Page 54 of The Highlander's Auctioned Wife
But most, it seemed, were just there to speak to him, to offer their well wishes, and to, indeed, take a peek at the woman who might soon become the Lady of Lyall.
“Do ye nae think ye should choose a lass of yer own clan?” the latest visitor asked, casting a suspicious eye over Anna, who sat a short distance from Gordon.
Gordon narrowed his steely eye at the wizened old man. “Is that all?”
“M’Laird, I just think it would be of greater merit to have a Lady who is one of our own,” the man insisted, twisting a rag between his hands. “We’re seafolk, nae sheltered inlanders.”
Rather than lose his temper, or dismiss the man without response, having him dragged out by guards as many other lairds might have done, Gordon took a moment. He stared at the old man, as if trying to read him.
“If ye plant one crop endlessly, yer soil weakens and yer crops begin to fail,” Gordon said, at last. “Ye need to feed it with new life, new strength, new nourishment, then nay one goes hungry.”
The old man raised his eyebrows, appearing surprised.
“Lady Anna will help our clan to prosper further,” Gordon added. “And judgin’ by the way she’s taken to our coast already, she’s got salt enough in her blood to be seafolk.”
The uncertain man glanced at Anna, frowning in thought. Anna didn’t look away from his stare, offering a small smile, trying not to blush as she thought ofjusthow well she had taken to living by the sea. So well that she trusted the cliffs and the cove to smother the sight and sound of her bliss.
Slowly, a returned smile crept onto the old man’s face, his thin neck bobbin forward in a jaunty bow. “If ye deem her worthy of us, M’Laird, then she’s worthy enough for me.”
It wasn’t false flattery or a glowing compliment, yet Anna rested a hand to her heart, feeling it swell with contentment at the old man’s acceptance. And as a ripple of agreement made its way back through the line of waiting visitors, she wondered with a strange flutter in her stomach if this was a place where she might just belong, after all.
Just then, a flurry of movement caught her eye, some sort of ruckus dispersing the neat line of people. It took her a second to figure out who was causing it. But as Gordon stood to survey the matter for himself, a tall, muscular, frowning figure with a mane of gray hair and a long, gray beard to match marched forward, as if he meant to lay a fierce complaint at the Laird of Lyall’s feet.
Alarm shuddered through Anna’s chest, putting a pin to the swell of joy she’d delighted in a moment earlier.
He’s goin’ to attack Gordon! He’s goin’ to?—
“I ride off ononemeasly skirmish, and I come back to find ye half-married already?” the gray-haired man bellowed, his face cracking into a grin. “I’d be livid if I wasnae so bloody relieved. Me nephew is to have himself a wife, at long bloody last!”
The man walked right up to Gordon and put his beefy arms around him, clapping Gordon on the back. Among the waiting clan, laughter broke out, stilling the panic that had seized Anna in its grip: this was no stranger or troublemaker or vengeful clan member, but another missing piece of Gordon’s family.
“Beathan Roy,” the gray-haired man said, pulling away from Gordon to approach Anna, as if seeing her confusion. “Yer future husband’s favorite uncle, though ye mustnevertell Matthew that.”
With a warm smile, he took Anna’s hand and brought it to his lips, kissing it in greeting.
“Ye’ll soon find yerself as me most hated uncle if ye take liberties like that again,” Gordon interrupted, taking Anna’s hand in his own. And though he didn’t smile or laugh, as she now knew he could, she knew he was joking with this uncle of his.
Beathan grinned. “Och, ye cannae blame a grizzled old goat for kissin’ a fair lass’s hand. Hate me all ye like; I regret nothin’.” He met Anna’s somewhat bewildered gaze. “Lady Anna, on behalf of the other side of this family, allow me to tell ye how glad I am that someone is finally makin’ an honest man out of me nephew.”
“If all goes well,” Anna said quietly, already warming to this vibrant newcomer. “We’re nae yet through with our betrothal period.”
Beathan waved a hand. “I’ve yet to see a betrothal that doesnae end in a weddin’, Lady Anna, and I’ve a feelin’ about the two of ye already.” He leaned in, whispering dramatically. “Before he set off on his endeavor to bring ye back, he’d have shoved me in the chest rather than let me embrace him.”
Gordon muttered something under his breath, but there was a shine of amusement in his eye. “Take yer seat and cease causin’ trouble, Uncle.”
“I’ll sit, M’Laird, but I cannae promise the latter.” Beathan flashed a wink at his nephew and duly took his seat, next to Matthew and Sophia, who welcomed him heartily.
“I like him,” Anna whispered to her betrothed.
Gordon turned to her, the ghost of a smile tugging at one corner of his lips. “I thought ye might.” The smile faded. “Me maither was exactly the same.”
As he returned his attention to the line of clan-folk, Anna’s heart began to swell again, for he had just given information willingly, allowing her a glimpse of his past, of what had made him who he was. She hadn’t needed to move a single chess piece to get it.
Maybe, there’ll be a weddin’ after all…
CHAPTER 25
“How are yer lands?”Gordon asked, relishing the caress of the cool wind against his warm face as he stepped out into the gardens of Castle Lyall.
