William Grant stood looking out the window of his bedchamber as his wife readied herself for sleep. So lost in thought was he, he hadn’t realized she’d finished and crossed the room to him, until her arms wrapped around him from behind.

“What are ye brooding about, my love?” she asked.

“Lucas.”

She chuckled. “I thought as much.”

“What am I going to do? We nearly live hand to mouth as it is. I need for him to marry well. A sizable dowry would get us enough ahead to ensure the prosperity of the clan.”

“I know it would. But did ye really expect him to marry Moira MacNaughton?”

William snorted. “I don’t see why not. He’s not the sort to be satisfied with one woman anyway. He’ll surely keep mistresses on the side. Why does it matter who he marries?”

“I think ye underestimate him, William.”

He snorted. “I don’t think so. He’s twenty-six and takes nothing seriously. I suspect he’ll view marriage as a minor inconvenience.”

“Nay, ye’re wrong. I know he enjoys a good tumble with a willing lass now and then. But honestly, I don’t think he’d continue to do that after marrying. In fact, I think that is exactly why he doesn’t want to get married, or at least hasn’t so far. Even though ye don’t think so, he does have a serious side and he is surprisingly kind. Just look at the way he treats the children. If he were married, I don’t think he would willingly do anything to hurt his wife.”

William considered her words. He had to admit that as much as Lucas frustrated him, his brother also had very admirable qualities. He was an excellent warrior and yet never arrogant about it. And he was very kind. Even though he enjoyed tupping a willing lass, he hadn’t left a string of brokenhearted maids. He didn’t cajole them into his bed with promises he could never keep.

William turned to face his wife, taking her in his arms. “Aye, now that I think about it, ye’re probably right. He is a good man, if a bit reckless and hardheaded at times. But the fact is, where he and I are concerned, his first instinct is to take the opposite view on anything. If I said go right, his mission in life would become going left.”

She laughed. “He’s not that bad.”

“Ye think not? Ye haven’t known him as long as I have.”

“Nay, I haven’t. But I know he loves ye, William. I suspect the fact that ye’re his brother, but also became his laird when ye were fourteen and he was only seven, didn’t help yer relationship.”

“I suppose not. And in fairness, by the time I was eighteen, I had become a bit self-important. I wanted to be the laird more that I wanted to be a good brother. Robert was away training then, so he experienced less of it. But Lucas hadn’t left yet. We had some God-awful rows that usually ended by me pulling rank like the lairdly arse I was. Every time it happened, Lucas begged Uncle Bede to send him away to train. Eventually, Uncle Bede gave up trying to mend the rift between us. When Lucas turned twelve, our uncle sent him to train with Laird MacPherson. Thank God, Bede was eventually able to rein me in a bit before I actually took control of the clan. Still, I suppose it’s too much to expect Lucas would forget all of that.”

Her brow knitted. “I don’t think childhood hurts are what drive him. He just learned to be his own man and he’s young enough not to back down from that easily. He does want yer approval. After not getting the betrothal ye wanted, he brought Ailsa MacLennan to ye to ransom. If his only goal in life was to irritate ye, he could have taken her to MacLennan land and just let her go.”

He nodded. “Aye, I suppose ye’re right about that. And the ransom will help for a little while.”

“Speaking of our wee MacLennan guest, what do ye think of her?”

Nina smiled. “She’s sweet. And very sad. I haven’t asked, but I suspect she had warm feelings for Lucas—before she found out who he was—and she feels betrayed. Hers may be the first heart he’s broken.”

William knew that was true. “Oh, I’m certain she had a growing infatuation for him. But oddly enough, I think he was falling for her as well.”

“What makes ye say that?”

He shrugged. “Little things. He is uncharacteristically protective of her. In my solar, Lucas became cross with Robert when he snapped at her about something. And then there’s the fact that Lucas couldn’t seem to take his eyes off of her during dinner.”

“Really? I’ll have to pay more attention.” She chuckled. “At first blush, she wouldn’t seem to be his type. She’s not like any of the women he’s usually attracted to. There’s an innocence about her that I would have thought at best he’d find amusing and at worst he’d disparage.”

William chuckled. “Aye. But she is very pretty.”

“Aye, well a bonny lass can turn any man’s head—at least for a moment. But it takes more than that to win someone’s heart. Moira MacNaughton is a prime example.”

He nodded. “I can’t argue with that. Now I have to start working on another betrothal. Only this time, I won’t count on him to secure it.”

“Aye, that was probably a mistake.” Her lips turned up in a sly grin. “Perhaps what ye need to do is find a suitable bride that ye think he might be happy with, then forbid him from marrying her. He’d surely handfast with her immediately.”

William laughed. “No doubt.”