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Chapter 21
The meal was nearly over before Morag spotted Bedivere and his brother walking into the great hall.
“Bedivere, up here.” Morag sat at the dais between her father and Lady Ernestine, waving her hand wildly in the air.
“Dinna call that murderer over here,” Reed mumbled under his breath.
“Da,” Morag whispered. “Dinna call him that.”
“Well, that’s what he is. And ye will no’ go anywhere near the man, do ye hear me?”
“Lady Morag, I have all the plans made for your wedding on the morrow,” said Lady Ernestine, smiling widely. “You and Sir Bedivere will be married in the morning and I’ve already decided on who I’d like to nominate to claim my late husband’s holdings. I’m sure King Richard will agree.”
“My daughter will no’ be marryin’ anyone,” spat Reed.
“I’m sorry.” Lady Ernestine glanced at Morag. “Morag, I thought you’d talked to your father and already had his permission.”
“No’ yet,” she said, making a face. “But I’m sure my da will agree to the marriage once he gets to ken my betrothed a little better. Mayhap, I need just a little more time.”
“Ye dinna need more time and ye dinna need to bother because ye’ll never convince me,” Reed told her. “Morag, ye will no’ be marryin’ that sad excuse for a man, and neither are we stayin’ any longer in Rothbury. We will leave for Scotland first thing in the mornin’.” He pushed away from the table in a huff.
“Sir Bedivere saved my life,” Lady Ernestine told Reed. “I assure you, he is a good man.”
“Harumph!” scoffed Reed. “If he saved yer life, I am sure it was by accident, because men like Bedivere only ken one thing and I assure ye it has nothin’ to do with preservin’ a life.” He stormed away from the table.
“What did that mean?” Lady Ernestine picked up her goblet to drink.
“It doesna matter.” Morag got up and hurried over to her mother. “Mathair, talk some sense into Da. Please. Canna ye convince him to let me marry Sir Bedivere?”
“I’ll try,” said Morag’s mother, reaching out and putting her hand over Morag’s. “But ye ken yer faither is a verra stubborn man.”
“He is ruinin’ my life! He doesna care about me at all.”
“Nay, Morag, that’s no’ true.” Maggie’s brows dipped in concern. “Yer faither loves ye verra much and is only tryin’ to protect ye.”
“I’m no’ the one that needs protectin’. He is!” Morag hurried away to join Bedivere.
“Morag, I’m sorry I’m late.” Bedivere looked over to Reed who was plowing his way across the crowded room, heading out the door. “What’s got your father so upset?”
“Our marriage,” she told him. “He hasna agreed to it. Yet. But I’ll convince him of it in time. How did things go with the . . . healer?” Morag’s eyes darted back and forth.
“It’s all taken care of. Now, we only need to worry about Whitmore. Have you seen him anywhere?” Bedivere made a quick scan of the room.
“Nay, and neither do I want to. I dinna want anythin’ to do with the man ever again.”
“Morag,” called out Fia. “We’ve decided to go for a stroll around the castle grounds.” Morag looked up to see her sister, along with Willow and Maira, headed right for her. “I saw how upset Da was and thought ye might like to talk with us.”
“Well, I’m no’ sure.” Morag’s eyes flew over to Bedivere. She’d yet to find out what their next move was, plus she wanted to talk to him more about how to convince her father that Bedivere was a good man. Without revealing his secrets, it was going to be nearly impossible to change her father’s mind.
“Go on,” instructed Bedivere. “It would be good for you to forget about your troubles for a while and spend some time with your sister and cousins.”
“If ye’re sure,” said Morag, still hesitant to leave him.
“I have some more business to attend to anyway, so I’ll see you later.” Bedivere leaned over and gave Morag a quick kiss on the mouth before heading away.
“He’s actually not a bad looking man,” observed her cousin, Maira.
“Too bad he’s an assassin,” said Willow under her breath. “Morag, you want nothing to do with that man.”
