Page 9 of The Anguish of the Scottish Lairds
“Think what you wish, but you refused him, so he’d have gone on his way. You were right in making that decision, but it doesn’t change the fact that you are beyond twenty with no prospect in sight. No one will want you soon. It’s time, and Sloan is a fine man.”
“Sloan is a bit gruff, don’t you think, Mama? The man hardly ever speaks. He just growls at people.” Her mind flew from one characteristic to another—there had to be one that would get her mother on her side. She had known Sloan Rankin her entire life, back to the days when he would find a frog near the water and toss it to her as if it were a prize.
The slimy, disgusting things one found in the sea.
Or the time they had all been swimming in the sound, and Sloan had found a fish that he wished to give to her as a pet.
She’d yelled at him when he tried to hand it to her. Ugly, scaly thing. Fish were not pets; they were meant to be eaten for supper. Dogs were pets, and she’d always wanted one but never had one. She’d crossed her arms and glared at the lad as if he were from England.
Lennox glanced over at his mother, his jaw twitching. “I see Eva is still going to be unreasonable. If I have to, I’ll force this. Why not take a few months so he can court you, see if you suit, Eva? I’m sure you’ll grow fond of the man. He has offered, and I’m not about to turn away the only solid offer you’ve had. If you wait much longer, you’ll be an old spinster.”
Eva wished to slap both her mother and her brother. He’d just refused to settle for an arranged betrothal of his own and instead fell in love with a perfect match for him, his wife Meg. He’d married her so quickly it had shocked everyone.
The door opened and their other brother Taskill stepped into the mostly empty great hall. “Oh, I think I should go back out. I can feel the tension from here.” Taskill’s brown hair curledabout his face, the wind clearly rearranging his usually fine-looking style. “Should I go back out? It’s about to storm, and I’m guessing that would be more enjoyable than whatever this conversation is.” He grinned as his glance went from one stony face to the next, but no one spoke. “Och, storm it is.” He spun on his heel to take his leave.
But this brother would agree with her. “Nay, Taskill. Stay.” Eva reached his side and took his arm, turning him back to face Lennox. “Tell him I will choose my own husband.”
Taskill smiled and said, “I will choose my own husband.” Eva smacked his arm, so he chuckled and said, “Eva will choose her own husband. And I will choose my own wife.”
“My thanks. As you can both see,” she said, facing her brother and mother. “He agrees with me.”
Taskill said, “I’m next in age. I should marry before you. I just haven’t found the right person yet.”
“There you go, Mother. Find him a wife. Arrange his marriage. He has four winters on me. Leave me alone.” She picked up her skirts and moved over to the door. “I’m finished with this discussion.”
Meg approached from the kitchens, a confused look on her face. Eva said, “Never mind, Meg. Lennox will explain how I refused to accept a betrothal from a man I have no interest in. I’m sure you would agree with me.”
Meg looked from Eva to Lennox to Rut but said nothing. “I haven’t been part of the family long enough to offer an opinion, Eva. Sorry!”
Lennox wrapped his arm around Meg’s shoulders and kissed her forehead. “Forever the negotiator, are you not, love?”
Meg smiled and nodded, but still said nothing as Eva moved over to the doorway.
“And what do I tell Sloan, Eva?” Lennox called after her.
“Tell him I’ll find my own husband. You need not say anything else.” Then she banged the door shut to let them know how serious she was. She had to get away from them. Oh, she knew their intentions were good because she understood their thinking.
It was exactly like her own.
And she knew that her time was running out, but her father had promised her. Somehow, she still believed this handsome man was about to arrive at their castle, calling her name. Telling her that her father had chosen him years ago, and they’d agreed that he would come for her now.
Her brother called her foolish, as did her mother, but to her, it was still real. To let that go was to admit that she’d never see her dear father again.
That he was gone forever and never to return.
She believed he’d taken care of her, chosen a man who would offer for her soon. And she trusted her father to choose the perfect man for her. If he’d only told her his name before he passed on two years ago. “Da, please come back,” she whispered to no one.
She’d thought all about what marriage would look like for her. She’d watched Tamsin and Thane fall in love, then Lennox and Meg. Clan Grantham, the place where she spent more and more of her time because she was training in archery, had two of her favorite couples. Dyna and Derric were so much fun to watch together, but even more? She was entranced by Eli and Alaric.
One day she’d seen them stroll out of the keep together, but Eli had moved ahead of him and teased him like Eva had never seen before.
Dyna noticed her distraction and said, “Don’t watch them. They’re still newly wed and they couple like rabbits.”
Eva had averted her face back to the archery target, lined up her arrow, and was about to let it fire when she heard a moanunlike any she’d ever heard before. Her arrow flew wide, but she stopped while Dyna strolled around the field, retrieving arrows and giggling.
Eva took two steps and saw Alaric and Eli locked together against a tree as if they’d become one person, their gazes unmoving while they panted. Glad she couldn’t see everything because of a few nicely placed branches, she definitely could hear everything.
Everything. Including Eli’s scream of Alaric’s name when she crossed over that precipice she’d heard so much about from others.
