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“Ye’re The Wolf, but ye arna God,” Thomas said. “They meant to take her, I say, and they woulda had they breached yer fortress. But thank God that they dinna and I have one thing to rejoice for. My Jordan is safe.”

William was staring at the half-eaten apple in his hand, turning it over and over. “Even if they had breached the wall, she wasn’t in the compound,” he said softly, raising his head to look at the Scot. “She is in London.”

Thomas’ eyebrows rose. “London? What is she doing there?”

Paris heard the question, knowing the time had come to break the news to Laird Scott about the events in his daughter’s life over the past year. Silently, he motioned the knights to vacate the room and allow the two men their privacy.

William caught the movement out of the corner of his eye and waited until the room was empty save he and the laird.

“Events have not gone exactly as planned, my lord, as far as Jordan is concerned,” he began with a deep breath. “She is married to an Englishman, but she did not marry the Earl of Teviot.”

Thomas looked stunned, completely forgetting about his fatigue. “What do ye mean, man? What’s happened to her?”

William looked at him, wondering if he were going to be facing the sharp end of the blade once he told the laird the whole story. As he had seen the very first day he had met the man, Thomas Scott was extremely protective of his daughter. But, then again, so was William.

“It seems she fell in love with another man,” he continued softly. “But, of course, she fully intended to marry the earl in spite of her feelings. That was until the earl found out. Since he had no interest in marrying her anyway, he allowed her to marry the other man with his blessings. And he would still honor the treaty.”

Thomas’ eyes were as wide as saucers. “Married another man, did ye say? A man she loved?” he repeated. “And the earl allowed this in spite of the king? Good Lord, man, who was this man that he would make her forget her duty?”

William fixed him right in the eye. “Me.”

Thomas blinked at him a moment. Then it was as if an unseen force struck him in the chest, he sat back heavily and bumped into the wall, all the while staring at William in disbelief.

“Ye?” he echoed, then louder. “She married ye?” He suddenly shot to his feet in amazement. “My Jordan married The Wolf?”

“Aye,” William could read no hostility, only utter surprise. And a little amusement, he ventured. He began to feel a little more at ease with his confession. “My lord, I loved Jordan from nearly the very first that I saw her. The earl allowed me to marry her because of his respect for me.” He rose and faced Jordan’s father. “Even though I fought for the earl, ’tis well known who truly controls the border. I was the force behind the name de Longley. Whether or not she married me or the earl, ’twould mean the same result: peace along the border.” He left out the part about Jordan tending him on the field of battle two years ago, the true point in time he started loving her. He did not feel it necessary that the laird know that portion of the story.

Thomas lost all of his amazement after that statement. “What does the king have to say?” he asked.

“The king did not know at first, for obvious reasons,” William said. “In fact, Jordan and I were married a day before she was to marry the earl. The king attended what he thought was a wedding, when in fact, it was simply an elaborate mass. The priest did it all in Gaelic because the king understood Latin and we did not want him understanding what was said. Eventually, the king was informed and now he is most pleased with the arrangement.”

“But Jordan is married to an earl, not a border laird,” Thomas reminded him. “What about the peace treaty?”

“Aye, she is married to a border lord,” William told him. “You see, on the same day as Jordan’s mock marriage to the earl, I was bestowed with a barony. Castle Questing is now my seat, not Northwood. Jordan is in London because I was in London acting as the king’s champion.”

Thomas was impressed. “Ye are the king’s champion?” he repeated, running his hand through his graying hair thoughtfully. “Good Lord, man, this is more news than I can take in one day. How can so many things happen in one short year?”

William smiled faintly. “Amazing, is it not? I am sorry to have to burden you all at once with this, I had hoped for a proper place and time.”

Thomas nodded, looking at William for a long moment. “The first time ye came to my fortress and looked at my daughter, I thought I caught something in yer manner towards her. I couldna put my finger on it, but I detected something,” he said. “So ye love her, too, do ye, Wolf? She is God’s angel on earth, I shall grant ye, so ye better be good to my lass or so help me I shall bleed ye right here.”

William cracked a smile. “Truth be known, my lord, she runs all over me. She is willful, disobedient and stubborn. But she is also the sweetest, most beautiful woman on the face of this earth, and I thank God every day that I am fortunate enough to have her.”

Thomas actually returned the smile. “Then I can see ye know her well. How is it that the mighty Wolf, the scourge of Scotland, has fallen in love with a Scot lass?”

“Scourge of Scotland?” he repeated with a chuckle. “Sounds like the damn plague.”

“To most border Scots, ye are the damn plague,” Thomas said with a twinkle in his eye. “Including me, up until the moment ye told me that ye married my Jordan. Now, I must say, I am rather proud to have such mighty ties.”

William shrugged modestly. “Those ties did you little good when the clans attacked. I am truly sorry for what happened.”

Thomas’ mirth faded. “Ye’re not to blame, lad. Those bastards were hell-bent on destroying me and even if ye had been here, it might not have made any difference.” He didn’t want to talk of that again just yet, he was still focused on his daughter. “Tell me how has Jordi fared over the year.”

William’s expression softened and Thomas could read the love he held for her. “She has done well, in spite of everything.” He wasn’t going to mention all of the obstacles she had faced, not just yet. “In fact, not two weeks ago, she bore you two grandsons.”

Thomas’ eyebrows shot up and his mouth went slack. “Two grandsons?” he stammered. William laughed at his shock and delight. “Good Lord, man, ye might as well of hit me with a ram. My Jordi gave me twin grandsons?”

“Aye, she did, and gave me twin sons in the process,” William said. “She named them Scott and Troy.”