Page 9 of Scottish Rose: Coira

“I dinna think so.” Coira pulled her hand away from his and picked up her goblet to drink. She was afraid he was going to ask her more questions and wanted this night over with quickly. A man came into the great hall with several dogs following him. He was short and looked jolly. A smile covered his face.

“Ah, there’s my kennelgroom with my hounds.”

“Hounds?” She looked up to see half a dozen dogs enter the room, followed by a scraggly, brown dog that was smaller than the rest.

“Seth, bring my hounds to me, here at the dais,” commanded Lance.

“Aye, my lord.” The man brought the dogs to the table. The animals crowded around Lance, wagging their tails and whining.

“Here you are.” Lance took several hunks of meat from the tray, giving one to each dog. The hounds took their treasures and ran away to eat them. All of them left except for one smaller, brown dog that put its paws on Lance’s leg, looking up and sniffing the table. The hound had a stub of a tail, but it wagged back and forth excitedly. “Nay. Get down,” he said, swiping at the dog.

Coira loved animals of all kinds and didn’t like the way Lance treated this dog.

“Why do ye feed the other dogs and no’ this one?” she asked, reaching out and running her hand over the dog’s head to calm it.

“That is a stray dog. The thing is skinny and scraggly and look – it doesn’t even have a tail.” Lance scooped up some food and shoved it into his mouth. “I told Seth to get rid of it. I don’t know why it’s still here.”

“Get rid of it? Nay!” Coira pulled the dog over to her, bending down and kissing it on its head. “She is such a sweet pup.”

“She’s not a puppy, or at least I don’t believe so. She was found roaming the courtyard when I inherited this castle.”

“Why dinna ye take her in? One more dog willna make a difference.”

“Nay.” He picked up his tankard and took a drink. “She’s too small and no good for hunting. She’ll just be a hindrance. I’ll have Seth get rid of her since she is bothering you.” He raised his hand to call over his kennelgroom.

“Nay! I dinna want ye to get rid of the poor thing.” Coira pulled the dog closer to protect it.

“Coira, it’s just a stray hound.”

“Please, Lance. Dinna send it away.”

Lance drank in the sight of his new wife protecting the mangy mutt. They both looked so frightened that it about broke his heart. Coira was a beautiful girl. A Scottish lassie. Dressed in her Scottish plaid, he still didn’t feel as if any of this were real. He was married now. It all happened so quickly. She didn’t seem to like him much, or the idea of getting rid of the dog. It was important to him that she feel comfortable around him, so he would do whatever it took. He didn’t want his wife to fear him.

“So sorry, my lord,” said Seth, climbing the dais and reaching for the dog. “I’ll remove the pesky hound anon.”

“Nay,” said Lance with a wave of his hand. Coira looked up, still clinging tightly to the mutt. Hope as well as fear emanated from her.

“My lord?” asked Seth in confusion. “I thought you wanted me to remove the stray.”

“I’ve had a change of mind,” Lance told him. “The hound will be my wife’s dog from now on.”

“My lord?” Coira looked up with question in her beautiful, hazel eyes. “What are ye sayin’?”

“I’m saying that the hound is my wedding present to you, Coira. I can see how much you like the dog and I want you to have it.”

“Thank ye.” A smile lit up her beautiful face, her eyes going from the icy stare she gave him a minute ago to soft, multi-colored pools of sincere gratitude. He’d finally made her happy, and it was over a damned stray dog.

“What will you name it?” he asked, if for no other reason than to make conversation with his new wife. He liked the sound of her sweet voice and her cute, little Scottish burr.

“I dinna ken yet,” she said, petting the dog as it licked her face. She giggled. The sound of her laugh made him happy.

They finished the meal. When he was tired of the dog getting more attention from Coira than he was getting, he raised his drinking vessel in the air. “A toast to my new wife, Coira,” he said. A cheer went up from the crowd as they all drank to the marriage.

“Minstrels, start up the music,” he called out, taking Coira by the hand and helping her out of her chair. “You will dance with me,” he said, hurrying down to the middle of the floor and taking her with him. The dog ran after them, barking and jumping.

“My lord, I dinna think I want to dance.”

“Nonsense,” he said, holding her arm and walking her around the floor, letting everyone get a good look at his new Scottish bride.