of you as Mairi of Shiels. Do you remember when we first met?”
Mairi smiled her generous, heart-wrenching smile, and David was reminded of the bard who sang of her beauty in the great hall in the Tower of London. King Edward had smiled indulgently, but even he was intrigued. There were beauties to spare in Londontown, but none could rival Mairi of Shiels.
“You’ve changed, David,” she said, looking up at him with solemn eyes.
Her words startled him. He’d forgotten what he asked her. “How so?”
“You aren’t listening to me.”
“I’ll warrant there’s not a man who would.”
She drew herself up to her full height and lifted her chin. “Why not?”
“Faith, Mairi. You are lovely enough to take a man’s breath away. I no longer know what to say to you.”
Her eyes widened. “Why not?”
He grinned. “When a man dallies with a beautiful woman, ’tis not conversation that comes to mind.”
“What does?”
He reddened. “I’ll tell you later.”
“When?”
“Enough,” he exploded. “’Tis not the time.”
Her outraged expression shamed him. One did not shout at Mairi of Shiels. Mutely, he appealed for peace. She ignored his outstretched hand.
He cleared his throat. “I apologize, lass. I did not come to argue with you.”
“Why did you come?”
“To spend the day with my most loyal friend.”
The corners of her mouth turned up. “You can be very disagreeable, you know.”
“I know.”
She forgave him completely. “Well then, what shall we do?”
“Do you still like to fish?”
Her eyes glowed with anticipation. “Above all things.”
He slipped his arm around her waist. “Let us delay no longer.”
Once again, in perfect accord, they made their way to the stables to fashion their poles and dig for bait.
Hours later, they lay on the bank, faces tilted to absorb the last rays of setting sunlight. Their hands were linked, their baskets filled with brown-speckled trout. Mairi broke the silence. “Isolde thinks I should marry.”
David tensed. “Since when do your stepmother’s wishes weigh with you?”
Mairi sat up. “Isolde is my dearest friend, next to you,” she protested.
“Aye,” agreed David, “but she hasn’t the sense of a peahen. When have you ever been ruled by her?”
“Never before,” Mairi admitted. “Still, this time she speaks the truth. Traquair and Shiels cannot be managed by a woman alone. They are too near the borders for safety.” She bit her lip. “I am fifteen, David. At my age, most women are already mothers.”
“Have you decided then?”
She hesitated. “I’ve had several offers.”
“Your dowry is large.”
Her eyes flashed like hammered silver. “How dare you?”
David saw his error immediately. “I spoke without thinking, lass,” he apologized. “Your glass should tell you what every man sees when he looks upon you. What I meant was your lands alone would make you desirable even were you anyone other than you are.”
“I do not wish to be married for my land.”
“Why not?” he demanded reasonably. “If your heart is not involved, ’tis as good a reason as any. You say you wish to marry to protect your land. Why not marry a man who desires it as much as you do?”
She stared down at him, an arrested expression on her face. Coming from his lips, it sounded more reasonable than mercenary. “I had hoped for a man who desires me as much as my property,” she admitted at last.
David crossed his arms behind his head and opened one eye to look at her. “There should be a few of those as well.”
“Aye,” Mairi nodded.
“Well?”
She bit her lip. “I cannot like any of them,” she confessed. “Marriage is so…so—”
“Permanent?” he finished for her.
“Aye,” she sighed with relief. David always understood.
He sat up and took her hands. His heart slammed painfully against his ribs. “Do you care for me, Mairi?”
“Of course,” she said impatiently. “You are my dearest friend. I would rather be with you than anyone.”
“Then why not marry me?”
She sucked in her breath. “You cannot mean it.”
“I do.”
Her eyes widened. “Why? You have no need for land.”
He laughed. “What I need, what I’ve always needed, is you.”
Shyly, she met his eyes. “Truly, David?”
The expression on her face was too much for him. He flushed and spoke more earnestly than ever before in his life. “I’ve loved you since we were children. Do you… Can you care for me, Mairi?”
“Oh, I do,” she hurried to reassure him. “’Tis just that I’ve never thought of you as a husband.”
“Will you now?”
“I don’t know,” she answered truthfully. “You are my dearest friend, but is that enough to be wed?”
David frowned. With every breath in his being, he wanted Mairi for