Page 22 of In Love With the Wrong Highland Sister
Later that afternoon, James came in from his ride, looking grimy and sweaty but feeling determined. He went to the laird’s study and was called inside. The laird looked surprised to see him but invited him to take a seat.
“I would rather not, M’Laird,” James replied, looking down at himself. “As you can see, I am not very clean, but there is something that I urgently wish to discuss with you. I have been thinking about it over the last few days, and I have decided that I have to speak to you. Otherwise, I am going to make a terrible mistake, and all our lives will be changed for the worse forever.” He paced restlessly to the other side of the room and back again while the laird went to the whisky decanter and poured them both a hefty measure.
“This sounds very serious, my lad,” he said anxiously. “Have you made a decision? Are you going to marry my girl?”
James accepted the drink and took a sip of the fiery spirit before he put the glass on the table, then he folded his arms and took a deep breath. “I have,” he announced.
“Out with it then!” The laird looked furious. “You are frightening me. Are you going to marry Ellie or not? If you do not want to, then tell me now. I will not hold it against you. My girls can find other worthy men.”
“I don’t want to marry Ellie, although she is a very sweet young woman,” he began, then held his hand up as the laird began to protest. “I want to marry Laria. And I want you to draw up a contract to that effect.”
There was a thunderous silence in the room.
“L-Laria?” the laird said shakily as he put his glass down. His pale gray eyes were wide with astonishment as he looked at the man who stood before him. He had noticed the sparks that flew between Laria and him, but his wife had assured him that the glances and occasional accidental touches were nothing to worry about. After all, both brothers were handsome, imposing men, and there would be something seriously amiss with any young woman who thought otherwise. He had trusted her judgment. So much for female intuition!
“I have seen the way that you two look at each other,” Laird MacLean mused, sitting down at his desk again. “But that may be put down to sheer bodily attraction. What makes you so sure that you want to wed her?”
“Because I love her,” James said simply. “She is wonderful. Everything I have ever wanted in a woman. She can be moody and abrasive sometimes, but sometimes she is a fountain of joy, and I sense that inside there is a great well of love inside her that she is holding back by sheer force of will. And she is beautiful, even when she wears her dowdy mourning dresses.”
The laird sighed. “You know that she is a very damaged woman?” he asked. “She has never really come to terms with her husband’s death, she cannot conceive a child, and she feels that she is less of a woman because of this. I have told her countless times that this will not matter to the right man, but she will not be convinced. That is probably the reason why she can seem distant and unlikeable sometimes, but inside she is a good woman, as you say. Treat her well, and you will have the best wife any man ever had. Treat her badly, and you will feel my wrath, and that is a promise. Are you sure you still want to go through with this?” He looked up at James with narrowed eyes.
“I am, and if I treat her badly, you have every right to punish me severely.” He was firm and certain. “But that will never happen. I will spend my life doing my best to make her happy. I swear on my life, M’Laird.”
Hector MacLean looked at him for a long moment. “Then I give my consent,” he said. He had a feeling that inside James, there was a solid, dependable man of great integrity, one who would defend his daughter to the death, and he was content to let her go to such a man.
James smiled widely at the laird, feeling such a rush of joy that he could hardly contain himself. “Thank you!” He gripped Laird MacLean by the arms, and for an awful moment, the laird thought he was going to be kissed.
When James let go of him, he sat down behind his desk and drew up a sheet of parchment, a quill, and a bottle of ink. “Sit down, lad,” he said testily. “The chambermaid can clean the chair, for heaven’s sake.” He paused, then looked James squarely in the eye. “Are you sure this is what you want?”
James nodded. “More than anything I have ever wanted before,” he replied firmly.
“And if she is not happy?” the laird asked. “What then?”
He shrugged. “She will be happy, M’Laird, because I will make it my life’s mission to make sure of it. However, if, despite all my efforts, she is not, I will return her to you, and we can find a way of dissolving the marriage. Her welfare is my first concern.”
“Good, because if you harm my daughter, I will hunt you down and kill you.” Laird MacLean’s voice was a growl. Then he asked: “And do you not want children?”
James spread his hands. “I would love to have children of my own, of course, but I love Laria more. I have not known her for long, but I know that she is right for me.”
Laird MacLean looked at James for a long moment, then bent to his task, and a short while later, he and James signed the document.
“Remember what you said,” the laird warned. “And what I said. I meant it.”
“I know,” James breathed. “You have no need to worry, M’Laird.”
* * *
“You mean you want to marry Laria?” Gavin’s voice was almost a squeak as he looked at his brother in amazement. “What about Ellie?”
“Ellie does not want to marry me, Gavin.” James’s voice was firm. “She only has feelings for you.” James was rewarded by seeing Gavin’s eyes light up.
“Do you think she would? Marry me?” he asked hopefully.
“The only way to know is to ask her,” James replied, smiling at his brother. “She cannot read your mind.”
“I am so glad that she cannot!” Gavin winked mischievously.
“You mean you have those dreams too?” his brother asked, laughing.
