Joanna Fulford - His Lady of Castlemora

At length Graham nodded. ‘A secret betrothal it is then, for the time being.’

‘The only remaining question is whether the lady will agree to the arrangement.’

‘Isabelle will be ruled by me.’

Ban wasn’t surprised. It was a father’s responsibility to find a suitable husband for a daughter, and her duty to accede to his choice. If Graham spoke with such confidence it was because he knew Isabelle respected his judgement. Privately Ban wondered what her true feelings would be. Would she accept him willingly or would she secretly consider such a match beneath her? Beatrice had considered it beneath her. Of course, he’d been much younger then, and inexperienced, so smitten with a lovely face that he’d failed to see the character behind. That had not become apparent until he declared himself and asked for her hand …

For a moment she stared at him. Then she laughed. ‘Marry you?’

At first he mistook the nature of the laughter, taking it for surprise. ‘Aye, why not?’

‘My father would never permit me to marry a Sassenach lord.’

‘I will speak to him, talk him round.’

‘It’s not just that,’ she replied .

‘Then what? I have wealth enough.’

‘But where are your lands, my lord?’

His smile faded. ‘They were stolen from me.’

‘And you have no prospect of regaining them.’

‘I will get more.’

‘How? You do not wield the kind of influence that would gain you an estate.’

His jaw tightened. ‘I’ll find a way.’

‘That might take years, if you ever succeed. I cannot waste my life waiting on the event.’

‘Would it be a waste then, Beatrice?’ He paused. ‘We would be together.’

‘To live in the hedgerows?’

‘Hardly that. I can support you in comfort.’

‘But you cannot give me position.’

‘Does that matter so much?’

‘Of course it matters. My father is rich and powerful, the laird of fair estates. Should not my husband be the same?’

‘ I cannot blame you for wanting it,’ he replied .

‘Well then.’

‘I thought … I hoped that your feelings for me were strong enough to offset that.’

Beatrice smiled coldly. ‘You rate yourself too high, my lord, if you presume to think so. I am not so negligent of the duty I owe to my family and my name as to throw myself away on a mere nobody.’

Stung now, he was goaded into retort. ‘The Thanes of Heslingfield are not nobodies. They come from a proud and ancient line.’

‘But where are they now? They have no power, no influence. They are nothing.’

Brian pushed the memory aside. He’d been a fool and paid the price for it. The naïve and idealistic lover was long gone and in his place was a grown man who knew the world he lived in. This offer was an opportunity, one he’d little thought to have. It would provide a foundation on which much might be built—in time.

‘We have an agreement then,’ he said.

Graham smiled and held out his hand. ‘You’ll not regret it.’

Ban clasped the offered hand and hoped the words were true.

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