Alaric walked in ahead of Caelen and the room immediately quieted. ’Twas quite an impressive gathering. At the high table sat Ewan and the king along with Laird McDonald and Rionna on his right.
The other lairds were seated at the two tables that flanked the high table in the middle of the room.
When the king saw Alaric enter, he rose and motioned for Alaric to come over.
“Your Highness,” Alaric murmured as he came to a stop in front of the older man.
“We have a situation, Alaric McCabe. One that we must remedy with all haste.”
Alaric stood legs wide apart, arms crossed over his chest as he waited for the king to continue.
“ ’Twas admirable that you offered a handfast to the woman you loved after she saved your life and lay dying in your arms. The problem now arises that I’ve heard she may recover.”
“She will recover,” Alaric corrected softly.
“Then you find yourself married to the wrong woman.”
Laird McDonald rose and thumped his fist onto the table. “This is an insult. ’Tis preposterous. The agreement was for him to marry my daughter, Rionna, not a whore who was cast out of the McDonald clan years ago.”
Alaric snarled and started for the laird but Caelen got there first. He grasped the fleshy neck of Laird McDonald and slammed him back into his seat. The laird immediately went silent and stared up at Caelen in fear.
Alaric frowned. What had transpired between the two that would push Caelen to such anger, and why would the laird fear Caelen so much?
“Be silent, McDonald,” the king reprimanded. “That whore you speak of saved Alaric’s life twice and cared for my niece and safely brought forth the heir to Neamh Álainn. She is owed a great debt and ’tis my intention to make sure she never wants for anything in her life.”
He turned his attention back to Alaric. “As I said, ’Twas honorable that you sought to wed with her, but you must set her aside so the marriage to Rionna McDonald can go forth. I have a dozen lairds of surrounding clans ready to swear their allegiance to the crown and ally themselves with the McCabes as soon as you marry and take over as laird of the McDonald clan.”
Alaric stared at the king, not believing that setting aside another so he could marry Rionna was so calmly suggested. He looked then to Ewan to see his response. His brother sat next to the king, his expression indecipherable. Did he too expect Alaric to set Keeley aside and go ahead with his marriage to Rionna?
He thought of all that rode on this marriage. The safety of his clan. His brothers. Mairin and her babe. Finally the ability to go to war and defeat Cameron.
And his marriage could do all that? He shook his head. “Nay. I’ll not set her aside.”
The king’s eyes widened and the hall dissolved into chaos. Voices were raised. Angry statements were thrown. Threats were made and Laird McDonald was nearly apoplectic in his fury.
Alaric roared out an order for calm. When the hall finally quieted, he swept the gathered men with his gaze. “Only a man without honor would set aside the woman he loved to marry another. Only a man without honor would desert his woman when she lay so close to death after saving his life. I cannot be that man. I love her. I owe her my loyalty and my allegiance. I owe her my protection and all the happiness I can bring her for the rest of her life.”
He turned then to face Ewan. “I know this will lower me in the esteem of my family. My brothers. My clan. My king. But I cannot be the man you’ve always known me to be if I do this thing. There has to be another way to make the alliance work. Me being laird of the McDonald clan should not be the hinge that holds us all together.”
The king let out a deep breath, his eyes glittering with anger. “Think what you do. Cameron nearly destroyed your clan. This is your opportunity to finish him once and for all.”
“With or without this alliance, Cameron is a dead man,” Alaric said in a menacing voice. “What you seek is an alliance that will prevent Malcolm from a successful bid to the throne, and you would use our clan to achieve your means.”
The king’s scowl grew darker.
“I won’t do it.” Alaric glanced to Rionna, apology in his eyes. “I’m sorry, Rionna. I would not humiliate you for the world. You are a good lass who deserves a husband who does not love another. I cannot marry you.”
“I’ll marry her.”
The hall went dead silent. Alaric turned, sure that it wasn’t Caelen who’d spoken those words. When he saw that it was indeed his brother who’d stepped forward and made the declaration, he could only stare in astonishment.
Rionna gasped and raised a hand to her mouth as she stared in horror at Caelen.
Ewan rose from his seat, his expression guarded. “I don’t think I heard you correctly.”
“I said I’d marry her,” Caelen repeated. “ ’Tis the easiest solution. A McCabe still becomes laird of the McDonald clan. Our alliances are sealed. We pledge ourselves to the king against Malcolm and Cameron. Alaric stays married to Keeley. Everyone gets what they want.”
“Except you,” Alaric murmured.
Caelen twisted his lips. “It matters naught. As long as she can give me sons and daughters I’ll be well satisfied with the match.”
Rionna had gone pale and sank back into her seat next to her father. The laird was nearly as pale as he stared in horror at the king.
“This cannot be allowed,” Laird McDonald sputtered. “The agreement was for Alaric McCabe to wed with Rionna and become laird when I stepped down.”
The king rubbed his chin in a thoughtful manner. “Ewan, what think you of this mess?”