and kissed it just the way she had heard courtiers did.
As Ilysa introduced herself, she glanced sideways at Niall and found him glaring at Alan as if he would prefer to see him at the end of his sword.
"It takes a brave man to approach Duncan MacDonald's sister, which can be the only explanation for why such a gem is yet unclaimed." Alan Campbell's eyes twinkled as he added, "I am a brave man."
Niall coughed. When she glanced at him again, he gave his head a slight shake. Clearly, this Campbell man did not have Niall's approval.
"Excuse us," Niall said and steered her into the crowd.
"Why did ye do that?" she asked. "I was enjoying myself."
"Ye know what they say, As long as there are trees in the woods, there will be treachery in the Campbells," Niall said. "And that particular Campbell is no looking for a wife."
"He seemed interested in me," she said.
"He is interested," Niall hissed in her ear, "in getting ye under the blankets."
"Truly?" Ilysa said, pressing her hand to her chest. Other lasses were always talking about men attempting to do this, but they never tried with her. "That's exciting. Do ye suppose other men here will try as well?"
"Ilysa!" Niall looked so shocked that she burst out laughing.
"Will ye share the jest with me, lass?" This time, the man who spoke was tall, fair-haired, and wore the most elegant tunic Ilysa had ever seen.
Judging by Niall's frown, he did not think well of this one, either. Ilysa, however, found the man's crooked smile quite charming.
* * *
Mingary Castle came into view not long after Connor's galley rounded the tip of the Ardnamurchan Peninsula, the westernmost point of the mainland. The castle was large, consisting of several buildings surrounded by an irregular, six-sided wall, and strategically located to guard the sea routes into the Sound of Mull and Loch Sunart. As they sailed closer, Connor noted the burned tree stumps, remnants of the rebels' latest attack.
Large as the castle was, it could not accommodate so many guests, and camps had been set up along the shore on either side of the castle. Connor smiled to himself when he saw that Duncan, who detested such gatherings, had chosen the spot farthest from the castle and closest to home. After leaving his galley and men with their clansmen, Connor went up to the castle.
A short time later, he stood inside the Great Hall, scanning the crowd. Before the gathering ended, he would have an agreement to marry the daughter or sister of one of the Highland chieftains in this room. The only question was which one.
"Ah, the elusive Connor MacDonald has finally made an appearance."
Connor turned to see an extremely attractive, fair-haired woman wearing a high, elaborate headdress and an equally low bodice.
"Lady Philippa?" he said.
"You remembered," she said, giving him a dazzling smile.
Connor doubted many men forgot Philippa. When his cousin Ian was young and foolish, he was so enthralled with her that he planned to ask for her hand. Fortunately, Ian had been forced to wed S矛leas instead. Philippa had her good qualities, but fidelity was not one of them.
"Why do ye say I'm elusive?" he asked.
"Because you've deftly avoided the chieftains with marriageable daughters up until now," she said, with an amused expression. "With your appearance today, you may as well sound the trumpets and shout, The handsome chieftain of the MacDonalds of Sleat is prepared to take a wife!"
Connor chuckled despite himself.
"So who is the lucky lass?" Philippa asked taking his arm and leaning close. "I want to be the first to know."
"I haven't picked her out yet," he said. "Who would ye suggest?"
Philippa was a court creature and would know who was out of favor with the Crown and who was on the rise. She would not waste his time pretending that he could choose a bride based on her beauty and charm.
"The regent is exceedingly grateful to Shaggy Maclean and Alastair MacLeod for capturing the brothers of Donald Gallda," she said, referring to the rebel leader.
"Hmmph."
"Well then, a connection with the Campbells is always worth considering. Or," Philippa said, turning her gaze meaningfully to a well-dressed, dark-haired man with a pointed beard, "if you are willing to take a risk, marriage to a Douglas could pay off very nicely."
Connor eyed the handsome and overly ambitious Douglas chieftain, the Earl of Angus, who had wed the queen soon after the king's death. Everyone, except the queen, realized he had married her in the