A Laird and a Gentleman (All the King's Men #4) - Gerri Russell Page 0,3

cannot have had the easiest life with a father like John Swinton. She is misguided, but not a hopeless cause. Besides, I alone cannot marry her off. The king must approve any sort of match.”

“You are making excuses for her behavior,” Alexander said.

“Perhaps it is time to get the king involved in finding her a husband,” Reid said.

Rhys scoffed. “A tyrant bride—who needs one of those?”

“I agree with Cameron.” Malcolm who had remained silent finally spoke. “As someone who has been misunderstood his entire life, I see past her defenses as you may not. There is something dark and dangerous about Mariam, but I also see a goodness in her she doesn’t yet see in herself. If Cameron chooses to foster her growth in a different direction for a while longer, we should all support him.”

“Thank you, Malcolm.” Cameron nodded his agreement. “Mariam has her challenges, as we all do, but you must understand I cannot marry her off just yet, or send her back to King James, and certainly not to her father. Both men will only send her down a darker path.” Cameron paused, then added, “I cannot give up on her just yet.”

Rhys groaned. “Why must you always see the good in everyone?”

“I fear it will be your undoing,” Quinn warned, but with a half smile continued, “But if that is what you wish, I support you.”

“As do we,” the others eventually chimed in chorus.

Quinn’s lightheartedness faded as seriousness returned to his face. “But if you have need of our assistance in this matter, any of us would come to your aid at a moment’s notice.”

“Thank you, brothers.” Cameron brought his fist to his chest and tapped it twice in their usual salute to each other. The others echoed his salute before turning their attention back to the task at hand, returning Lachlan and Elizabeth to their home and the safety it would provide for their future.

As they waited for the couple to appear, Cameron’s thoughts strayed to the young woman who was his ward. He was disappointed with Mariam for not speaking out at the trial as she should have, for he knew her statement had been a lie, but beneath that disappointment also simmered a thrill at the idea of conquering her—not in a physical way, but helping her, as Malcolm phrased it, to find the goodness in herself.

A battle lay before him, and perhaps the greatest challenge of his life.

Chapter One

Ravenscraig Castle, Scotland

August 30th, 1592

The laird would return to the castle at any moment. And with his arrival would come his decision about what to do with her. Over the past week Mariam had spent hours upon hours thinking about what would happen when Cameron came through the gates of Ravenscraig, and she’d come to no conclusion yet.

She hated that she couldn’t determine what Cameron would do. He could forgive her. He could send her away. He could punish her in some way. All of the scenarios she’d run through in her head seemed equally viable. She clutched the shawl about her shoulders with trembling fingers. The afternoon air teased her hair against her cheeks and swirled about her feet as she waited with all the other castle residents in the courtyard.

She turned her gaze upon Mistress MacInnes, the chatelaine; then to Hobbins, the steward; and next to Petunia, Thea, and Estella, three of the castle’s many maids. Giles, the stable boy, looked toward Mariam for a heartbeat, then turned away. None of them would look her in the eyes. They were all afraid of her. And who could blame them? She hadn’t gone out of her way to be particularly pleasant to any of them since she’d come to live among them.

Just the week before Lachlan Douglas and Elizabeth Ruthven had arrived at the castle, she had locked Cameron’s guard, Ian, in the armory when all the other warriors had gone to the lists to practice. He’d had to break down the door to free himself. She’d put briars under the saddles of three of the men’s horses before they had gone hunting in the woodlands. One of the men had been thrown from his horse and had broken his arm. And she’d stolen both of Thea’s shifts and had tossed them into the garderobe.

Mariam winced at the memory of how her maid had cried at the discovery. After apologizing, Mariam had given her maid two of her own shifts as replacements.

No one ever retaliated against her misdeeds. No one ever called her