Chapter Twenty
Torrian
Chapter Six
Brenna is the voice of reason during difficult times…
At the end of the night, Torrian made his way back through the courtyard at a slow pace, made slower by his desire not to run into Davina again.
It was late, but he hadn’t been able to sleep so searched out his friend.
He and Kyle had spoken at great length about his betrothal, and his mind was no more settled than it had been before.
The woman seemed to be everywhere, and Torrian wanted naught more to do with her.
He opened the door to the keep as softly as possible, closing it just as carefully so he could creep up the stairs without being seen.
He’d walked outside for quite a while, hoping to clear his mind and think about his options logically and methodically, leaving his emotions aside, if that were possible. He had no answers, other than his heart leaned toward another.
His father and Uncle Logan had not given up on the idea of the marriage, though they both accepted that the Buchans and MacNivens needed to be watched.
The three of them had discussed the possibility that their hosts were planning something other—and much darker—than a wedding, but there was little evidence.
They would need to be patient to ferret out the goals of the Buchan and his followers.
So the charade continued, much to Torrian’s dissatisfaction.
It gave him a headache the likes of which he had never experienced before.
Uncle Logan and Brenna had been strategizing and analyzing ever since they’d arrived, keeping his sire busy. His father had not asked him once how he felt, and considered it part of his duty to continue on.
He wanted naught more than to tell his father exactly how he felt.
But to do that, he would risk losing his father’s respect, something he had dreaded his entire life.
He moved down the passageway to his chamber, not running into anyone, thankfully.
He grabbed the torch from the bracket outside of his door to light the one just inside it, but when he pushed his way in, he was surprised to see the room was already illuminated by torchlight.
There on the bed, wearing naught but a smile, lay Davina of Buchan. Torrian froze—from shock rather than temptation—and then acted swiftly.
“You will not entrap me this way, my lady.” He stepped back into the corridor, closed the door behind him, and headed straight to his sire’s room. Once there, he rapped harshly on the old wooden door.
The door flew open and Brenna stood there with a surprised look. “Torrian? Is something wrong?”
“May I come in?” When it took her a moment to respond, he added, “Please, Brenna. I must come in.” She could not know how much he needed to get away from the madness of the Buchan keep.
Brenna stood aside and said, “Of course.”
He left his torch in a holder by the door and stepped into the room, closing the door behind him.
His father sat in one of the chairs arranged by the hearth. “What is it, son?”
“You look as though you’ve just encountered a ghost,” Brenna added. “Sit, Torrian, before you collapse. You’re terribly pale.”
Torrian sat in a chair near his father, leaned his elbows onto his knees, and allowed his head to fall into his hands.
“Torrian?” Quade asked. “What is it?”
After a long pause, he lifted his gaze to his sire, saw his concern, and spoke. “She’s trying to entrap me.”
“What? Please be more specific. Who?” Quade glanced from Torrian to Brenna, and back again.
What stood out most to Torrian was not the shock or disbelief on his sire’s face, but the knowing look his stepmother now wore.
Torrian turned back to face his father. “I went for a walk alone, to consider what is best for me. I returned to my room to find Davina lying on my bed without a stitch of clothing.”
His father stared at him in disbelief.
Brenna asked, “And what was your response?” Brenna seemed quite calm, as though he’d told her something she’d known for years.
“I closed the door and came here.”
“Did you say aught to her?”
“Aye, I told her she would not entrap me.”
“Did she respond?” Brenna asked. His sire just continued to stare at him in apparent disbelief.
“Nay. I left. I was afraid to stay. What if someone else had come along? Had her sire found me in that position, I would have been forced to marry her.”
His father finally spoke. “Are you telling me that Davina of Buchan was lying nude on your bed, as if waiting for you?”
“Aye. Da, ‘tis the truth. I would not lie about such a thing.”
“I can hardly believe it. She does not seem mischievous to me.”
“Conniving is the word I would use, husband, and you need to take this verra seriously. This one move shows me she wishes to become Torrian’s wife at any cost.” Brenna started to pace the room as she spoke.
“Had I not walked away, I could have been forced to marry her before we leave.” The thought sent a thrill of fear through him. He could not imagine spending his life joined in a marriage to such a woman.
“Torrian,” Brenna said in a calm voice he knew all too well, “you must consider the possibility that she will lie and say it happened whether it did or not.”
Quade bolted out of his chair. “You’re suggesting she’d lie about it just to entrap my son?”
“Aye, I am. You must consider the possibility, and I think we need to decide what we shall say if she does try to accuse him of impropriety.” Brenna stared Quade in the eye as she spoke. “That tells me we need to leave on the morrow before she has the opportunity to plan something more devious.”
“You think she will? You think she would dare to carry out such an atrocity?” His father limped a little due to his sore knee, but it did not stop him from pacing.
“Aye, I do. If she’s capable of trying to seduce him, she is capable of much, much more.
We need to minimize the target by removing him.
The two have met. Either send him home or stay fast by his side.
That lass has plans for your son, and we cannot allow her to run his life or ruin it, as the case may be.
” She tilted her head to await her husband’s response, but then added, “And you need more salve on your knee.”
Torrian’s misgivings blossomed into frightening possibilities. “I’m not sleeping in there tonight. I’ll stay on the floor in here. What if she returns and brings a witness? I do not wish to become the victim of her craftiness.”
“We’ll not run away. ‘Twould be rude. If we go, I’ll tell the Buchan why.” Quade addressed both of them, one hand on his hip and the other stroking his jaw.
“Husband, I would not advise anyone of our plans. If everyone knows when we are leaving, you may force the lass to act quickly. We must not give her the chance.”
“You have a good point, Brenna. Sleep in here tonight, Torrian, and we’ll leave at first light.
I wished to speak with you before we left, so this will give us a moment to discuss your thoughts on the betrothal.
Glenn of Buchan wishes the match to go forward, and until this moment, I saw no reason to deny him.
But, after the discussions I’ve had with your uncle, I worry about this.
If this is her plan, then she is not the lass for you, nor would I welcome her into the clan.
However, we must deal with our king. I’m afraid he will still support the marriage.
‘Struth is any trouble by the Buchans may make the match more desirable. Alexander is keen on the idea that this marriage will allow us to maintain a modicum of control. What were your thoughts before this happened?”
Quade returned to his seat by the fire and waited for Torrian’s response. He thought of many different answers he might make, but he expected most of them would bring disappointment into his father’s gaze. He decided to plunge forward.
“Da, I do not think our personalities are a good match. Davina is lovely, but she is a forward lass, the verra opposite of my own nature.”
Quade said, “You make a fine-looking couple. She will give you handsome bairns, and a strong-willed woman is preferable to one with a weak, shy personality. Someday, you’ll be chieftain, and your wife must be able to run the keep should you leave for battle or head to court.
She must be strong and independent. Those were my thoughts before this new development. ”
“I will not disagree with you, Da, but I still do not think we suit. The thought of living with such a deceitful lass does not settle well with me. What kind of life could we have together if I had to question all she did, all she said?”
Quade ran his hands through his hair, still thick after many years.
“I cannot argue with your reasoning, Torrian.
You realize the king may decree this match.
If so, it could be considered treason to refuse, or at the verra least, a cause for the Buchans to attack us to retain their dignity.
‘Tis an embarrassment to refuse a betrothal ordered by the king.”
“I would like to speak to our king before I agree.”
“I wish to speak with our king as much as you do, but he is not here. And despite how you feel today, you must not refuse Davina on the morrow before we leave. The Buchan talks as if the king has promised him that this marriage will happen. If you sever the connection now, you could bring repercussions down on me and the rest of your clan. After all we’ve seen and heard, mayhap the king does need our help to maintain peace.
Your uncle believes the king may order the marriage in an attempt to control these clans, although I am not convinced it will work as he wishes.
Logan believes this to be the case, and he finds conditions here less than favorable. ”
Torrian wrung his hands as the words settled on him. Marry her or anger their king, cause embarrassment to his clan. In other words, he had no choice in the matter.