Chapter 14
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
“Can I meet her now?” Violet asked, leafing through a volume of plans and half-thought-out strategies Leo had been scribbling in for over a year. “Are ye really goin' to bind yerself to a lass and nae let her meet yer family?”
“She’s met some of the family. She’s met Allistair and Effie.”
Violet gasped, overdramatic and mocking. Her hand came to rest against the hollow at the base of her throat.
Leo snorted at the theatrics and shook his head.
“How could ye let her meet him before me?” Violet asked.
“He’s a member of the council, Violet.”
She let out a long sigh that belied her jovial attitude. Not being permitted to sit on the council as the men did was a sore spot for her.
If I had me way, she’d be runnin' the clan with me. I’d tell half those dobbers on the council to piss off.
“I daenae think it matters what Allistair makes of her,” Violet said, tapping a finger on the page she had been reading, “but I ken ye better than most people do. I can tell if she’s a good match.”
“Just leave it be, Violet,” was all Leo could bring himself to say.
Violet turned the book towards him. A plan he never meant to put into action was spelled out in unmistakable black ink: if that smart ass cousin of mine causes one more problem, I’ll hold him down to the bottom of the loch and make sure he stays there.
Leo laughed as he read it to himself, and Violet smirked.
“Ye like me a wee bit more than that, I’d say.” She closed the book and settled into the leather seat, her arms crossed over her chest. “I’m goin' to have to meet her today.”
“I daenae ken why ye are so excited about the matter. She’d been decreed to find a husband or else be forced to marry someone the elders picked.”
Violet kept her arms crossed and narrowed her eyes at her brother. “Well, if it’s such a bother to ye, why did ye agree to it? What difference does it make to ye if she’s sold off to some old miser?”
“I’ve been decreed meself.” Leo reminded her. “We’re defendin' each other from marriage. It was a matter of good timin' that she showed up here.”
“Or fate.”
I cannae hear any of that talk.
The concept of his life being preordained didn’t move him one way or the other, since he simply didn’t believe it was possible.
Moments happened as they happened. Life moved forward, and he kept pace with it.
What unfolded was not written beforehand by anyone or anything, and what he made of it was entirely up to him.
“Leave fate to the saints and the witches.”
“Ye willnae tell me that there’s more to all of this, but I can see that there is,” Violet drawled.
“What ye’re sensing isnae what is real, Violet.”
She rose from the chair and went to the door, her feet shoulder-width apart. It almost made Leo laugh the way she could switch from playful to serious in a heartbeat, in the amount of time it took him to inhale.
“Ye willnae keep anything important from me, right?” she asked.
“Violet, I have nothin' of importance anyway.”
She bobbed her head once as if agreeing, but Leo knew better than that.
She’s nae the sort to give up so easily. I’ll tell Tyler to keep an eye on her.
“I’ll be in the courtyard if ye need me,” she said over her shoulder as she turned the handle. “It doesnae seem like ye will, but if ye do—”
“Violet, stop,” Leo barked.
“Stop? What do ye mean by that?”
“Daenae bother Beatrice. Daenae stalk her.”
“Ye’re getting paranoid, Brother,” Violet answered, the corner of her mouth quirking up. “I’m nae doin' anythin' wrong. Just goin' to get some fresh air.”
Beatrice couldn’t bring herself to venture into any of the places where she felt too exposed. The garden and the courtyard had become realms where Leo could find her with ease, turn her stomach and knees into jelly, then leave her to attend to his duties.
If I’m to avoid being rattled by him, I need to find a place where I can be alone.
Her chambers were out of the question. Too many people coming and going, keeping her under a patrol that attempted to be nonchalant.
Even Effie had become an unwitting part of it, since her insistence on being with Beatrice made it hard for Beatrice to disappear into her chambers alone and stay there undisturbed.
But for Effie, I’ll allow it.
It wasn’t Effie she was thinking of at the moment. Her mind raced exclusively with snippets and fragments of Leo, how effortless it was for her to melt in his hands. The very appearance of him rattled the stable world under her feet, and she was helpless without him having to do anything.
After a few minutes of searching, Beatrice came across a wood-paneled room she had never seen before. The tall windows around the upper flank let in the pearly light, holding the mist in its very rays. Below all of that was dark polish and rows upon rows of bookshelves.
This must be the library.
She ran the tips of her fingers over the spines of the books, all lined up like leather-bound soldiers.
That thought only made her envision Leo in the midst of training with his men, so in an attempt to put him out of her mind, she grabbed the thickest book she could find and searched for a quiet corner to tuck herself away.
There were noises and creaks in the cavernous room that she tried to ignore as she read. She had the distinct feeling that someone was creeping around, maybe trying to sneak up on her. Maybe Effie playing a game or Shona looking for her and not wanting to disturb her.
Beatrice closed the book, rose from her seat, and moved on tiptoes towards the latest sound, giddiness blooming in her stomach.
I’ll catch Effie right before she jumps out. She’ll love that her plan was foiled and hate it at the same time.
It would be a game, a silly diversion. Beatrice sank lower in her stance as she approached the row of books where she was positive Effie was lying in wait for her, then sprang around the corner with a wild shout.
“Bah!”
Staring back at her with an amused expression on her face was a tall woman sporting the same hair and eyes as Leo. She pressed a finger to her lips as if trying to suppress a laugh.
“Aye, but ye’re a playful one,” she quipped. “I didnae mean to startle ye. Glad to see I couldnae sneak up on ye.”
“I-I thought ye were Effie,” Beatrice stammered, color rising in her cheeks.
Goodness, what a fool I’ve made of meself.
The woman shook her head. One of her hands was still resting on the bookshelf next to her, as if she were steadying herself. Her stance was too powerful to have been knocked over by the likes of Beatrice acting silly. Beatrice could see that.
“I wanted to meet ye,” the woman admitted. She gestured to the corner where Beatrice had been sitting. “Please, let’s sit down.”
“Meet me?” Beatrice asked as they settled in.
“Aye. Leo has been quite secretive about ye.” The woman tapped her chest. “I’m Violet, his sister.”
“Leo has a sister?”
“Indeed, and I am that sister.”
Beatrice wrung her hands in her lap. She hadn’t known about Effie, and she hadn’t known about Violet. Too often, she had been left completely in the dark, only to be yanked aggressively into the light when she least expected it.
“Ye’re probably curious to ken how I became engaged to yer brother,” Beatrice said.
“Oh, I ken all about Leo already. I daenae need to hear any more about him.” Violet laughed. Beatrice was unsure if it was a joke. “How do ye find MacSween Castle so far?”
“It’s… very big.”
Violet nodded. “Aye, that it is. And cold too. But I suppose we are used to that.”
“Me family’s manor is a bit warmer.”
“What’s yer family name, Beatrice?”
Beatrice paused before answering.
How bad is me father’s reputation? Does she ken how much he has cost us?
“Whitmore,” she replied, after a beat. “Me father’s Patrick Whitmore.”
Violet’s smile did not waver.
Beatrice was waiting for an interrogation to start, a million questions about what Violet might see as an odd and sudden arrangement, but there was very little said about the betrothal.
It’s like she just wants to get to ken me. Who I am and where I’ve come from.
“Well, if ye ask me,” Violet said lightly, “ye are much too bonnie and sweet for the likes of me brother. But nobody ever asks me.”
Beatrice let out a laugh and then sighed. “Yer brother has… his own charm.” That made Violet laugh. “But Effie’s just adorable.”
“Aye, she is.” Violet rose from her seat, still smiling beatifically. “Glad I sought ye out, Bea. I’m happy to see ye betrothed to me brother. Even if ye’re lovely and he’s a bit of a bampot.”
She left Beatrice alone in the misted light of the library.
Beatrice did her best to return to her reading, but now her mind was a jumble of images and phrases too distracting to parse through to do anything else.
She closed the book, brought her knees to her chest, and let her mind wander.