Page 54 of The Icy Highlander's Bride
"Like what?" Mary asked cautiously.
But Genevieve was quicker to respond. "Dark and brooding?" she asked. "He's certainly perfected it in the past few years."
"He lost his wife," Mary reminded her as she came to Daniel's defense. "We cannae blame him."
"What was Daniel like as a boy?"
Lana knew Mary had lived in this castle long enough to remember Daniel and Cameron as children. She had known Daniel for almost his whole life, and Lana wanted an honest opinion from the person who might know Daniel better than anyone.
"Oh, I couldnae say, Me Lady," Mary replied, her eyes fixed on the dough.
"Go on, Ma," Genevieve urged. "He isnae here."
"He was a very happy child," Mary began. Her eyes flicked over Lana's head, as if she were seeing the memory in front of her. "He loved running through the castle with his brother. They would always sneak down to the kitchen and beg me for treats."
"So he wasnae always angry," Lana noted. "He used to have fun."
"Aye." Mary nodded. "He wasnae born with darkness. But life gave Daniel some hard turns. Like I said, we cannae blame him for the way he is."
"We can blame him a little." Genevieve laughed. "He doesnae need to take out the hard things on us."
Mary and Genevieve launched into a playful argument, clearly enjoying how they could disagree. It gave Lana time to think about Daniel and his turbulent moods that made even the brightest room cloudy. She was still angry with him for snapping at Skye earlier today.
Luckily, a visit to the baby cows and some playtime with Genevieve's daughter had nearly erased the difficult moment from Skye's mind.
"Daenae fret," Mary continued, turning her attention back to Lana. "Ye will pull him out of it. Ye have already brought such happiness to Skye. He cannae fail to be warmed by yer joy, child."
Lana smiled in gratitude. "Thank ye for saying it," she said.
The mention of Skye made Lana remember the girl was due to be in her chambers. Her tutor would be there any minute, and Lana didn't want to face Daniel's wrath if they were late. She slid off the stool, popping a berry into her mouth.
"Let's go, Skye," she called. "Ye have yer lessons."
She listened for the girl's voice but didn't hear a response. Things outside had gone strangely quiet, devoid of the laughterand the slapping of the skipping rope that had been such a constant feature of the past half hour.
"Skye!" Lana called again, stepping toward the door.
Daniel pressed the heels of his palms into his eyes as Seamus read a long and wordy agreement established during Daniel's first wedding. It was a document he had signed in ignorance, filled with antiquated words that meant nothing to him as a young man.
"I daenae understand the point of this," Daniel groaned, interrupting Seamus's even and dry recitation.
"Ye're the one who called this meeting," Cameron burst out. Daniel wondered if his brother was a bit peeved at him for slamming him against the wall earlier today. "The least ye can do is listen."
"But how will documents about me wedding to Evelyn help us?" Daniel asked.
Groth looked over at him with a tilt of the head, and Daniel questioned if the man was holding back his annoyance. He wondered if these meetings would be a lot more productive if the men around him simply said exactly what they meant. He had no patience for their niceties.
"Ye are worried about MacDougal," Groth explained, his voice strained. "So we are reviewing the agreement between our clan and his."
"I daenae want paperwork," Daniel sighed. "I want to ken what we plan todo."
"We do nothing," Angus announced. "Nay good will come from sending threats to the man. His clan is large, and he has connections across the land."
"As do I," Daniel pointed out, but there was uncertainty in his councilmen's eyes.
"Perhaps," Seamus relented, speaking carefully. "But ye havenae fostered these connections. We daenae ken who would stand with us if it came to war."
"It cannae come to war!" Cameron declared, bolting from his seat. "Is that really what ye want, Brother? To send us back into battle? Think of yer daughter."
