Grant Clan 06 - My Desperate Highlander (6 page)

The next morning, Micheil decided to search the town for any news. Edinburgh was large, so it would take him a good while to make the rounds and glean any information he could. In particular, he was determined to discover if any of the visiting Englishmen—or anyone else in the vicinity—were worthy of being her husband.

He had arranged to meet Diana and his aunt at the jousting tourney. He knew he could trust Diana to attend the tournament with Aunt Elspeth, particularly given the fact he’d arranged for a couple of guards to follow them, while he continued his search for information. He was a bit wary about the possibility they had been followed last night, but the guards were on alert. They had reported one unusual group at this point, and they had those men under surveillance and had sent a message to Alex. Aunt Elspeth had raised two daughters, one of whom had been a true hellion, so he felt confident Diana could not convince her to let her run off alone.

He wandered through the streets of Edinburgh in search of the tourney fields. It seemed an appropriate place to start. The market was still full of vendors hawking their pastries and meat pies. He bought a lamb pie and spoke to the vendor as he ate.

“Big tournament with jousting today, aye?”

“Aye, knights always come from England thinking they can embarrass all the Scots, but it never happens. And this particular English knight has declared he will only joust against his fellow Englishmen. Where are ye from?”

“I’m from the western most edge of Lothian, still in the Lowlands, but I have family in the Highlands, so I have trained there often. The Grant lists are brutal.”

The vendor’s eyes widened. “You’ve trained with Clan Grant? The ones who chased the Norse away in the West?”

“Aye, my brother married a Grant. We spent time with them, and their training is the most challenging I have ever seen.”

The vendor grew hopeful—Micheil could see it in his gaze—but he did not plan to risk injuring himself in the tourney, even if a win would hearten the local Scots in Edinburgh.

The man leaned over the wooden edge of his booth. “Och, we need you in the tourney. Ah, what a shock it would give them. Can you not sneak in as an English challenger?”

“I am here on an assignment, but mayhap I’ll find a way to battle for one round. What know you of Randall Baines?”

“The betrothed lad?” The vendor smiled and used a bone to pick his teeth.

“Randall Baines is betrothed?” Micheil tried to hide his surprise, intending to find out all he could about the snake before tearing him apart, limb by limb.

“Aye. He likes the lasses and chases the light skirts, tossing as many as he can every night as if he’ll never get another. Ever since he came to Edinburgh, all we hear is gossip about his escapades.”

“Mayhap he prefers Scottish lassies.” Though there was one particular lassie who Baines would never touch again—Micheil would see to that.

The vendor shook his head and chuckled. “From what I have heard, anything in a skirt attracts him.”

“And his betrothed? Has she not heard about his ways or seen him following other lasses?” Was the woman blind? A man with that kind of reputation clearly did not make much of an effort to try to hide his romantic escapades. The slim efforts he had made to hide his session with Diana last night only provided more evidence of that.

“Strange, but no one has seen the lass yet. It’s said she is a passing beauty, good enough, though not as fair as our most notable beauties. She’s not like the other lassies, wanting to dance and act frivolous. No’ quite sure why because I have never seen her. Her family just came to Edinburgh for the wedding—first time here. She came with a grandmother as her escort. And she appears to prefer going unnoticed.”

Micheil thanked the vendor and moved on, asking occasional questions as he toured the center of Edinburgh. The castle was quite a spectacle in the daylight. The battlements spread over half the land, and guards trailed every corner of them. Glorious banners waved everywhere—there more than usual, which he assumed was in honor of the tournament. Many of the visitors had come on strong horses that were being cared for in the daylight, but none that could compete with his horse or any of the Grant destriers.

One thing was certain; this matter needed to be handled very delicately. Though he would love nothing more than to tell Diana the truth about Baines—that he was already betrothed and getting married within a sennight—he knew lassies. She would never believe him. Mayhap she was even naïve enough to believe Randall would marry her instead of his betrothed. After all, she believed everything the lout had told her last night. He would have to somehow force the man to show his true colors in front of her. It was the only way. Hellfire, it made him mad enough to spit when he thought about the situation. The lad would have taken her maidenhead and she would have let him, falling for his promises of marriage.

Aye, Diana needed to know the truth, but she had to learn it the hard way. Otherwise she would hate Micheil for bearing the message, something he didn’t want to happen under any circumstances.

He just wasn’t quite sure why.

***

Diana fumbled with the ribbons in her hair in her chamber, unable to steady the trembling that had afflicted her ever since she’d begun the process of readying herself for the tourney. According to one of Elspeth’s servants, Randall Baines was indeed jousting this day, and she was sure he would come to her for a favor. She hoped another would, too. She had chosen several wisps of silky material, all of them long enough to tie around the tip of his lance and proudly show the world he had chosen her.

It would show Micheil the truth, she was certain of it. Once he saw Randall on the jousting field, he would know he was the answer to her problem. By the morrow, they could be betrothed, and she would be riding back to her father’s home with a man at her side, and it wouldn’t be Baron Gow. Somehow, her heart wasn’t as certain as her head. How she wished Micheil saw the good side of Randall so he would support her in this quest. She feared she would have to settle instead of finding the man of her dreams. If Gow’s men were indeed searching for them, she did not have much time.

She thought about Randall Baines, how his blond hair hung over his collar. He had pretty blue eyes and a soft face, not rough and thick with whiskers like so many lads around Scotland. Perhaps he did lack a certain amount of masculine energy, but no one could deny his appeal. She had known that if she just came to Edinburgh, her knight would find her…and one had. Well, even though he wasn’t officially a knight, he could become one. But was he the right one, the one her mother had dreamed of many nights? Mayhap not.

Aunt Elspeth came up behind her, settling her hands on Diana’s shoulders. “My dear, you are a true beauty, and you will make all the lads follow you wherever you go. Promise me something.”

“Anything, Aunt Elspeth. You have done so much for me and I do appreciate it.”

“Promise me you won’t fall for the first sweet-talking lad you come upon.”

Diana scowled. “Whatever do you mean?”

“I was young once, too, my dear. There were always a few lads who would tell a young lass how beautiful she was just to steal a kiss or mayhap more.”

“More?” She glanced at Aunt Elspeth, but then turned away, not wanting Micheil’s aunt to see her expression. She had to admit, if only to herself, that Randall sounded quite a bit like those lads.

“Och, lass. A certain type of lad will try to talk a lass into giving her favors away by telling her what she wants to hear.”

“What do you mean? What does she want to hear?” Diana had no idea what the older woman meant, but she needed to know so she could avoid attention from ill-meaning lads.

“Why, that she is beautiful, that she is the only one for him. Don’t all lassies wish to be promised marriage?”

“So if that is what they want to hear, and the lad promises, why is it wrong? Mayhap ‘tis destiny that unites them so quickly.”

“Lass, that is exactly of what I speak. A lad will promise anything in order to steal a kiss or an illicit touch, but once he is done, he will change his mind and pursue another. Love does not happen in a few moments, but many young girls think it does. How wrong they are.”

“What a terrible thing to happen. I’m so sorry you met a lad who treated you so cruel. Surely there are not many like that.” She hated to admit it, but the lad Aunt Elspeth spoke of sounded just like Randall. She regretted not having her mother here to advise her, but would her words be similar to Elspeth’s?

Aunt Elspeth gave her a stern look. “There are too many who act that way. And there are plenty of men who would even talk a woman out of her maidenhead.”

Diana gasped and her hand flew to her mouth. “How awful! Why, how could anyone be so cruel?”

“Diana.” Aunt Elspeth kissed her forehead. “It happens too many times. Just be certain it does not happen to you. No decent lad tries for your innocence or for illicit touches as soon as he meets you. And have no doubt, once a lad like that takes your maidenhead, he will leave you behind. ‘Tis something many men boast about to their friends, stealing a woman’s virtue. But you must remember ‘tis a treasure meant for your husband and no one else.”

Aunt Elspeth’s words echoed in Diana’s mind as they rode their horses to the tournament field, Elspeth’s stable lad following behind them along with a couple of other guards she did not know, but Elspeth did. How she wished her mama were here to talk to her about this confusing topic. What did she know about a young lad’s desires? Randall would not be like that, would he? Her mind raced with too many thoughts, and though she wanted to sort them all out in her mind before the tournament started, she knew she could not.

As they approached the tournament field, Diana’s gaze was drawn to the dazzling display. Spectators and commoners alike wove through brilliantly colored tented pavilions filled with knights and the healers. Banners decorated with lions, hawks, and wolves stood proud, claiming to belong to the victor of the tournament. A light wind rippled the banners for all to see.

To their surprise, someone came along and offered the two of them a seat in one of the smaller grandstands in the shade. Thankful to be out of the sun a bit, Aunt Elspeth accepted readily. “Lass, this is wonderful. I do not know if Micheil will be able to find us when he arrives, but I would never refuse such seating.”

Once settled, Diana took in everything about the event. The field was bedecked in color, banners and ribbons waving in the wind as the many knights and horseman practiced to the delight of the audience. The largest grandstand stood proud in gold and red.

“Who sits in the large grandstand, Aunt Elspeth?”

“‘Tis for the royals. The king or queen if they are here, along with their court. In this case, I would think the young lass who is engaged to be wed must be inside, along with her family. Any other barons would come next if there was any room left.”

The woman who sat in front of them turned around. “This joust is intended to honor the English knight who is betrothed. I heard he has agreed to battle all challengers. ‘Tis said that he is a powerful knight on the field. This day is all about showcasing the English knights who are visiting the castle.”

Diana sat up in her seat. Mayhap she would get a view of Randall Baines, or even another knight who could be interested in her. With so many here, there were numerous possibilities, and she had no idea what would be best for her. Both excited and confused, her attention flew from one spot to another. She so wanted to see the knight who was brave enough to take on so many challengers. She watched the field, but she could not get a good view of anyone since they were all wearing helms while they practiced. Diana said, “Does anyone ever die from the lance?”

Aunt Elspeth whispered, “Nay, the lances used for the joust have blunt ends.”

“Then how do they declare the winner?”

“The winner of each match is whoever remains seated on his horse.”

“I’m glad. I do not wish to see bloodshed.” Diana tucked her mantle around herself.

“Och, nay, there will be no blood today. There are too many women in the crowd.” The woman in front of them snickered. “Though I’d love to see it, I would. The crowd goes wild at the first drawn blood.”

The trumpets blared and Diana gasped. The horses were steered to the end of the field as the herald began his announcements. “Any and all challenges from other English are accepted by the English Knight in residence.”

At that moment, the knight took to the field and circled the perimeter to the shouts and applause of the spectators. “I wish he would remove his helm. I would like to see how handsome he is,” Diana whispered to her companion.

“Don’t worry, my dear, he’ll remove it at the end of the tourney.” Aunt Elspeth held Diana’s gloved hand in hers beneath a rabbit pelt she’d brought with her.

“What is he doing now? He seems to just be standing in the middle of the field.”

The announcer shouted, “The challengers to the knight.”

A train of horses entered the field from the lists and circled the outer edge of the field while the knight stayed in the center.

Diana gasped. “All those men seek to challenge him? But why?”

The woman in front turned around again and said, “A huge purse full of gold will go to the winner of this tourney, not to mention the bragging rights of being the winner and defeating an English knight favored by the King of the Scots. Many hopefuls dream of such gold.”