Page 106 of Hold Fast

Blair made a sound that was somewhere between a disgruntled huff and a growl. He stared at Joan, who stared back, a soft smile on her face. But Ewan wasn’t paying attention to that sweet look on Joan’s face.

“David,” Ewan barked, “please escort Joan back to the wagons and see that she stays there.”

Una watched as Joan turned to protest, but Blair lunged forward. “Dinnae touch her,” he snapped at David and began to withdraw his sword from the sheath. It was a clear warning, and thankfully David stepped back.

“Joan has offered herself in Una’s stead,” Blair said.

“She doesnae get to make that choice,” Ewan said through his clenched teeth.

Una shook her head.She loved him. She loved him for the laird he was and the laird he would become. He was so good, down to his core. He cared for his people and worried about them to his detriment. But he was also a hothead sometimes, and he often missed subtlety.

Like the way Blair was looking at Joan as if she was the relic he’d spent his whole life seeking. There was history. There was yearning. There was, perhaps, evenpining. Una wrapped her hand around Ewan’s arm to hold him back.

“I do get to make that choice,” Joan said. Her tone was light, her eyes never left Blair’s face. “I am a free woman. You are neither my father nor my husband or even my brother. You dinnae get to command me.”

“I am your laird, Joan.”

“And a verra good one, Laird MacDonald,” she said. “But we are nae on MacDonald lands now, and you are nae my keeper. I offered myself in Una’s stead, and I mean to see it through.”

Ewan clenched his teeth so hard that Una heard his jaw pop. She wrapped her arm around his waist now and tucked herself close, trying to soothe him with her proximity. It didn’t do much. Ewan was practically vibrating with fury.

“Joan, have you taken total leave of your senses?” he asked.

“Not at all, Laird MacDonald,” Joan said. “It will be an adventure.”

“Adventure?” Ewan nearly shouted. “You think a dungeon a good place for an adventure? Una, please, talk some sense into her,” he protested, trying to encourage her into the fray.

Una lifted onto her toes and whispered into Ewan’s ear, “Shhh. You are missing something. Watch them.”

“She willnae be in the dungeon,” Blair said, and Joan spun back to face Ewan.

“See, Laird MacDonald? I willnae be in the dungeon.” She smiled, and Una rolled her eyes at how much fun Joan seemed to be having as the spoke around which all the chaos currently swirled. “Now, Laird Cameron, where will you have me? Shall I work in the kitchens?”

“You willnae be in the kitchens.”

“Then perhaps you have a lady in need of a maid somewhere in that dusty keep of yours?”

“You willnae be anyone’s maid either,” he said darkly.

“The stables, then? Or perhaps I can serve in the guard? I’ve been told I have some skill with a staff.”

Una rolled her eyes heavenward when Joan winked. Blair coughed into his hand.

“You willnae work here. I dinnae want you to work here,” Blair said.

“I am confused, m’laird,” Joan said, somewhat hesitantly. “If I am nae to be a prisoner and I am nae allowed to work, whatamI to do here?”

Blair took another step closer, and Una saw how very short Joan looked as she tipped her head back to look up at him. “I have something else in mind for you,” he said, his voice husky and low.

Una heard Joan swallow. “And what might that be?”

“You’ll be my wife,” he said, stroking her cheek with a single, rough finger.

A twig snapped, sounding sharp and sudden in the quiet.

“Your wife?” Joan and Una said at the same time, though with far different inflections.

“My wife,” Blair repeated, reaching out with his bear paw of a hand to trace the apple of Joan’s cheek. “’Tis the only way. My brother intended to marry Una. Her proxy, a cousin we will say, will marry the new laird. Hopefully that will satisfy the clan enough to avoid war. But for a few people, there wasnae much love for my brother, so the politics should be easy enough to manage.” He took a deep breath. “I hope.”