Chapter Six #2
Beth could feel the muscles in his arms tighten.
“Lady Beth is no’ in her bedclothes, and it ’twould be verra boring for her to lay in her bed.
She is my guest, and therefore, my responsibility.
” Before she could say anything else, he turned to her mam.
“Mayhap once I place yer daughter in her seat, ye may help to get her settled.”
Taking her place again, Lady Chisholm sniffed.
“That’s what comes from lasses no’ behaving like ladies and running around on horses and getting injured.
My Alice rarely rides a horse, ’tis verra unladylike.
” She wasn’t done. “And I find it verra improper for the laird to be carrying a young lass around the keep in her bedclothes, guest or no’. ”
*
Daniel had never wanted to toss a guest from his house more than he did Lady Chisholm. Even if he had been interested enough in Lady Alice to take her as his wife, the thought of having that woman as his mother-in-law would stop him cold.
Lady Munro glared at Lady Chisholm. “I doona think ye need to worry about my daughter, Lady Chisholm. She is a lady in all the ways that matter.”
Daniel stifled his laughter but gave Lady Munro a wink. She smiled back.
He put Beth in a seat as far from Lady Chisholm as possible. Her mam immediately settled her in. He took the seat next to her.
“Ye ken this doesna look good?” Beth said, her voice lowered.
He spoke softly as well. “Ye care what Lady Chisholm says?”
“Nay, but I doona trust the woman. She’s determined to push Lady Alice off on ye, and as much as I doona wish to be considered for yer choice I doona think having Lady Chisholm in yer life would be good.”
He grinned. “Well. ’Twould be easy to keep her out of my life.”
He loved watching her squirm. “Are ye no’ going to ask me why?” he urged.
She shook her head, her cheeks turning red.
He lowered his voice. “I think ye ken.”
She ignored his statement, but shifted in her seat.
Lady Chisholm stared at them; her eyes narrowed.
Daniel had chosen to ignore the woman. He turned to Lady Beth. “Are ye uncomfortable? I can move ye to one of the chairs in front of the hearth and get a pillow for ye to sit on.”
“Nay.”
He glanced at Lady Chisholm who looked as though she was ready to stab Lady Beth with her eating knife.
“I doona want to call any more attention to myself,” she whispered to him, making furtive glances at the woman.
He was just about finished with his meal when Lady Chisholm leaned forward and looked down the dais.
“My Laird, since ye seem to be in charge of ill guests, Lady Alice is feeling a tad lightheaded. Will ye please take her for a walk in the garden so she can get some fresh air?”
He groaned under his breath, but as a good host, he stood. “Of course, I would be pleased to take Lady Alice to the garden.”
Lady Alice looked uncomfortable as he approached her. He got the impression the lass didn’t want him as much as he didn’t want her. Either that or she was extremely shy, which was even worse. He would never want a wife who blushed every time he spoke to her.
But the only way he was going to get rid of her—and her mother—would be to have Beth accept him. He could have the betrothal agreement done with her da already here at the castle, plan the wedding, say their vows, then drag her luscious body into his bed.
He couldn’t wait to run his hands over those very tempting curves, which he’d been admiring since she’d arrived and had the pleasure of feeling as he’d carried her.
The silence between him and Lady Alice as they strolled was growing uncomfortable. Finally he cleared his throat. “What are yer favorite activities, Lady Alice?”
She spoke to her shoes. “I am well-trained in running a keep, I can play the pianoforte. I can sew and deal with servants.”
Her words came out stilted as if she’d been taught to memorize them. There was no doubt in his mind who had pounded the words into her head.
Not exactly what he’d asked, however. “Do ye like to read?”
She shook her head. “Nay. I ne’er learned.”
How would she be expected to run a keep if she never learned to read? He tried another way. “Do ye like to play chess?”
“I ne’er learned how to play chess. My mam says ’tis no’ good for a lass to learn. She says it taxes the brain too much.”
He was growing desperate and decided if he was to get rid of Lady Alice he had to convince Beth to marry him. Were he not interested in her either, he would just go to the elders and tell them to notify the king that neither woman would be a good wife for him, and get his privacy back.
But he wanted Beth. He was determined to have her and cursed the fact that the one woman he wanted didn’t want marriage, and the one he didn’t want had a mother who was pushing her daughter at him.
He could probably seduce Beth since he’d never had trouble with the lasses lifting their skirts for him, but a forced marriage because he’d compromised her was not something he wanted for her. She would despise him for the rest of their lives.
After another ten or fifteen minutes with neither of them speaking, he led Lady Alice back to the keep.
She seemed relieved.
As was he.