“Come inside, lass,” she said. “Yer father has spent a good deal of money for this affair, so ye may as well enjoy it.”
“My wedding will be bigger.”
“Mayhap,” Jemma said. “But come inside now and out of the cold night.”
Athena followed her inside, but it was only to linger in the shadows, anxious. She knew, at some point, that either Scott was going to come inside or Paris was going to go out to the stable and she wanted to be prepared for what was to come. One thing was for certain – she wasn’t going to let her father try to kill Scott as he’d tried to kill Troy, and she wasn’t going to let Kieran sit on his head with the ghastly Helm of Shame. Just as Scott would always protect her, she would protect him.
Judgment Day was coming.
She only hoped they would all survive it.
*
“Kieran, go into the hall and get Paris.”
William gave the fateful command, speaking softly but firmly. Kieran, his gaze lingering on Scott, left the stable without another word. When he was gone, William turned to his son.
“We can only hope the alcohol will numb him enough so that he simply accepts what you tell him,” William said to his son. “Let us pray for that because I almost ended my friendship with him today when he tried to kill Troy. I’d hate to have to make that decision twice in one day.”
Scott hung his head. Not because he was ashamed of his predicament with Athena because he wasn’t. It was because he was deeply remorseful for what his father had to deal with. It wasn’t just a situation that involved him and him alone – it was something that involved the whole family.
That was the unfortunate nature of it.
“For your distress, I am sorry,” he said after a moment. “Please believe me, Papa, when I say that I did not intend to disappoint you like this. I fully intend to face whatever punishment Uncle Paris wants to bring down on me, for the situation warrants it. I know it does. But I will not apologize for loving Athena. She is a strong, beautiful woman and she is worthy of being the mother of the heir to the House of de Wolfe.”
“She is indeed worthy, but you should have waited until you were married to bed her.”
“Did you wait until you were married to Mother to bed her?”
William couldn’t lie to his son, but he wasn’t going to answer him, either. “We are not speaking of me,” he said. “We are speaking of you. When I married your mother, I did not have a father to advise me. My father was long dead, but you have me and I will indeed advise you. You’ve gotten yourself into a bind, lad. If we all come out of this unscathed, it will be a miracle.”
Scott knew that truer words had never been spoken. “I cannot undo what has been done,” he said. “There is a child on the way. We have already discussed it and we are going to name our son William, after you. It seems appropriate.”
That took the raging wind right out of William’s sails. A grandson to carry on his name. He was almost swept away with the sweet and happy thoughts of a grandson who looked just like him, but he wondered if Scott had used it as a ploy to soften him. If he had, it was a brilliant move.
In fact, it gave him an idea.
“While I am deeply honored, and you know I am, I would not tell Paris that,” he said. “When the man comes in here and you must tell him the truth, tell him that you intend to name the child after him.”
Scott’s brow furrowed. “What?”
“Do it.”
“But –!”
“If you want to throw water on a raging fire, tell him. You can always change your mind later.”
Scott shut his mouth, eyeing his father but understanding why he said what he did. It was a dirty trick, but it would – or should – calm Paris’ anger. At this point, he was willing to do anything to appease the father of the woman he loved.
“Very well,” he sighed heavily. “If you believe it is the right thing to do.”
William lifted his big shoulders. “I do not know if it is the right thing, but it is the wise thing to do,” he said. “Hopefully, Paris will more easily accept the situation. Hopefully, he will be so drunk that none if it will matter but, somehow, I am not holding out the belief that it will. This could go either way for you, Scott – either he will not care because he has already been through this situation once today, or he will explode because it has happened twice.”
Scott was aware of that. He sat down on a stool that the grooms used, pondering his immediate future. The more he thought about it, the more worried he became. “Do you think he’ll do to me what he did to Troy?”
“If he does, you will accept it.”
Scott put his hand on his blond head, hating to lose his hair like his brother had. Yet, if that was all he lost, it would be a small price to pay. Hair would grow back. He might even get a slap or two and he would tolerate it. But the thought of Kieran sitting on his head already turned his stomach.
In silence, Scott and William waited, listening to the sounds of the distant party and the occasional cry of the sentries. The horses in the stable stirred now and again, including a charger who had an inordinate amount of flatulence. Scott sat there, listening to that horse fart, torn between disgust with the animal and the apprehension of what was coming. It was the unknown that worried him.
And then, they began to hear footsteps.
They also heard bickering, clearly Paris speaking to Kieran. Taking a deep breath, Scott stood up so he could face Paris on his feet. He didn’t want to face him seated on the stool where Paris could easily kick him in the face if he was angry enough. He didn’t want to lose teeth. As he watched the stable entry, Kieran appeared practically dragging Paris by his arm.
And Paris did not look pleased.
“Unhand me, you brute,” Paris snapped, yanking his arm from Kieran’s grip and nearly landing on his arse with the momentum of the pull. But he kept his balance as well as the contents of the tankard he carried, though barely. “What is this all about?”
William cast his son a long look before speaking. “Scott wishes to speak with you in private,” he said. “He did not want to compete with all of the guests in the hall, so I asked Kieran to bring you out here.”
Paris was weaving around, perturbed and unsteady. A handsome man with graying blond hair, he was the commander of Northwood Castle’s army, a great castle in the north and ally to William and Castle Questing. He also happened to be William’s oldest and closest friend next to Kieran. The three of them were so close that they even married cousins, officially making them all family. They’d seen life and death and innumerable battles together, but almost nothing as important as the battle that was forming now. Those family ties had already been tested today and they would, once again, be tested this night.
Scott knew it was time to get on with it.
“Uncle Paris,” he said. “I’m not sure this is the right time for such a thing, but I find that I must ask. Now with Troy and Helene married, it has occurred to me that I do not want to wait to start my life with Athena. I… I cannot remember when I haven’t loved her, or that she hasn’t been in my life. I never wish to be without her and I promise that I will make her happy. She will never want for anything and I will be true to her until the day I die. May I have your permission to marry her?”