Chapter 13
13
A few days later, Ian and his group arrived at the keep, Ian dismounted to embrace his sister, who was waiting for him. “Tis good tae see ye,” she stated, hugging him tightly. “I’m glad ye are back.”
“Mah tae,” he stated, releasing her so that Stephan could embrace her next. Ian glanced at the stables but made no move to approach them due to the time of the evening they had arrived. Their journey had been waylaid by rain, making the last few days pure misery. He longed for a warm bath and some whiskey to warm up his cold insides before he saw Ida again.
“Ian?”
Ian snapped his gaze back to his sister and she arched a brow. “I was asking if ye wanted tae come inside.”
“Aye,” he answered quickly, his cheeks heating that he had been caught.
She shook her head but motioned for them to come inside, where she showed them into a study. Iris pointed at the glasses already on the sideboard. “There’s whiskey there and I can get ale if needed.”
“Tis enough right now,” Ian answered, picking up a cup. Stephan and Remy did as well, all taking several sips before they started again. Ian was glad to see that Dalziel had chosen to get their men settled in and not join in on the group, wanting to keep his plans quiet for now. “I think I am going tae ask Ida tae be mah wife,” he said after a few moments of silence.
“Well,” Iris replied, her expression not surprised. “Why?”
Ian swallowed, not sure how to answer his sister. He couldn’t very well tell her that Ida had been on his mind since he had ridden away the first time or that he admired her greatly. “Tis a political advantage,” he lied, ignoring the odd looks from his brother and his closest friend. “She’s the niece of the laird. If I can have her accept my proposal, he will be forced to consider the alliance or put her in danger.”
“And it has nothing tae do with the feelings ye have for her?” Iris asked, surprise in her eyes. “I thought that.”
“Tis the right answer,” Ian cut her off, not wishing to discuss his feelings with a room full of people that knew him all too well. “She will make a fine wife.” He knew in his heart that she was the one for him. All he had to do was get her to see the same thing and then he could walk away with a wife and the alliance in hand.
Ida was a sensible lass. She would see his point of view as well and perhaps, in time, they could stoke the affection between them, maybe even find the same sort of relationship that his sister had right now.
Everything seemed to be going in the right direction for him now.
The next morning, Ian stepped into the stables. The rain outside drummed along the roof, puddling on the floor in some places, but did nothing to damper the warmth he felt the moment he stepped into the stables. There was a calm about the air, one that made the tension in his shoulders ease. Ian spied Ida in the stall at the end of the stables and made his way over to her, watching her work. He had missed her greatly in the two months that they were apart and it hadn’t been that apparent to him until now. “Ida.”
She jumped and spun around, her eyes widening as she saw him. “Ian?”
“Aye lass,” he said, feeling a bit nervous around her. When he had left her last time, he had made some promises to her and this time he intended to keep them. “Are ye well?”
She straightened her shoulders and lifted her chin. “Aye. Are ye? Took ye long enough tae come back.”
Ian grinned, glad that she was straight to the point. “I had some issues tae deal with when I got back home that took mah attention for longer than I cared tae.”
Ida sniffed, crossing her arms over her chest. “And yer back now for wot?”
“Ye know wot,” Ian chided her softly. “I told ye mah time with yer laird isna done.”
“Tis good tae hear then,” Ida replied.
The silence grew between them before Ian cleared his throat. “I wish tae speak tae ye aboot something Ida.”
“Oh?” she asked, arching a brow. “Wot do I look like tae ye Ian? Do I look like yer advisor?”
He was hoping that she would be more by the end of the day. “Nay not that. Something else.” He knew she was angry at him for being gone for so long but he couldn’t help his absence. “Will ye ride with mah when the rains stop?” That would give him enough time to gather his thoughts for right now he felt as if they were scattered around her.
She cocked her head to the side, a grin playing on her lips. “Do ye think that ye will melt in the rain, Ian Wallace?”
She wanted to ride now? Of course, he could ride in the rain. He had done it for much of his journey here already. “The question is,” he told her. “Are ye comfortable with the rain lass?”
Her smile was full now and it took Ian’s breath away. “Let mah get mah horse readied.”
It wasn’t long before they were both on the backs of their horses, racing across the moors in the light rain. Ian allowed Ida to lead, for she knew the land better than he did, and found himself enjoying the hard ride. He wasn’t going to go wrong by picking her as his wife. Any lass that rode like the hell hounds were chasing her was one that he could enjoy his life with.
So he rode alongside her, racing her at times and seeing Ida’s smile widen when she edged him with her horse. By the time they made it to a thick grove of trees that would shield the rain, Ian was smiling and Ida was laughing. “Well done Ian,” she said cheekily, sliding off her horse and tethering it to a low-hanging branch. “Ye ride well.”
“I should, given I’ve spent most of mah life on the back of one,” he replied, doing the same with his horse before patting its wet neck. “Mah da made certain that we could hold our own on a horse.”
“Then I would say that he taught ye well,” she admitted, leaning against the tree. She was soaked to the bone, but Ian didn’t see a trace of worry about it on her face. It was almost as if she enjoyed her hair plastered to her forehead or the heaviness of her dress now that it was rain-soaked.
Ian closed the gap between them, hearing her sharp intake of breath the closer he got. “Wot is it lass?” he asked softly, resting his hand on the trunk above her head. “Do I make ye nervous?”
“Ye should,” she breathed. “Ye are mah enemy.”
“I’m no more an enemy than yer horse is lass.”
“I know,” she said, warming his insides. “I donna care that ye are a Wallace. Ye donna act like one.”
He chuckled, reaching down to touch her cheek with his fingers. “I missed ye, Ida MacGregor.”
“Ye missed mah?”
Ian nodded, hoping that she couldn’t see how much written on his face. She was the only one that understood his plight, the only one that had given him more than one piece of sound advice. He longed to tell her everything he had been up against in his absence, knowing she would listen with both ears open.
“Well I had nary a second tae miss ye,” she sniffed.
“I donna know if I believe ye lass,” Ian murmured, lowering his head. He had to kiss her. He had thought about kissing her, wishing he had before he left to get him through the months they had been apart.
He wasn’t going to make the same mistake this time.
“Wait,” Ida said, pressing her hand to his wet tunic and stopping Ian from any further thought. “Ye needed tae speak with mah aboot something?”
Oh. The entire reason he was here with her to begin with. Ian didn’t step back, wanting to make certain she heard his words over the pounding of the rain. “Aye, I do.” His throat was suddenly tight, his heart pounding away in his ears and Ian was nervous, far more nervous than he had been ever in his life. “I want tae wed ye lass.”
Her lips parted. “Wot?”
“Tis something I have been thinking aboot since we parted ways,” he rushed out, wanting her to understand where he was coming from. “Ye are a MacGregor, the niece of the laird. Tis makes perfect sense for ye tae wed mah and help mah build this alliance.” With her by his side, Ian didn’t stand the chance of losing again. He didn’t know what sort of relationship she had with her uncle, but she was blood and that was enough.
Something crossed Ida’s eyes before she blinked rapidly. “Ye wish tae wed mah for the alliance?”
“I know it sounds odd,” he continued. “But we both want the same thing for our clans. We will be stronger together than apart.” She could convince her clan to see that he wasn’t out to destroy them any longer and they could start to work on peace.
It was what both clans needed. “I can give ye a life of comfort Ida. If, if ye wish for yer uncle tae join us, I will see that it happens.” He knew that she was protective of the old man and he wasn’t about to separate them.
“I, I see,” Ida said, ducking under his arm and putting some distance between them. “Ye came all that way tae tell mah that?”
Ian frowned at her response. He thought that she would jump at the chance of peace for both of their clans. Did she, did she not like him? He thought they had found some common ground between them, that she could see past what clan he belonged in, that it didn’t matter to her.
Had he read her all wrong? “Partly aye,” he admitted slowly. “I have also requested another meeting with Laird MacGregor as well. I willna leave until an alliance is signed.”
She bit her lower lip and Ian felt a small stirring of unease at her sudden need to get away from him. “I… we should go back,” she finally said. “The rain. Tis coming down harder and the moors can be difficult tae maneuver in the dark.”
It wasn’t what Ian had hoped to hear from her lips. He had imagined the moment when she would agree to be his wife and they would have their first kiss. Ian had longed for the taste of her lips against his.
Yet she was fumbling with her saddle, swinging her leg upward and seating herself on top of her horse, clearly impatient to get back to the stables.
What had he done wrong? What had he said that had her reacting in such a manner?
The questions swirled around him as he climbed onto his horse, following Ida out of the grove of trees and back into the driving rain. This time there was no racing between us, both falling silent as they made their way back to the keep, which could be barely seen in the sheets of rain that fell around them. Ian tried and failed to find the words to bring it up again, instead falling into a brooding silence himself.
Whatever he had done, Ian knew he had to fix it and fast or he might have just lost the one person that believed in him above all else.