Page 64 of The Forest Bride
“She wants it that much?” He grinned. “Perhaps I shall keep it until she agrees to my suit.”
“Give it to me now,” she clipped out, “and you and Sir Duncan can both wait upon my will.”
“The bauble means something to you. What is it?” De Soulis asked sharply.
“I lost my cloak pin. I like that one. Give it to me and prove your sincerity.”
“What about his sincerity?” He jabbed a thumb toward Duncan.
“I gave the lady a peregrine,” Duncan drawled.
Overhead, sensing motion, she glimpsed a pale winged shape disappearing into tall pines. Luckily De Soulis was busy glaring at Duncan and did not see the white bird.
Margaret did. “Quick, your answer, sir.”
“Trade me your heart, lady, and this bauble is yours.” His smile went flat. “If your answer saddens me, I will keep it as a reminder of you.”
She raised her chin higher. “That pretty brooch might help my heart decide.”
Duncan was proudof her pluck. And he wanted to bury his fist in De Soulis’s gut. Watching, keeping his hand fisted by his side, he saw a flash of anger, then cunning, cross the knight’s face. The man leaned down from his saddle and beckoned to Margaret. She dropped her hand from Duncan’s arm to approach as De Soulis spoke to her quietly, pointing at the brooch. Duncan could not hear his words, but he saw the effect on the girl.
She went pale and stepped back. Fury rushed through him and he moved forward, but De Soulis turned his horse’s rump then and headed up the hill.
Margaret grabbed Duncan’s arm to detain him as he moved forward, determined to haul the man down from his horse and reckon with him. She pointed upward.
He looked up to see Greta slip past a frothy cloud like a spark of sunlight and vanish again. On the hill, De Soulis paused his horse and looked up.
“What was that?”
“Just the peregrine.” Margaret slipped her hand into the crook of Duncan’s arm again. That simple touch was calming enough that he drew a ragged breath.
“It looked like a gyrfalcon! Large, white—Campbell, have you seen them around?”
“Occasionally,” he said, trying to maintain a veneer for the lady’s sake. “They are wild in the northern regions and sometimes cross over to Scotland from Norway or farther north.”
“It was the peregrine,” Margaret said.
“That was bigger than a peregrine and white as an angel,” De Soulis said. “White gyrfalcons are the most valuable birds. If there is one around here, it must be caught.”
“That looked like the peregrine to me,” Duncan said casually. Margaret nodded.
De Soulis searched the sky. “What a feather in my cap to catch such a bird!” He laughed at his pun. “Well, I will leave you. Delightful to see you, Lady Margaret. I eagerly await your reply. Then this pretty gewgaw will be yours.” He patted the brooch. “Campbell, watch for gyrfalcons. Catch one and you can earn favor with Edward.”
“I have all the favor I want.” He pressed Margaret’s hand close to his side.
“Beware that lass, sir. She is an enchantress. A faery changeling who could change a man’s luck.”
Wanting to wipe the smug smile from that handsome face, Duncan merely shrugged. “We shall see whose luck she changes.”
The answering laugh was false and hollow as De Soulis led his horse up the slope where his companions waited at the top of the ridge.
Helping Margaret step down from the jutting platform, Duncan guided her away swiftly, his thoughts fuming. When she stumbled, he slowed for her, feeling petty about De Soulis but determined to master his temper. And his jealousy, aye.
He had not met William De Soulis until now, but knew the young Scottish knight and his kinsmen catered to Edward. That sent an uneasy crawl along his neck. The fellow was conniving;Duncan only hoped Margaret saw past the false charm. Surely De Soulis intended more than reclaiming her as his bride, but what the man’s real motive was, he could not guess. Perhaps it lay in her family connections.
Then he wondered if the girl’s kinship with Thomas the Rhymer fueled the knight’s apparent change of heart. He was in Edward’s pocket, after all, and the king had an unsavory interest in the Keith ties to True Thomas.
Duncan saw two clear risks from De Soulis: the man was too curious about the white gyrfalcon and far too interested in Margaret Keith. Either or both could mean trouble indeed.
