friday.”
Wat’s eyes twinkled. “Then you’ll have a full house, my lad, and more than your share of concerned advisers. I’d advise you to work matters out with Robby as quickly and as privately as possible. I think you’re more interested in her than you admit. If she is also more interested…”
When he paused, Dev let the silence linger, wishing he had not tried to explain.
He’d realized the minute Wat suggested finding suitors for Robby’s hand that he would disapprove of every one of them.
Staggered by Lady Meg’s demand for an explanation, Robina had stared at her, utterly speechless, until Meg said kindly, “Perhaps we might talk later.”
With that threat hanging over her, Robina tried to maintain her part in general conversation with her guests while they tidied themselves in the ladies’ solar with Potter’s help and Corinne’s. Rosalie and Meg had moved to the window embrasure to talk.
Twelve-year-old Bella said excitedly, �
�Tell us about your wedding dress, Cousin Robby! Where will your wedding be? How many guests will come?”
“I’ve not decided anything yet,” Robina said desperately.
“Aye, but will you invite me?”
“Bella, you must not demand an invitation to someone else’s wedding, as I am sure you know perfectly well,” Janet said quietly but in a tone that carried to her sister’s ears over Rosalie’s ongoing discussion with Meg behind them.
Lady Meg rose from the cushioned window embrasure, saying mildly, “I think the gentlemen must be growing impatient by now, do not you, Robina?”
“Oh, yes,” Robina said with relief. “We ought to go down if everyone is ready.”
No one demurring, she led the way with Lady Meg behind her, the others following. When they reached the great hall, Wat met them at the door with Lady Meg’s Sym beside him. A lanky man with graying red hair, Sym had served Lady Meg since his childhood. Robina had met him many times before.
Greeting him now with a smile, she said, “I hope all is well with your family.”
“Aye, m’lady, Em and Jed be in good health. Jed’s here wi’ his lordship, and Em looks after our Lady Molly. I see both o’ them near every day, which be grand.”
Wat said, “Sym will escort my ladies to their places, Robby. I’d like a word with you before we join them, though, if you don’t mind.”
Noting that Dev stood near the hall fireplace, talking to Jock Cranston and Sandy, Robina said, “Aye, sure, my lord. I hope naught is amiss.”
“Nay,” he said with a warm smile. “ ’Tis merely that I talked with Dev, and I want you to know that I understand what happened. I’m sorry my well-meaning aunt put you in such a difficult position. If I can help sort it out, I am at your disposal.”
“Are you, sir?” She cocked her head and eyed him searchingly. He was an attractive man, and kind, but one she dared not offend. His smile remained warmly inviting, so she went on, “There is one thing you might do, if you are willing.”
“Anything, lass,” he said, his voice deep with sincerity. “Tell me.”
“Will you kiss me? Not a peck on the cheek or a cousinly kiss on the mouth but a real kiss. I want to know if all men kiss the same way.”
Wat grinned. “Does Dev know about this desire of yours?”
“Oh, aye, I told him,” she said, nodding earnestly.
“And he approves?”
“It is not his business to approve, sir. He has no claim on me other than what Cousin Rosalie thinks she heard. He said I must decide for myself, and I cannot do that without knowing more about kissing. So, if you please…”
She put her hand on his arm, an arm as muscular as Dev’s or as Rab’s had been. When Wat still made no objection, she tilted her face up invitingly.
“See that his lordship’s men find places to set up their tents and hobble their horses,” Dev was saying to Jock and Sandy when he saw the ladies enter the hall and noticed that Robby lingered near the archway with Wat. As he watched, Robby tilted her head back and Wat bent to kiss her… on the mouth.
Unable to recall if they had greeted each other in the yard with kisses, he watched in astonishment as Wat put his arms around her and went on with what was clearly much more than a cousinly peck.
Stiffening, but aware that the two men with him were also watching them, and him, he took ruthless control of himself. Dismissing Jock and Sandy to their midday meal, he moved with determination toward the high table.
When he reached it, he saw Benjy near the end, standing next to Wat’s priest, who stood beside Wat’s place. The lads had set another place beside Benjy, likely for Sym Elliot, who stayed near Lady Meg and often took over for the lad serving her. Swallowing his rising fury, Dev realized he had to tread lightly.
He knew what Robby was doing, because she had told him she wanted to compare men’s kisses. But with Wat? Still, if he rebuked her, she would likely ask whom she should choose, if not Wat, and heaven knew what innocent or not so innocent man she would pick next. He had to put a stop to it.
Robina, watching Wat’s eyes as they kissed, saw his gaze shift and his eyes widen just before he straightened, gently released her, and said, “Well?”
She smiled and said, “It is different.”
“Just different?”
“Aye,” she said, striving for calm as she looked toward the fireplace and saw Sandy and Jock at a nearby trestle table. Shifting her gaze to the dais, she saw Dev standing beside it at the near end, looking right at her. Without looking away, she said, “Men do kiss differently, sir. I thought they might, but I wanted to know.”
“Did you?” Wat said. Looking at him then, she saw that the amusement in his eyes had turned sober. “Take care, cousin-lassie,” he said. “Don’t press him too far, or you’ll find that you’ve sown more than you’ll want to reap.”
“Faith, sir, do you mean Dev? Because he has assured me that he is never jealous. I did tell him that I meant to kiss other men to learn how it would feel.”
“What I mean, Robby,” Wat said sternly, “is that Dev is not a man whose temper you want to arouse. You should know that by now. If you look again, carefully, you’ll see that he’s unhappy about this. Shall we eat now, or do you want to tempt him further?”
“We should eat,” she said. Then a new thought occurred to her. “Will Molly be angry if she finds out that you kissed me? Someone may tell her.”
“It is kind of you to think about that,” he said, clearly amused again. “She might have taken exception to my kissing you, had she seen us without warning. But she will understand your intentions better than most women would. Dev won’t, though. You’d be wise to step doucely with him for a time.”
Glancing at the dais to see Dev still standing there, clearly waiting for them, she felt a shiver go through her. But she straightened her shoulders and when Wat extended his forearm, she rested a hand on it and let him escort her to the dais.
She saw as they drew closer that Dev was angry, perhaps even furious. To her surprise, though, the little chill vanished and satisfaction roared into its place.
“I can see that you two need a moment,” Wat murmured when they were near enough for his soft-spoken words to reach Dev.
Dev nodded, his gaze still riveted to Robina. He barely waited for Wat to pass him before he said, “I want to talk to you.”
“I can see that, sir,” she said, raising her chin. “But our guests await their dinner. We can talk after we have all dined.”
She expected him to stop her as she passed. He did not, but before disappointment blossomed, she heard a sound from him that sounded distinctly like a growl.
Chapter 16
Striding to his place at the high table, Dev faced the gathered company, all of whom were likely wondering if he meant to delay their meal any longer.
Waiting for silence, he said the grace without sparing a thought for the priest at his table and sat down. In the shuffle, as everyone else took their seats, he said to Wat, “Was it necessary to create a scene merely to kiss your cousin, my lord?”
“Cool your wrath, Davy-lad,” Wat said evenly. “The lady asked me to kiss her. She said she wanted to learn if men kiss differently or all the same.”
Grimacing, Dev said, “Aye, she told me as much, too. Her maidservant put the notion into her head. I told Robby to behave herself.”
“I am glad to know she told me the truth,” Wat murmured. “She also said you assured her that you are never jealous. She did not mention her maidservant or the part about behaving herself.”
“She wouldn’t,” Dev said with a reluctant half-smile. “As for jealousy, I have neither the right nor any cause for such.”
“True,” Wat murmured. Then, cheerfully, he looked past Dev to say, “Here, lad, I’ll take some of that beef if Sir David chooses to ignore its presence.”
Recalled to his duty, Dev turned to serve Lady Meg from the platter. When his gaze met hers, she smiled.
“I think you and Robina s
uit each other well, sir,” she said quietly.
No sooner had Dev said the grace than, as everyone sat down, Bella muttered across Janet, “Why were you kissing Wat, Cousin Robby?”
“We’re cousins, Bella,” she said, leaning close to Janet so neither Rosalie nor Lady Meg would hear her. “I have little knowledge of kissing, so I asked Wat to show me how it is when men kiss women they like more than cousins. He was kind enough to show me.”
“I wonder what Molly will think about that,” Bella said.
“That, Bella, it is not a subject for you to discuss with her,” Janet said firmly.
“Wat said he was sure Molly would understand,” Robina said.
“Aye, but will Dev?” Janet muttered in her ear.
“I’ll find out after we eat,” Robina said. “He wants to talk to me.”
“That sounds ominous, but you do not seem concerned,” Janet said. “When Wat says he wants to talk to me, I quiver until I learn that I need not.”
“Are you two talking secrets?” Bella demanded. “Jannie, you said that talking secrets in front of other people is rude.”
“It is rude,” Janet said lightly. “Will you forgive us?”
“Do I get to go to the wedding?” Bella asked.
“Bella!” Janet exclaimed, her cheeks reddening.
“If there is a wedding,” Robina said to Bella with a smile, “you must certainly attend it. At present, though, naught is settled.”
“Well, Aunt Rosalie says there will be a wedding. She also said she might let me help finish your dress, Cousin Robby.”
By the end of the meal, Robina’s confidence had waned and she understood what Janet meant in saying she quivered before such talks with Wat. Nevertheless, she was glad when Lady Meg rose from the table, said she meant to retire to the solar, and as much as ordered Rosalie, Janet, and Bella to go with her.
Potter, Benjy, Sym, and the priest excused themselves, too, leaving Robina alone at the ladies’ end of the table, two seats away from Dev.
