Read Online Captured by a Laird by Margaret Mallory - Free Book Online
Authors: Margaret Mallory
Ads: Link
wife.”
***
David pondered his next move as he stomped up and down the courtyard, waiting for his brothers’ arrival. Threatening his future wife yesterday had not been his wisest decision. All it had accomplished was to make her more obstinate and make him feel like shite.
What in the hell was holding his brothers up? He wanted to get this wedding over with. He was not as confident as he led Lady Alison to believe that the Douglases would not arrive in force. Her brothers could have sent a false message for him to intercept in the hope of surprising him. And if the Blackadders learned he was here, they would come with every fighting man in their clan to try to thwart his plan.
Once the contract was signed and the marriage consummated, there was not a damned thing the Douglases or the Blackadders could do about it.
Except kill him.
He could not wait another day to bind the lady to him. The risk was too great. But how was he to accomplish it without holding a blade to the stubborn lass’s throat? He was at ease leading men, confident in his skills and judgment. As for women, they’d always come to him with little effort on his part. When one became troublesome, he moved on to another.
None of his experience helped him know how to persuade a lass to become his wife when she did not want to. He’d given the lady a day to calm down, so perhaps she had thought it through and was prepared to accept him. Whether she was or not, the marriage would take place today.
As he paced across the courtyard again, his attention was diverted by a charred patch of earth. Odd, how it burned in the shape of a rectangle. He was about to ask someone what had caused it when the guards shouted that his brothers were nearing the castle.
A short time later, the gate creaked open, and David was relieved to see Robbie and Will ride in with a guard of twenty Hume warriors. He always felt better having his brothers close by where he could watch over them—and he wanted to get this wedding over and done with.
“I’m marrying Blackadder’s widow today,” David told his brothers as soon as they dismounted. “Come, ye shall meet the lady and her daughters before ye change for the wedding.”
His brothers stood in place with their mouths gaping open like baby birds.
“Ye brought your best clothes, as I ordered?” he asked.
“You’re marrying her?” Robbie asked, his eyebrows almost reaching his hairline. “Why?”
“’Tis all part of the plan,” David said, and waved for them to follow him.
“But isn’t she old?” Robbie asked as the two boys trotted beside him across the courtyard. “Ach, I’ll wager she’s ugly as well.”
“If David wants to wed her,” Will said, “she must be verra pretty—and kind, too.”
She must be kind ? Where in the hell did Will get these notions?
“You’re to be courteous to Lady Alison and her daughters,” he warned his brothers as he charged up the steps. “Don’t behave like ill-bred heathens.”
“We’re not ill-bred heathens,” Robbie said.
“Just pretend your mother is watching,” he said, “and act accordingly.”
David was going to follow his own advice and be goddamned pleasant.
CHAPTER 9
“I hate stitching,” Beatrix said. “Why can’t we leave our chamber?”
“Needlework is an important skill,” Alison said, doing her best to hide her anxiety behind a smile. “And I’ve already told ye that I cannot allow ye to run loose with all the strange men in the castle.”
She was finding it increasingly difficult to divert the girls, and it did not help that she was exhausted after lying awake all night trying to think of a way to escape the castle—and Wedderburn. By dawn, she had come to the conclusion that her only hope was to delay the marriage long enough to be rescued.
“How much longer will the strange men be here?” Beatrix asked, resting a plump cheek on the heel of her hand.
“I don’t know, sweetling,” Alison said. “Not long, I
***
David pondered his next move as he stomped up and down the courtyard, waiting for his brothers’ arrival. Threatening his future wife yesterday had not been his wisest decision. All it had accomplished was to make her more obstinate and make him feel like shite.
What in the hell was holding his brothers up? He wanted to get this wedding over with. He was not as confident as he led Lady Alison to believe that the Douglases would not arrive in force. Her brothers could have sent a false message for him to intercept in the hope of surprising him. And if the Blackadders learned he was here, they would come with every fighting man in their clan to try to thwart his plan.
Once the contract was signed and the marriage consummated, there was not a damned thing the Douglases or the Blackadders could do about it.
Except kill him.
He could not wait another day to bind the lady to him. The risk was too great. But how was he to accomplish it without holding a blade to the stubborn lass’s throat? He was at ease leading men, confident in his skills and judgment. As for women, they’d always come to him with little effort on his part. When one became troublesome, he moved on to another.
None of his experience helped him know how to persuade a lass to become his wife when she did not want to. He’d given the lady a day to calm down, so perhaps she had thought it through and was prepared to accept him. Whether she was or not, the marriage would take place today.
As he paced across the courtyard again, his attention was diverted by a charred patch of earth. Odd, how it burned in the shape of a rectangle. He was about to ask someone what had caused it when the guards shouted that his brothers were nearing the castle.
A short time later, the gate creaked open, and David was relieved to see Robbie and Will ride in with a guard of twenty Hume warriors. He always felt better having his brothers close by where he could watch over them—and he wanted to get this wedding over and done with.
“I’m marrying Blackadder’s widow today,” David told his brothers as soon as they dismounted. “Come, ye shall meet the lady and her daughters before ye change for the wedding.”
His brothers stood in place with their mouths gaping open like baby birds.
“Ye brought your best clothes, as I ordered?” he asked.
“You’re marrying her?” Robbie asked, his eyebrows almost reaching his hairline. “Why?”
“’Tis all part of the plan,” David said, and waved for them to follow him.
“But isn’t she old?” Robbie asked as the two boys trotted beside him across the courtyard. “Ach, I’ll wager she’s ugly as well.”
“If David wants to wed her,” Will said, “she must be verra pretty—and kind, too.”
She must be kind ? Where in the hell did Will get these notions?
“You’re to be courteous to Lady Alison and her daughters,” he warned his brothers as he charged up the steps. “Don’t behave like ill-bred heathens.”
“We’re not ill-bred heathens,” Robbie said.
“Just pretend your mother is watching,” he said, “and act accordingly.”
David was going to follow his own advice and be goddamned pleasant.
CHAPTER 9
“I hate stitching,” Beatrix said. “Why can’t we leave our chamber?”
“Needlework is an important skill,” Alison said, doing her best to hide her anxiety behind a smile. “And I’ve already told ye that I cannot allow ye to run loose with all the strange men in the castle.”
She was finding it increasingly difficult to divert the girls, and it did not help that she was exhausted after lying awake all night trying to think of a way to escape the castle—and Wedderburn. By dawn, she had come to the conclusion that her only hope was to delay the marriage long enough to be rescued.
“How much longer will the strange men be here?” Beatrix asked, resting a plump cheek on the heel of her hand.
“I don’t know, sweetling,” Alison said. “Not long, I
Similar Books
