Lyon's Gift (19 page)

“
I’ll not wed her,” Lyon answered
quietly, but tersely, and Meghan wasn’t certain who she was more
incensed for—herself, or Alison! Did no man know to look behind a
silly face!

“
The poor lass appeared as though
she might cry did I simply breathe upon her,” Lyon said by way of
explanation. “I cannot wed a girl who will not have me.”

There was an immediate soberness between them as
they stared at each other, seeming to be sparring without
words.

David’s expression was an unreadable mask but for
his eyes, which flashed forbiddingly.

“
Do you recall,” Lyon said, “what
you once claimed you would give to me upon a silver
plate?”

David turned away, his jaw tautening. “I do,” he
replied.

Lyon’s expression was every bit as firm. “This is
not the way.”

Meghan watched the two, considering their curious
exchange. By the expression upon David’s face it became quite
apparent that Lyon would hold his ground, that David would
relent.

What hold did Lyon have over this man?

It was also apparent by the look in David’s eyes
that he was unused to being opposed, and yet she knew instinctively
he would yield.

“
If you will not, you will not,”
David relented, “though I cannot and will not condone a marriage
without consent. Christ, Lyon, but you have not even her brothers’
blessings in this!”

Meghan held her breath.

“
I will have hers,” Lyon assured
him.

Meghan inhaled a breath. “Nay, you will not!” she
swore, enraged by his arrogance.

David peered at her then, looking suddenly annoyed
with her presence. Well! Meghan didn’t care! This was her life! And
she was certainly not going to stand idly by while two strangers
decided her fate!

He returned his gaze to Lyon and yielded, “Are you
so certain of this, Lyon?”

Lyon smiled. “What do you think, David?” He lifted a
brow.

In answer, David arched a brow as well. “I think if
anyone can, you certainly may, but if you do not gain consent, I
cannot, as I said, condone it.”

Meghan could scarcely believe they were bartering
the matter of her life right before her so arrogantly!

“
Very well,” David said, “I can
give you a fortnight to convince her, after which you must agree to
release her if she remains opposed.”

Lyon was silent, unresponsive, and Meghan, knowing
this was the best she was going to get from David of Scotia, lifted
her chin and challenged Lyon, “Unless you are not so certain of
your bluidy self, after all?”

Lyon met her gaze and his lips curved softly, his
uncanny blue eyes flashing with seductive interest.

“
I will agree if you will agree,”
she boldly invited him.

He turned abruptly to David, looking suddenly quite
satisfied with the arrangement. A quiver raced down Meghan’s spine.
Recalling the way he had left her upon his bed, ready to yield to
him for want of a simple kiss, she wondered whether she had somehow
made a mistake in challenging him so.

“
You were ever the negotiator,” he
said to David.

David gave him a look that told Meghan he was hardly
feeling a victor in this settlement.

“
Fair enough,” Lyon said. “I shall
agree to a fortnight, after which, if she does not agree to be my
bride...” He peered at Meghan, and his smoldering blue eyes stole
her breath. “I shall personally escort her home.”

“
Very well!” David announced, and
Meghan had the immediate impression she had made a terrible
mistake. Something in Lyon’s expression told her she had lost
already. And somehow, she got the feeling she’d played directly
into his hands.

The image of him as he’d appeared standing in the
doorway last night accosted her then, and her heart began to pound
traitorously, thundering in her ears.

Wasn’t it enough she had to vie with Lyon
Montgomerie? Was she going to have to battle her own treacherous
body, as well?

She had never thought herself so susceptible to the
wiles of any man, but there was little use in denying the way this
one made her feel—despite that she knew him to be as shallow-minded
as the rest of his gender!

Well! She hadn’t lost as yet! she reminded herself.
And she wasn’t very good at losing, besides! Lyon Montgomerie might
win after all, Meghan resolved, but she was going to make certain
he looked thrice at his bloody rotten prize!

It probably wasn’t the wisest thing Alison had ever
done, but she had to speak with Leith. She had to tell him how much
she appreciated what he was willing to sacrifice for her sake, but
she had begun to feel the weight of her conscience ever since he’d
taken his leave the other night. She knew he couldn’t possibly love
her, and she couldn’t allow him to surrender his own chance for
happiness with some other woman of his choice.

She found him in the courtyard with both Colin and
Gavin, their heads together in solemn discussion. Gavin and Colin
had evidently only just returned from yet another search, for Gavin
still held the reins of his mount firmly within his hand. Colin had
abandoned his own mount entirely, and it stood dutifully by, as
Colin listened to whatever it was Leith was saying to him. Her
heart twisted a little at the sight of him, but she told herself
she was a fool. He had never shown her the least regard! Why should
she care so much for a man who refused even to look her in the
eyes?

Alison had to know, too, whether they had word of
Meghan, as she was tormented with worry for her friend’s sake. She
couldn’t bear the wait any longer; she had to know.

And yet, she waited still, unable to face Colin.

When both Gavin and Colin had taken their leave, and
Leith turned to go as well, she ran after him, calling his
name.

He turned to face her at once, his brows lifting in
surprise. “Alison!” He reached out and seized her hand when it
seemed she would stumble into his arms.

“
Och! Forgive me for intruding!”
she beseeched him a bit breathlessly. “But I had to know! I had to
know of Meghan! Please dinna be angry with me for coming yet
again!”

“
Dinna be silly!” Leith said. “I
understand, Alison!” And he seemed genuinely pleased to see
her.

Alison clutched his arm hopefully. “Is there
news?”

He shook his head. “None at all, I am afraid.”

Alison frowned. “I am so worried!”

“
So are we, lass, so are we. But
dinna ye fret. We will find her soon.”

“
I do hope,” she said, and took a
deep breath. “Leith,” she began, peering up at him bravely. “I also
came for another reason.”

His brows lifted. “What is it, Alison?” he said with
a look of concern.

Alison suddenly could not find the words to speak.
“I... I... wished to say... well, you see,” she stammered, “I feel
a bit that you were forced to ask my father... ”

He clasped her hands gently, seeming to understand
what she was trying to say. “Alison sweeting, I was not forced to
do anything at all, dinna ye see?”

Alison shook her head. “I cannot believe you would
wish to wed with me,” she told him. “I know that you feel sorry for
me, and I wanted you to know that I will not be crushed if you
dinna wish to take me as your wife. I do not need a man to feel
sorry for me, and I dinna wish to make you unhappy.”

He smiled down at her. “Look at me, Alison
MacLean... Does the prospect of wedding you seem to distress
me?”

“
Well, nay, but—”

“
Nay, but naught,” he said,
hushing her. “Come with me a moment.” And then he drew her aside
for privacy behind a horse and cart. “Will you do me a favor?” he
asked her.

Alison nodded, so grateful to him that she would
have fallen at his feet and kissed them with her lips.

“
Listen to me with your heart just
now, Alison,” he said, and then drew her into his arms.

Alison gasped in surprise. Her heart began to hammer
within her breast as he turned her face up to his and bent to touch
his lips to her own.

She felt dizzy with shock as he kissed her sweetly,
gently upon the mouth—just a tender kiss, but it was the first kiss
Alison had ever had in her entire life.

No man had ever, ever done such a thing to her.

No man had ever even expressed the desire to do
so.

It confused her, startled her so that she merely
stared up at him in bewilderment as he lifted his face to peer down
at her. She blinked in surprise.

“
Did you hear that?” he asked her,
his voice tender.

Alison could not find her voice to speak, nor did
she find the will even to nod.

“
Listen to me, and listen to me
well, Alison MacLean,” Leith told her with certainty. “I want you
to go home now,” he directed her, “and think on what I have just
said to you with my heart. Think about what you desire. Consider
carefully whether you would have me as your mon. My offer stands as
it was made, but I dinna wish to force you, either, lass. Go home,
then, and think of this, and decide, and if you will have me as
your husband, because I would be honored to take you as my
bride.”

Alison shook her head and opened her mouth to
speak.

“
Shhh,” he bade her. “Dinna say a
word until you have passed the night in thought. Do me the favor of
that. Will you?”

Taking in a breath, before she should swoon at his
feet with the shock of it all, she nodded.

“
Good, then,” he said, and drew
her out from behind the cart into open view once more.

He had to drag her out behind him because she would
have remained there, so shocked was she by what he had said and
done. She placed her fingers in bewilderment to her lips.

The messenger came as she stood there staring up at
Leith Mac Brodie in bewilderment. Alison was scarcely aware of him,
even, for he handed the missive to Leith and practically turned and
fled whilst she stood there contemplating what had only just
happened between them.

Leith broke the seal, and stared at the parchment.
He turned it sideways, and then his face colored a bit. “Alison,”
he said. “Gavin is not here, and I cannot read this. Will you do me
the honor?”

Alison nodded, taking the parchment from his hands
at once. She gazed at the paper without seeing the words for an
instant, and then blinked and read.

“
Lyon Montgomerie has her,” she
said, stunned. “He has Meghan.”

“
The hell you say!” he thundered,
and tore the parchment from her hands.

She peered up at him, blinking. “It says only that
he holds her in custody for the charge of thievery!”

Behind the protective barrier of rails, Meghan stood
looking down upon Lyon’s hall.

Her vantage point along the tiny open corridor
offered her a clear view of all who came and went, and she needed
only step back into the shadows if Lyon entered the hall below.
Neither did she fear anyone would come upon her here, as only
Lyon’s room could be accessed by the corridor, and no one seemed to
dare climb his stairs, so Megan was able to observe her gaolers and
make a plan.

The hall was empty now but for a few laggards who
seemed disinclined to work whilst their master’s eyes were not upon
them.

King David had remained rather than continue along
his journey to Edinburgh, and he and Lyon had closeted themselves
to discuss matters of consequence. She wondered what those topics
might be, as David’s visits to the Highlands were rare. She was
certain, however, their discussion did not concern her, as it was
clear that her situation had been addressed and decided upon.

And she was hardly pleased with the outcome.

Yet neither could she argue it, as she had agreed to
his bloody bargain, and to admit she had been outwitted only made
her feel foolish.

Nay, she wanted to make him regret his
shallow-minded covetousness!

More than that, she needed to go home.

The only way she knew that Lyon had come to his bed
at all last night was because she’d awakened to his warmth upon the
bed beside her. His body was gone, but his scent had remained, and
Meghan, her heart pounding fiercely, had dared to turn over upon
the warm sheets, embracing it. It was a brazen thing to do, but
Meghan, having slept within his bed for the second night in a row,
was having the most peculiar thoughts.

She couldn’t seem to eradicate him from her
brain—not that it was at all possible in her situation, she
realized. How could she when she was occupying his chamber,
contemplating wedding with him for the sake of her kinsmen, and
reading his most personal thoughts?

She was really growing quite desperate.

Studying the hall, she noticed for the first time
that it bore a similar ceiling to the one Gavin had had constructed
within their chapel. Only this one was older and not domed. It was
flat, as there were rooms above the enormous hall, but it was
braced along the walls with the same sort of beams that supported
the ceiling of the chapel.

The same sort from which that silly raven had peered
down at her.

She had felt so helpless to reach it.

Meghan stared at the beam closest to her, the
craziest notion entering her head, and then she peered down at the
hall below.

One would have to be truly mad to perch oneself upon
such a place on high, she thought, and noted the placement of the
nearest beam...

If she could but reach it—and she thought she
could—she could pull herself up onto it...

The thought of him looking up at her from below
brought a cunning smile to her face. Well, perhaps she could
convince him that she was mad after all. Determining that it was
worthy of the effort, and certain she could see her grandmother
doing the very same thing, Meghan went to the far end of the rail
and reached out, trying to touch the beam. Stretching, stretching,
she lifted herself up on tiptoes and giggled with mischievous
delight when she was able to wrap her fingers about the board.