Page 3 of The Dragon Laird’s Obsession

She opened her mouth to continue the tale when movement passed beyond the open nursery door. Ailis glanced over and saw Callan stride past the corridor, broad-backed and grim, his dark hair tied at his nape, his plaid swinging with the force of his pace.

She had not seen him since Sorcha told her about the betrothal, and before she could think, she rose too quickly, setting Lachlan down so suddenly that he blinked up at her in surprise.

“Ailis,” Sorcha and Elspeth called out, but she was already striding out of the nursery to meet their brother.

She gathered her skirts and hurried into the corridor. “Callan!”

Her brother stopped near the turn of the passage. His shoulders tightened before he turned which told her at once that he knew exactly why she had called him.

She marched toward him, chin high, even though the corridor seemed colder outside the nursery’s warmth. “I heard.”

Callan’s expression did not change. “About what?”

“Daenae pretend ye daenae ken what I speak off, Callan. Ye intend to marry me off to Gordon.”

Callan nodded once, his jaw softening for the slightest second before his stern look came up again. “It has been decided.”

Ailis scoffed. “Of course. It doesnae matter that it is nay what I want.”

“I believe I granted ye grace to indulge in what ye wanted for years now, Ailis. Ye are me sister, and it is still me duty to look out for ye and make certain ye are safe and well provided for.”

“And a marriage,” she countered slowly, pacing her words, “to the dragon will do that?”

The dryness in her tone did not go unnoticed. Callan’s brow puckered as he crossed his hands behind him.

His eyes narrowed. “Ailis.”

“I willnae marry the man!” Ailis planted herself before him, refusing to be cowed by his sternness.

She loved Callan. Of course, she did. He had carried her on his back when she was small, taught her how to climb the low orchard wall, and once broken a boy’s nose for saying she had too many freckles. But she still had no intention of letting him trade her off like he tried to do two years ago.

“This matter has been decided. The Laird’s brother has agreed to convince his brother of the union. Both our clans shall be joined once again in union of marriage. And daenae think of runnin’ like ye did in the past. I have guards watchin’ ye. They are stationed near ye at all times.”

“Am I now yer prisoner?” she cried out.

“If need be, I shall keep ye locked until the day comes,” Callan answered before exhaling softly. “I only do this because I care for ye.” Callan walked away from her before she could say anything else, and the burn of her annoyance made her remain rooted to that spot for a long moment.

Her chest ached like a heavy log pressed right at its center, and the bleakness of the life ahead was a crushing realization.

There is nay escape. Ailis thought as she stood there, clutching her skirts.

But she would not make this easy either. If Gordon wanted a wife, he would have to face all of her. He would learn she was not a woman made for silence, and she would never do his bidding.

And when he had endured enough, when his patience cracked and his cold pride decided she was more trouble than any alliance was worth, he would be the one to reject her.

CHAPTER TWO

“Me Laird,” the village head said at last, voice thin, “the east field took poorly after the rain. The ditch by the burn filled with silt again, and the oats near the lower ridge…” He swallowed. “They havenae come as they should.”

Gordon waited for him to say more, and Tam paled. He would not look Gordon in the eye. That, more than the broken fence by the lower field or the thinness of the winter barley, set Gordon’s teeth hard together.

Old Tam stood before him with his cap twisting between both hands, his shoulders bent even though the man had been straight-backed enough when Gordon rode into the village.

The other men had drifted back toward their doors and carts, pretending to work while watching from beneath lowered brows. Women gathered their children closer. A dog slunk behind a stack of split wood and did not bark. They all watched to see what he would do next after he heard of the drought in the village, and he felt every glance like a stone in his chest.

The day was cold but fair. Sunlight lay pale over the village, touching the thatched roofs, the smoke rising from hearths, the narrow road rutted by carts and hooves. Beyond the cottages, the fields rolled out toward the hills, some green, some bare, some still needing hands and seed and faith enough to believe harvest would come again.

He had come to inspect the land, not to frighten the villagers. Yet Tam’s mouth moved twice before any words came.