A month earlier…

“How dare he? How dare he dictate me life tae me!” Domhnall MacLeod lambasted. “Who the hell does he think he is?”

“The King of England,” Kai quipped with a smirk.

Magnus gave his brother a dark look, while Domhnall glowered at him, but Kai only shrugged, clearly not fazed by either of his brother’s reactions.

“Well, he is,” Kai pressed.

“Let me see that,” Magnus said, gesturing to the letter Domhnall had gripped in his hand.

Domhnall tossed the letter across the desk and then spun on his heel, the heightened agitation growing to a boiling point within him.

“Ye need tae calm down, Domhnall,” Magnus warned. “Ye ken ye cannae afford tae lose yer temper.”

“The hell I will. Read it,” he barked.

“Read it out,” Kai added, “so I dinnae have tae read it after ye.”

Magnus held the parchment aloft and began.

“Edward, by the grace of God, King of England, Lord of Ireland, and Duke of Aquitaine, to Laird MacLeod, I send my dearest greeting.”

“Aye, course he does,” Kai interjected.

“May the lord bless thee, and all those in your household,” Magnus continued. “I trust those under your leadership show gratitude for your righteousness and mercy. As brothers of the same island, it is with discernment that I send you good will in this letter, and purport to instruct you in an alliance that will bond our nations together. It is with the fragileness of these bonds in mind that I have arranged a union that will bind those bonds ever tighter.”

At this point, Magnus lifted his head and stared at Domhnall in astonishment. “He’s arranged yer marriage?” he blurted.

Domhnall was still storming back and forth, his fists clenching and unclenching, a mechanism he had adopted to try and control his rage, both now and at other times.

Flicking his hand at the letter, he growled, “Continue. It gets better.”

Magnus dropped his gaze back to the letter, and read some more.

“These bonds can only be strengthened if our nations unite, and thus, I am sending your betrothed to you from England.”

“What?” Kai blurted.

“Aye, nae so funny now, is it?” Domhnall spat.

“Lady de Beaumont will travel to you on the Isle of Skye,” Magnus read, “and you will marry within the month of her arrival. She is a fine lady from excellent stock, and will provide you with strong heirs.”

“What he means is, English heirs,” Magnus deduced.

“Exactly,” Domhnall declared. “He goes on about this being for the nation’s best interests, but he ends with a threat. The fact that if I dinnae comply, there will be war.”

“He said that?” Kai gasped.

“Nae in so many words, but it’s certainly inferred,” Domhnall replied. “His strategy couldnae be more obvious. The man isnae a fool. The MacLeod Clan has always been fiercely independent. Being on an island has always given us an advantage, for we are not so easily reached.”

“But why now?” Magnus said. “After all this time o’ his leaving us be, why is he so eager now?”

“Who the hell kens?” Domhnall growled, throwing his hands in the air. “He’s trying tae tie us tae the English crown through marital bonds.”

“Which will, in turn, weaken Scottish resistance and spread English half-breeds across the Highlands,” Kai said.

For a long moment, none of the brothers said another word. Kai had surmised it perfectly, and as his words echoed around Domhnall’s head, the rage continued to bubble within him.

The MacLeod Clan was indeed mighty, but they could not take on the King of England. Maybe, they could ask for help from their allies, but who, in their right mind, would go against a direct order from King Edward?

The man was evil to the core, and had already betrayed many a Scotsman with promises of peace and alliances. Those foolish enough to fall for it were often found hanging in a barn from their neck.

“What are we going tae dae?” Kai asked.

Being the youngest of the three brothers, certainly did not make Kai any less experienced. In fact, he was one of the best scouts Domhnall had, and thus, knew as much about what was going on in the lands as Domhnall himself.

“We could make a stand,” Magnus said, “but it would put the whole clan at risk.”

Domhnall stared at Magnus. “I cannae dae that, braither. These people rely on me tae keep them safe. What kind o’ laird would I be, if I knowingly put them in harm’s way? And particularly, if only tae save mesel’.” He shook his head. “Nae! I willnae dae it.”

But the more he thought about the situation, the angrier he got. The king had no right to dictate to him who he should or should not marry. More than that, marrying an English woman was nearly sacrilege. Without counting the scars of his parent’s deaths, which did little to help.

Grabbing a nearby chair, he flung it across the room, and yelled at the top of his lungs. “God damn it all tae hell.”

The chair smashed into splinters, and fell onto the stone floor with a noisy clatter.

“What the devil is going on in here?” Thora said as she tentatively walked into the room. Enya, her twin sister, directly behind her.

“Domhnall, braither,” Enya gasped, hurrying over to him. “Whatever is the matter?”

“Stay away from him, Enya,” Magnus warned.

“Och, dinnae talk such nonsense,” she whipped a reply. “Me oldest braither has never hurt me. I dinnae think he’s going tae start now.”

Placing her hand on his arm, she gazed up at him. “Tell me.”

Domhnall sat his sisters down, and, taking it in turns, their three brothers explained what the king had decreed. As expected, the lass’s faces were a picture of horror, and feeling as indignant as the men, they too were angry at such overreach.

“So, then, we havenae any choice,” Thora concluded caustically. “Tae save the people, ye have tae go through with this.”

Domhnall nodded. “Aye. I dae.”

The five siblings sat there for a long time, none of them having much to say. There wasn’t really much they could say. Edward I was a man who used many means to get his way, and none of them had any doubt he would keep to his word.

“Nay matter what happens, we must remember one thing,” Enya said, a little later on.

“What?” Kai said.

“Well, Domhnall isnae the only one being forced against his will. Whoever this Lady de Beaumont is, we can be certain she doesnae want tae be here, as much as we dinnae want her here. But, like us, she probably has nay choice.”

“So, what are ye saying?” Kai asked with a shrug.

“That we treat her decently when she arrives. She’s likely a quiet and reserved wee thing, like most English ladies.”

“Then she’ll hardly ken what’s hit her when she gets here and meets us,” Kai chuckled.

The twins laughed, Magnus smiled, but Domhnall remained solemn.

That was all he needed, a shy, English wallflower as his wife. They would be as opposite as night and day.

“Are ye all right, Domhnall?” Enya asked quietly while the others were talking amongst themselves.

He looked at his sister, the epitome of empathy, and then smiled. “I’ll be just fine,” he lied.

Tilting her head, she gave him a sad look. “I am so very sorry,” she said. “Maybe ye’ll grow tae like her, perhaps even love her.”

Clenching his jaw, he held his smile in place. “Aye,” he said tightly. “Maybe.”

A little later, when the others had left him alone, Domhnall stood at the window of his study and glared out across the gardens.

“Like her? Love her?” he spat. “She’ll be lucky if I dinnae kill her.”

Still seething at the position, he was being forced into, Domhnall knew this anger was going to sit with him for some time.

The English were coming to his island, the Isle of Skye, and there was not a damned thing he could do to stop it.

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