Page 42 of A Laird and a Gentleman

We reap what we sow. The words filled Cameron’s mind for a heartbeat before the king broke into his thoughts.

“Now for an even more difficult conversation,” the king said thinly though his words were perfectly clear. “Is Mariam Swinton a witch?”

Behind him, Cameron could feel the sudden tension in his men. From the corner of his eye, he saw Peter Mason’s face pale, but the man remained quiet. Lifting his chin, Cameron met the king’s concerned gaze with nothing but confidence. “Your Grace, you trust me to protect your life, and I have done so willingly. I would ask now that you also trust me when I say Mariam is no witch. The woman simply has an affinity with animals. It is my opinion that they sense in her all that she has suffered at the hands of her father and somehow know she needs their comfort.”

The king’s lips tightened. “’Tis most unusual.”

“But not unheard of. You said so yourself ‘it is an unlearned man who never deviates from his position when new evidence is presented.’”

King James’s gaze narrowed and his face darkened. “Using my own words against me, are you?”

“Wise words should be repeated.”

The king’s features knitted as he considered what Cameron had said, until finally his expression cleared. “Then I shall trust your opinion in this matter. However, if anything else comes to my attention—any other strange stories start circulating through the shires—I will have no other recourse but to act.”

“Agreed,” Cameron said with a bow.

The king released a heavy sigh. “Though I still need to marry the girl off to someone who will be able to handle her. She is, after all, a Swinton.”

Cameron held his tongue at the barb. There was a time when Cameron had thought the same thing, but no longer. She was simply Mariam. Her surname no longer held the power to dissuade him from his current course of action. “About that situation, Your Grace, would you consider me to take on the role as both her protector and her husband?”

The king’s eyes went wide. “You would take her? She has no dowry to speak of and she will always bear the mark of her surname.”

Cameron kept his features bland. He couldn’t let the king know just how much he wanted the woman. If the king knew, he would exact some other token, not from Mariam, but from Cameron for the arrangement. But if the king assumed marriage to Mariam would be a sacrifice on Cameron’s part, the negotiations would be over quickly. “I will take her with nothing, Your Grace. And she will soon take my name as her own. Time will take care of the rest in the memories of those who once knew her as a Swinton.”

The king hesitated, then finally nodded. “So be it. The woman is yours. I’ll have the marriage contract written up tomorrow.”

Cameron opened his mouth to object, then said, “Thank you, Your Grace.” He didn’t want to wait to return to Ravenscraig, but he also knew he could not push the king much further, especially with one last request to make. “I have one other favor to ask you. ’Tis not for myself, but for this young man.” Cameron motioned Peter Mason forward. “He seeks a bride for himself. A young woman who might be in need of his aid and protection. He seeks no dowry, as his estate is flourishing. Do you have any thoughts on this matter?”

The king brightened. “As a matter of fact, I do.”

The king signaled to one of his guards to come forward. “Tell Lorraine Davies to attend me immediately. She is presently with the queen and her ladies-in-waiting in the garden.”

When the guard left, the king returned his gaze to Peter. “Lorraine is a pleasant enough young woman to look upon. She is of genteel birth, but was recently orphaned, with no family to take her.”

“I will take her,” Peter said, standing proudly before the king with his head high and his shoulders back.

The king’s brows knit. “Sight unseen?”

Peter nodded enthusiastically. “How did she come to be orphaned, if I might ask?”

“Her father was killed by a falling tree and her mother accused, tried, and hanged for using witchcraft to make the tree fall and kill the man,” the king explained.

At that moment, a young woman with sandy-blonde hair entered the room and curtsied deeply before the king. “Thank you for coming, Lorraine. I am pleased to introduce you to your bridegroom, Peter Mason.”

Bliss-filled smiles lit Peter and his young fiancée’s face as Cameron and his men left them both at the king’s side. Mason and Lorraine would be happy with each other for no other reason than that they needed each other so desperately.

*

The next morning after the betrothal papers were signed, Cameron and his men headed back to Ravenscraig, leaving John Swinton behind in the king’s dungeon. What would Mariam think about such an action? The king had been the one to place her father there, but Cameron had to tell her the news. And not only about her father’s imprisonment, but about their betrothal as well.

The thought that they would soon join their lives should have brought him comfort. Instead, he was afraid Mariam would think he was marrying her out of pity. He did feel sympathy toward her because of her past history with her father, but there were so many other emotions she brought out when she was near.

She was both infuriating and courageous; innocent and passionate; caring and resourceful. And even when she tried desperately to blend into the background, there was no hiding the radiance that enveloped her. Many members of his household had been frightened of that warmth whenever she was near.

Not him. In her presence, he’d found a sense of peace he’d never expected, and now craved. He wanted to be near her and not just for the practical purpose of keeping her safe. He wanted the two of them to build on whatever it was between them and create something bigger than either of them had imagined possible.

Would Mariam want that as well?