My Brave Highlander(124)

She forced herself to be reserved, considering which words her brother would take seriously. She didn't want him to see her as a giddy young lass, though that's exactly how she'd felt since last night when Dirk proposed and then made love to her. Whew. She had a sudden urge to fan herself.

"Chief MacKay is a good man," she said. "Protective, helpful, an honorable gentleman. And a strong, brave chief. Well-liked by… everyone."

Cyrus lifted a brow. "In truth?"

"Of course." How could he doubt her words? Obviously, he was testing her in some way.

Cyrus sat back, crossing his arms over his broad chest. "Yesterday, he admitted he seduced you."

Her face burned. "I see." Did that cause Cyrus to disapprove of Dirk? They had seemed friends at both meals. "He's not to blame. It was mutual."

"You seduced him?" Cyrus asked, his voice loud and his eyes wide.

"Nay, not exactly," she quickly said, hoping her brother didn't think her whorish. Well, maybe she had seduced Dirk when she'd burst in on him in the bathtub… and last night in this room. "I find him… nice."

"Nice?" Her brother snorted.

"And handsome. I like Dirk a great deal."

"Ah. Now we're getting somewhere. So, you want to marry him, aye?"

"Of course. You didn't tell him he had to marry me, did you?" That had been her greatest fear.

"Nay. He asked for your hand. He finds you lovely and he cares for you. He appears to be a good man. That's enough. Finding you a suitable husband has been a nightmare, Isobel."

"I ken it. But you chose wrongly the first time." She had told him this before.

"I'm sorry for that, but it was to secure an important clan alliance. Besides that, an offer of marriage from an earl to a baron's daughter is naught to sneeze at, no matter his age."

"Very well. I did my duty for the clan." The past was the past and she wanted to forget it. Her first marriage could've been far more horrible than it was, and she was grateful to have gotten off easy.

"Now, you may have your blessed love match that you have blathered on about since you were fifteen summers," Cyrus muttered.

Love match. Aye. She was falling in love with Dirk. Now, if only he would feel the same way. 'Haps he did, but he hadn't said so.

"For a certainty, you're smitten with the man," Cyrus said. "'Tis about time."

She shrugged, unable to help that she hadn't fallen in love with a man of the right rank years ago. She would have if Dirk had been around. "Someday you'll wish you had a love match," she told her brother.

"Hmph. I have no time or patience for such rubbish. Anyway, since you're in agreement about marrying Dirk, I'll see you wed afore I leave here."

Excitement and panic rushed through her. "I'm to wed him that soon?"

"Aye, tomorrow if possible."

"Surely you jest."

"Why not? We're all here, your brothers, except for Dermott, and part of your clan, the MacKays. I'll not give MacLeod an opportunity to steal you back."

"He has no interest in stealing me back." Nay, he had his eye on a certain flame-haired lass.

"Well, who the devil knows?" Cyrus said. "Some other bastard may come along and try to snatch you from under MacKay's nose. I don't want to have to go traipsing about the country again, worrying whether you're dead or alive. Once you're married to MacKay, he'll protect you well."

"That he will." Plus, once she was married to him, he was hers for life. Instead of sneaking about for stolen moments of passion, she could sleep in his bed every night. It was warm and big and she'd relished snuggling next to him the night she'd spent there. A giddy thrill spun through her, making her smile.

Cyrus observed her shrewdly, then frowned. "Indeed, you need to be married as soon as possible, lass. Make the preparations and I'll speak with Dirk." Cyrus strode out, leaving her to scramble from her chair and dash up the steps to her chamber. She burst in the door to find Beitris making her bed.

She gasped and spun around. "Heavens, lass! You scared the life out of me."

"Beitris! I'm getting married tomorrow!"

***

Isobel, Jessie and the servants spent the rest of the day preparing for a cool winter wedding. There was no time to make Isobel a new gown, nor did she wish to wear the one she'd planned to marry Torrin in. Jessie and Seona helped her assemble pieces from different outfits to create a completely unique wedding costume. It included a plaid her mother had worn at her wedding over thirty years ago.

"We could get married right here in the great hall," Dirk said to Isobel at supper that night.

"I'd prefer the kirk. Although 'tis too cold to hold the ceremony on the steps outside, as is traditional, the reverend said that since you're chief, it would be pleasing to everyone for us to be married inside. Since your father's tomb is there, I think he'd be honored."