Page 21 of The Beast

“Ye rode there and back alone?” Isobel gawked at her, her spoon in midair as an incredulous expression spread across her pretty face. “Oh my goodness, Beatrice, how could ye?”

“She rode there alone, but Duncan escorted her back,” Ella, ever helpful, added. “Thank goodness, she may have caught her death out there. The storm was horrible…”

“We are aware Ella,” Lady Mariel snapped. “We had to delay our departure because of it.”

There was a long moment of silence as both Isobel and Lady Mariel absorbed the information. For a moment, Beatrice felt relief. Other than a strong scolding, it would be the end of it.

“Ye must marry,” Isobel proclaimed. “Quickly before news of this spreads.”

“I am sure no one will know.” Beatrice mentally calculated how many people did know.

Lady Mariel frowned. “Ella, who all knows?”

“The staff here all searched for her. Guards reported she rode out towards the village. Two were sent out, but the storm caused them to return. The entire household saw her and Duncan arrive together this morning.”

With slow deliberate moves, Lady Mariel lifted a cup to her lips and took a drink. Beatrice didn’t dare point out it was her cup that she drank from. Instead, she did her best to keep her galloping heart from bursting out of her chest.

“I am sure there is another solution. Marriage is extreme,” Beatrice said to the room at large. “Nothing happened. He was a gentleman.”

“Ye should be quiet and let us think,” Isobel scolded. “I cannot believe ye would do something so rash. Even for ye, I cannot fathom why ye would consider it a good idea to ride out alone to a man’s home.”

“My son cannot marry. He is not going to marry ye, Beatrice.” Lady Mariel met Ella’s gaze. “We must find another solution.”

Isobel shook her head. “There is no other solution. Ye do not know my brothers. Upon hearing of what happened, it is not my father who will be enraged. Evander and Padraig will not accept any other solution than marriage.

“I understand,” Lady Mariel said. “If it were another of my sons, I would not hesitate to demand they marry.”

“What are ye saying?” Beatrice asked more out of curiosity than feeling slighted. She had no desire to marry. Admittedly, if she did have to marry a Ross, Duncan would be her first choice. That said, she wondered why Lady Mariel was so against it.

Ella bit her bottom lip in thought. “What if she marries Stuart? He would agree when presented with… the situation.”

“Would ye please explain to me, why he will not do it?” Isobel demanded, her expression stern. “If anyone marries Beatrice, it will have to be Duncan.”

Just then Darach walked into the room. The large blond man made Beatrice shudder. Something about her sister’s husband gave her pause. Perhaps it was the air of authority that made her cautious.

Despite the fact Isobel loved him dearly and he treated her sister well, Beatrice had yet to warm up to the man. Perhaps it was that he eyed her with the expression of someone who thought her daft.

To be fair her current actions did not exactly paint the picture of someone who thought things through.

“Everyone to my study. There is much to discuss.”

With a nod, Lady Mariel stood, and seeing Beatrice’s bottom lip quiver, she took her arm. “There, there, dear. All will be well. Do not fret.”

Her sister was not as kind.

“She should definitely fret.”

Chapter Six

Duncan stood with his back to the wall, arms crossed, and legs shoulder width apart. Always the opposite, Caelan sat in a chair, his right ankle across the opposite knee, and a glass of whiskey in hand. He looked every bit a man of leisure.

Sometimes, he envied the pampered life Caelan had lived. He’d been sent away to boarding school, in the lowlands, by his mother. Had spent a long part of his youth in England, where he’d learned mathematics and other frivolous things. Upon his return to the highlands, he’d been ensconced in the large home where they both lived now.

Seeming to sense his regard, his brother met his gaze. “Do not worry yerself. This will be sorted out without ye having to marry.”

Marriage. The one thing he never thought to be a weapon that could be yielded against him. He never dared to consider a lifetime partnership with a woman. The very idea of marriage was the reason he never attended weddings, nor had he ever been in a relationship.

It was not that he detested the idea. It was more that someone like him could never be a good husband.