In Scot Water - Caroline Lee Page 0,51
lower lip quivered, imagining the bravery it took to marry a man she’d only just met, and then confront him when she thought he’d lied.
Blowing out a breath, he dragged his fingers through his hair and turned away from her.
He pulled out the chair in front of the desk and sat down, resting his elbows on his knees and staring down at his entwined fingers.
“At the beginning of the summer, Da gathered the six of us together. He explained that, since we were all so close in age, and none of us were legitimate, it was impossible to choose an heir. He told us that we all had talents and characteristics which would make us fine lairds. Finn and Kiergan are charming and diplomatic—although Kiergan has no interest in becoming laird—while Duncan is level-headed and Rocque is a strong warrior. Alistair kens this clan inside out, and I…” He inhaled and lifted his gaze to her. “I believed I would make a thoughtful, educated leader.”
She was chewing on her bottom lip, but he doubted she was aware of it. Finally, she asked in a small voice, “Ye believed?”
Not sure what she was objecting to, Malcolm shrugged. “Da told us the only fair way to determine who would become laird was to leave it in God’s hands. The first of us to present him with a legitimate grandson gets the honor. Finn was the first to marry—and Fiona is already pregnant—because he fell in love last year. Duncan was next, only because he was thrown in with Fiona’s twin sister Skye, and apparently, they cannae keep their hands off each other. And Rocque and Merewyn were ahead of us all, having been lovers—and in love—for a year, although they were both too stubborn to admit it right away.”
When she didn’t respond, Malcolm slowly straightened, his hands on his knees. “Alistair has no time for wooing—or anything, really—so he’s still trying to convince Kiergan to find him a wife. Kiergan, of course, flat-out refuses to marry, saying it’ll take all the fun out of wooing.”
“And ye, husband?”
Well, at least she was speaking to him.
“I had a plan,” he admitted quietly, holding her gaze. “I thought my brothers had gone about it stupidly, allowing their hearts to rule their actions, when the mind is a stronger organ. Fiona is pregnant, aye, but there’s nae guarantee she’ll give Finn a lad. I decided the best way to ensure I’d have a son would be to marry a woman who already had a son.”
Her lips curled wryly, and she turned her shoulder to him, staring toward the bed. “Lucky ye,” she whispered hoarsely. “Ye found a woman with two sons.”
“Aye,” he admitted. “I did think myself lucky to have discovered a woman in exactly the situation I wanted. And…” St. Thomas’s bollocks, but this was going to make him look badly! “When I learned of yer situation, I thought myself lucky again, because surely ye’d jump at the opportunity I offered.”
Evelinde made a little noise somewhere between a sob and a snort, as if she were laughing at herself, and Malcolm’s heart ached. But he couldn’t afford to scare her away by reaching for her again, so instead, his hands curled into fists on his knees.
“But that was before I saw ye, Evie.”
Her shoulders stiffened, but she didn’t turn. Instead, her gaze seem riveted by the bed they’d shared last night—the bed which hadn’t been blessed by their consummation yet.
Yet. He had to hold onto that hope.
Slowly, he stood. “Evie, I went to the market that day specifically to find ye. I thought of it as doing research. I wanted to see what my future wife would look like—I was that confident. And then I saw ye.”
It was the slightest of movements, the way she cocked her head to one side, her chin jutting toward him minutely. He took it as a chance to continue.
“I saw ye, and something passed between us. Ye were like—this light. Nay, I’m no’ describing it well.” He blew out a breath and scrubbed his hand over his face. After he dropped his hand to his side, he tried again. “I thought ye beautiful, aye, but I kenned there was something else there. I heard that bloody ghost drumming out my doom, and it frightened me—although I’ll no’ admit that to my brothers if ye repeat it!”
She didn’t laugh.
“As soon as the weather broke, I rode for ye. I kenned I couldnae wait any longer, and I will believe until