Authors: Connie C. Scharon
“I would be present for all, Milord. Am I not deeply
involved in this mess?”
“There may be harsh words between us when I first
meet them. I will not have you hear their curses.
“I have heard the like before."
“I wilna have you there."
“He is my father!"
“Aye, and I dinna have to let you see him at all. I
will speak to them first and I'll send for you. Afterward you may see them
alone if you wish.” He watched her face for a reaction.
Asilinn's jaw drew taut. “I forget my place, Milord,”
she said sarcastically. “Your whore-wife apologizes for her mistake.”
“You are my wife! Dinna forget your station or your
purpose.”
She held her stance but he saw the tremor rippling
through her. She was afraid and with good reason. “I wilna forget.” She drew a
ragged breath.
“Good, because if you call yourself a whore one more
time I may be tempted to let you become just that.”
Would he share her with his men? Asilinn blanched at
the thought. She must try to keep her tongue in check.
He grasped her face with his hand and stared down
into her eyes. “Do you hear me? I’ll not have my wife called whore not even by
her own lips. One such wife was enough.”
Asilinn tried to suppress her shock. His first wife,
the one it was rumored he had murdered, had been a woman of ill repute in his
eyes. God’s teeth, she played with fire if she stirred his ire. “Aye, I hear
you,” she said. “I wilna insult you again with my careless anger, Milord.”
He glared at her in silence for a full minute before
he responded. “Good.”
***
Jared waited in the main hall. By his own order, he
stood alone to await the arrival of Laird Innes and his son Ian. Morven and
Keith had been sent to greet them and Liam awaited his command outside the
door.
A commotion from below told Jared his guests were on
the way. He heard Flanna offer them welcoming refreshment, but Laird Innes'
gruff voice ordered her out of the way. Jared braced himself for the upcoming
confrontation.
The fierce-looking, blond warrior with a full beard
and ice-blue eyes barreled through the doorway. His son followed and Liam
brought up the rear. Jared stood at the front of the hall on the raised
platform. He waited for the angry Scotsman to approach him.
“Greetings, Laird Innes."
“Where is she?” Angus thundered. “I dinna have the
time or the disposition for idle conversation. Give me my daughter and I'll
leave this house of the devil!”
Jared's face tightened. “Asilinn is now my wife.
Would you have me cast her aside now I have taken her innocence?”
“Liar, my sister wouldna lay with the likes of you.”
“If you have hurt her,” Angus snarled, “you'll be a
eunuch before morning!”
“Asilinn and I were married yesterday morning. I took
her to the marriage bed last night. She is my wife in every sense of the word.”
“You bloody bastard!” Angus drew his dagger and
lunged for Jared's throat.
Liam and Ian yanked them apart. Angus was practically
breathing fire. Jared understood but he had to find a way to diffuse the
situation.
“I would speak calmly of this if you think you can
manage it.”
Angus shrugged off his offspring's restraints and
stood toe to toe with Jared. “The girl is but a child.”
“Most girls her age are already married.”
“If you have raped her….”
“I didna harm her. She came to me willingly.”
“I dinna believe you,” Angus roared. “She is my only
daughter. She wouldna turn traitor to her clan.”
“Asilinn has not betrayed you. Our rightful king, Sir
Robert the Bruce, supports our union in the hopes it will make peace between
our clans. Asilinn agreed to the marriage and submitted herself to me for Scotland’s greater good. If we are to have our freedom, the Highlanders must unite against
the English.”
“Give her back to me and I'll leave with no
reprisal.”
It was a lot for him to offer and Jared knew it.
“Mayhaps you didna hear me. I have taken her. She is mine. Even now, my seed
may be growing within her womb. I wilna have her taken from me.”
“What game do you play, Laird of Dunbocan? Would you
have me believe this tale of peace and harmony for the sake of my daughter's
lost innocence? If she came to you freely, which I dinna believe, you tricked
her with your treachery. She was not yours to take. Perhaps you lie about
having had her at all. I am her father. Give her back to me!”
“Which part do you doubt? If you look at the balcony
above you, you will see her virgin's blood on our marriage bedding. I have told
you the truth. There is no other story.”
Angus looked up and saw the stained sheet hanging
from the balcony rail. A ragged cry tore from his throat. “Is this some crude
trophy of your conquest?”
“I only offer it as proof of our union.”
“If Asilinn be fine, why is she not present?” Ian
asked.
“She will join us shortly.”
“I would see if you speak the truth,” Angus said.
“Call her now, if you have naught to hide.”
“Liam, tell Wynne to fetch Lady Asilinn.”
Liam hesitated. He looked back and forth between the
father and son who glared at Jared. “Would you like me to send in Morven while
I'm gone?”
Jared shot him an angry scowl. “I have no need of
protection from Laird Innes. Go!” Liam left the room.
“Why did you do this? Why did you use an innocent
girl to punish me?”
“‘Twas not meant as punishment but a solution to a
problem which has plagued both our houses for generations. I want the feud to
die here. The children Asilinn will bear will be half Innes and half MacLean.”
“And the sons and daughters of a halfwit who
erroneously believed he could cure a hundred years of war with one foul deed.”
Angus snorted.
“I'm glad you agree I will be their father.” Jared
broke into a wide grin.
Angus leaped for Jared's throat again but Jared
pushed him back with a single parry. “Cease or you will not see your daughter.”
***
Asilinn sucked in her breath as she prepared to enter
the great hall. Facing her father's wrath wouldn't be easy. He loved her, but
he was a hard man and not inclined to take perceived insults lightly.
She was surprised to see the hall was not filled with
people. Instead, a single table was set at the front. The pungent aroma of
burning peat filled the chamber—a smell that made her fight the memories of the
first vision her gift had given her. It was more a curse. Now she desperately
wanted to know the outcome of this confrontation and her only peek into the
future had chilled her to the bone. Would Jared, or mayhaps her own kin, decide
the murky depths were to be her fate?
She looked at him—the Dragon of Dunbocan, her
husband, stood beside the table his arms akimbo and his eyes blazing. Beside
him were her father and brother. Their familiar forms bent her heart.
Asilinn fought to keep from running to her father's
arms. His angry visage told her such an action might not be welcome. Besides,
if she made a spectacle of herself Jared might not grant her privacy with her
father and brother later.
As if sensing her thoughts Jared motioned her to his
side. Her father stood ramrod straight. She could tell he was fighting to
control his temper. Giving her father and Ian an uncertain smile she went to
stand beside Jared. He wrapped his arm possessively around her waist.
“Welcome, Father. I trust Laird Jared has told you
the news.”
“Oh yes dear daughter, he told me the wonderful news
and showed me all his trophies.” Her father pointed to the sheeting draped
above them.
Asilinn looked up and gasped in horror. She felt
Jared’s grip tighten around her and fought the urge to run from the chamber. If
only he would keep his word and allow her to speak with them in private.
“Let's be seated and Flanna will bring some
refreshment.”
Asilinn sank to her chair, her knees weak from the
crude display. Angus leaned across the table staring her in the eye. “I would
hear it from your own mouth child. Laird MacLean says you went willingly to his
bed that he did not ravage you. Is this true?”
“Aye, Father,” she said in a voice barely above a
whisper. “I did it because our king said I must for the purpose of peace.”
Her father shot an angry scowl at Jared. “Did the
bastard hurt you?”
She could feel her face turn scarlet. “Nay, Milord,
he did not.”
Ian let out a strangled gasp of disbelief and turned
his head from Asilinn. Her brother's reaction brought prickly tears to her
eyes. She could feel the warm moisture streaking down her cheeks.
“Our meal has arrived,” Jared said. He motioned
Flanna to the table with the food.
They ate in silence. Asilinn watched while the clan
chieftains measured each other in quiet observation. “You claim to desire
peace,” Angus began. “Why should I trust you when you have begun it with an act
of war?”
“Is it war to take a wife and cleave to her?”
“You talk in riddles, Laird of Dunbocan. Your motives
cannot be as pure as you pretend. You have deceived this innocent child into
believing your lies. I am not so naive. If you would steal my daughter, what
prize do you offer me in return?”
“The prize of peace,” Jared responded evenly.
“God’s teeth!” Angus shoved his half-eaten supper across
the table. “I dinna trust any of this! I want my daughter back!”
“You cannot have Asilinn, but you can extend your
hand in friendship to your new son-in-law.”
“Asilinn will return to Cairngorm Castle with me, otherwise, there will be no talk of peace.”
“Asilinn will stay here because there will be no talk
of peace if she leaves me. She may even now be carrying my child. Do you really
think I would let her leave me?”
“Is it true girl or has he put you up to telling me a
story? Did you consummate your marriage with this man? I would know the truth!”
“How many times must I say it?” Asilinn felt a warm
flush. Her hands perspired. “As much as you hate him I tell you our bedding
tells the true tale. He speaks the truth.”
“Foolish girl, are you blind to evil when you meet
it?”
“I dinna know his true intent any more than you do,
Father, but he saved me from certain death on the way here.”
Her father turned to Jared. “What is she talking
about?”
“There were those who sought to kill Asilinn to
prevent this alliance. They attacked us on the trail but we escaped.”
“Father, Jared fought off seven of them to save me,”
Asilinn added. Why was she defending him? Asilinn could not fathom her own
behavior.
“Oh, 'tis Jared now, is it? You're so intimate with
the MacLean you call him by his given name.” Her father waved his hand in the
air. “I know the laird's prowess on the battlefield. My men have scars to prove
it. It must also be true what they say about his way with women if he can turn
my own sweet daughter against me.”
“Father,” Asilinn choked. “I am not against you.”
“I'm finished with this ridiculous meeting."
Angus shoved his food to the floor with a sweep of his arm.
Jared was on his feet going after the older man, but
Asilinn grabbed his arm. “No Jared! He is my father. Let me talk to him alone,”
she pleaded. “You promised me.”
Eyes blazing Jared looked down at her and then turned
his attention to Angus who had stopped in his tracks and stood staring at
Asilinn. “I will not allow anyone to abuse my wife, not even her father,” he
warned.
“I would not hurt her,” Angus said tersely. “You
accuse me of much when it is you who created this situation. I want to talk to
my daughter alone. Will you permit it?”
“Asilinn may speak with you if she wishes. If you
were not angry, you would see the benefits of this union. We have a chance to
change the history of our people. We can fight for our freedom instead of
fighting each other. Would you deny us this possibility because of the method I
have used to try to achieve it?”
“Leave us, Laird of Dunbocan. This matter is too
important to be decided in one day. I'll speak to my daughter alone and then
we'll take our leave. I'll consider your plan and we'll speak again later.”
Jared nodded. “Aye, so, I will not eavesdrop on your
conversation but if Asilinn needs my assistance I'll be outside the door.”
As Jared was closing the door, he caught a brief
flurry on the balcony. Someone had been observing his meeting. “Liam, wait here
in case Asilinn needs your assistance with her father,” Jared ordered.
Receiving Liam's affirming nod he turned and ran up
the steps. The first hallway was empty. He hurried toward the south wing of the
castle. A door was closing when he entered the hall. Running he jerked it open
and stared into the stark, pale face of Glenna.
“Laird Jared!” she gasped.
“Where have you been?”
“Do you have need of my services, Laird?” She pressed
close to his chest. “I've missed you sorely.” Her hand moved to rest intimately
on his crotch. He shoved it away in irritation.
“Must I be specific? What were you doing before you
came in here?”
Her eyes looked around the room as if in search of
some plausible answer. Jared grabbed her shoulders and shook her to attention.
“Tell me now and make it the truth!”
“Ivy told me you wanted me to move to the cottage. I
came to get my remaining belongings from my old room,” she said. “I heard
someone coming so I ducked in here to hide. I feared punishment if I was caught
wanderin' about during your meeting.” She met his eyes with a sincere expression.
Jared didn't know whether or not to believe her.
“Did you see anyone else?”
“As I entered the hall someone was goin' up the east
staircase.”
“Who?”
“I dinna know. I only heard their steps. I never saw
them. What's wrong, Laird?”
“Get what you came for and go back to your cottage.”