Page 82 of Keepers of the Highland Crown
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“My lady,” Holger muttered out of Callum’s earshot to her while they rode through the next woodland stretch, the pine scent thickening as the horses’ hooves kicked up the needles. “I wished to commend you on your choice of riding alone,” Holger approved. “It would be cruel for you to allow the Scotsman to think, even for a moment, that you favor him above all others.”
“Idofavor him above all others,” she countered, then added, “He feels the same for me, Lord Kolson.”
“Naw.”
“Naw?”
“If he truly cherished you, wished for you by his side in all the times to come, would he not have asked that most important of all questions?” She swallowed hard. “I take it by your silence you know what I refer. Has your dashing gallant knight asked for your hand in marriage?”
“He… he has not.”
“There is your answer, noble he is, right into his very bones.” Holger picked at her emotional weakness like a festering scab. “Perhaps he has realized the discord you and I have spoken about previously regarding your late husband’s sons. The scandal which shall be bequeathed at King Alexander’s court will be immeasurable.”
“If you mean to poison my resolve at staying by his side,” she enlightened in an iron tone, “you will be sorely disappointed. I turned away from him once, Lord Kolson. I have made my decision – never again. If he does not wish to marry me, I shall stay his lover, hidden far away if he asks this of me. The only way I would leave is if he asks me.” She vowed, “I. Will. Not. Turn. Away.”
“Oh, my lady, you say this now, but once reason, not passion, has surfaced, consider the alternative. I am offering you a chance at a fresh beginning.”
“At your side with my instinct in sense, I gather?”
“King Magnus’s kingdom would be honored to have you, my lady.”
“As I am certain you would be enthralled to have a richer light shone upon your deeds of capturing a fresh Scottish gestr to your side,” she countered. “What would Lady Thyra state upon so bold a measure?”
“Ah, I have been waiting for you to mention Lady Thyra.”
Callum pulled Luss up slightly so they were near again when she asked, “Who is Lady Thyra?”
“My wife.”
Callum’s head snapped around. “Northman, you are married,” he growled, “and yet you have been propositioning Nella at every turn?”
“That is what I do, Scotsman,” Holger clipped the reply back. “’Twas an arranged marriage. The lady has all the beautyof a muddied tree stump. Her wits are that of a rock. So, I find pleasure wherever I may. The Lady Fawnella is a most exquisite conquest.”
“Who is directly right here. You truly are repugnant, Lord Kolson,” Nella decried. “At every turn your palm has sought a way up my skirt, yet you fail to mention you are married! Dare I ask have you told any of your previous lovers you’re married?”
“Hell, no,” Holger retorted, “why bother?”
“Weasel.”
“Oh, my lady, ’tis all part of my charm,” he quipped back at her, “a charm we shall be speaking more upon once Sir Sean is seen to.”
Callum’s jaw, which came clearer when they rode closer, clenched.
Did she need to change the subject lest she retch on the Northman? Aye. “Callum, when we happen upon the stables, what shall be the plan to conquer the situation?”
Chapter 42
Holger’s continuous flirtations toward Nella…Forget the Northman. Focus! To focus is to succeed!To succeed will see Nella safe, which was paramount, and then secure the kingdom.
As they neared the stables north of Perth, Callum kept Nella in his side vision. A gentle glow from inside the tavern through the open shutters offered some light but it was still black as pitch with the cusp by dawn upon them. Time! They had made it in time.
“Callum,” Nella murmured as they remained standing near the tethered horses, “after a full chronicle I simply hear those inside the tavern. The stables are quiet.”
His palm sought her cheek while his other took her hand. “You remain here a moment more like we spoke about earlier?” She nodded, and he stared at Holger. “Watch over her in my absence, Northman.”
Holger grinned, an eagerness edging his voice. “For certain, for all time, Scotsman.”
