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“Ye havenae hurt anyone, have ye?” she asked in a whisper, her eyes widening at the possibility.
“I’ve only conned rich, terrible men. Nae anyone who couldnae handle it, I assure ye.” Matthew quickly shook his head.
Her smile came back quckly. She grasped his face in both hands and planted a kiss on his lips. “Then yer past daesnae matter to me.”
“Nonsense!”
Matthew jolted at the Laird’s voice cracking throughout the room. Laird MacLagain’s face was almost as red as his hair. “I will nae have a common criminal as a son-in-law. One who’s lied to us since the moment he walked in here. Ye shall be thrown in the dungeons to rot—”
“Faither!”
“Dear,” Rinalda said calmly. “Perhaps ye should consider who Matthew is now. He’s apologized and is bringin’ his past to light. Isnae that worth somethin’?”
Matthew’s chest warmed at the way Rinalda defended him, but he knew it would not work, especially when the Laird shook hs head vehemently.
“If he’s fooled us once, Rinalda, he will fool us again. We cannae trust him.”
“Is that so? I wonder what might have happened had I said the same thing.”
The Laird looked sharply at his wife, who was calmly sipping her drink.
“Faither?” Jonet probed. She was gripping Matthew’s hand tightly. “What does she mean?”
“Nothin’.” The Laird cleared his throat. “It isnae the same. This is me daughter we are talkin’ about and I will nae have her marryin’ someone who doesnae respect her.”
“Faither, ye ken that isnae the truth,” Jonet protested.
“I understand that ye are wary of me, Me Laird,” Matthew spoke up. “And ye have every reason to be. What I did before… it’s what I had to do to get by. Me parents died when I was still only twelve and so I dinnae think I had any other options. But I was tired of that life, which was why I came here.”
“To trick us into havin’ ye marry me daughter.”
“Aye,” he said and Jonet looked sharply at him. He kept his attention on the Laird. “And I will regret that for the rest of me life. I understand if ye nay longer wish to have me here but I daenae think I could go another day without tellin’ ye all the truth. Now that I have, I only hope that ye will see me for who I truly am. I love yer daughter with all me heart, Me Laird, and I will do anythin’ for her.”
They were all looking at the Laird now, but the Laird’s eyes were on Matthew. The Laird gritted his teeth and then he returned his attention to his food, growling something under his breath.
Both Rinalda and Jonet smiled.
Jonet whispered up to him, “Take that as a good sign.”
“Does that mean…?”
“Aye, I think so. Thank ye for tellin’ me the truth, Matthew.”
“I couldnae marry ye without ye kenin’ everythin’ about me first.”
“There is somethin’ I need to tell ye, as well.”
Her sultry smile had a similar one rising in him. He did not care that they were siting at the same table as her parents. “Oh, what’s that?”
Jonet leaned into him, her eyes growing dark with lust. Her hand slid from his and a finger whispered across his groin, a promise, hidden under the table from view.
Her breath low, igniting the quiet flame within in, Jonet murmured, “I cannae wait to be yer wife.”
Epilogue
Two Months Later
Freya had escaped the Castle. The guards had been in a frenzy trying to find her and the Laird had worked himself into a fitful stress doing just the same.
