As he sat beside her, she couldn’t stop her lips twitching at his exaggerated manner. She noted that he kept a couple of inches clear between them.
No, this proposal was nothing to do with ardor.
An unexpected pang of disappointment stung her, although ardor was the last thing she wanted from her champion.
He didn’t start where she thought he would, with talk of marriage. “Fergus thinks that ye may have some legal recourse against the Grants.”
Surprise made her sit up straight. “In the courts?”
“Aye. You’re of age. You’re the child’s mother, a closer relative than any of the Grants. It would be different if Christina’s father was still alive, but he’s not. If you want to sue for custody of your daughter, ye have a strong case. Especially if you make it clear it’s in the child’s interest. It’s still legal for twelve-year-old girls to marry in Scotland, but the practice is considered barbarous and old-fashioned.”
Good Lord, she was so unworldly. It hadn’t even occurred to her that she had any choice but to steal Christina away and disappear to somewhere the Grants would never find her. “But that means—”
“A permanent solution where ye can keep your identity and so can Christina. God willing, you might even have some hope of squeezing an allowance out of Allan Grant. Ye brought assets to your marriage with Ian. And you’re Allan’s brother’s widow. Under the law, ye have rights.”
She stamped on the seedling of hope that sprouted in her heart. “Allan will never let me go, and he’s chary to put out a penny, once it’s found its way into the family coffers.”
“If there’s a judgment in your favor, he’ll have nae choice.”
“It sounds grand.” She made a helpless gest
ure. “I have no money for lawyers. I may be naive. But I know these things cost good coin. I don’t even own the clothes I stand up in.”
“We’ll talk about money after it’s all done.”
Meaning he intended to pay for any legal action. The weight of what she owed Diarmid Mactavish was already crushing. She couldn’t bear to fall further into his debt.
But that was an argument for later. “And the courts will take forever, while all the time, my daughter suffers in captivity.”
“As it’s urgent, we may be able to request an emergency session. Fergus is going to Edinburgh to see what his solicitors have to say about your circumstances.”
Someone else to whom she’d owe a crippling debt. “But he’s just become a father. This is so much trouble for him. Why on earth…” Then she stopped. “I see. It’s because of you, not me. He and Marina said they’d do anything for you.”
He looked a little uncomfortable. “They like ye, too.”
“They’ve known me all of four days. I’m a stranger.”
“Who’s suffered a great injustice.”
“Which is enough to make someone extend the hand of sympathy, not to send a man dashing off to Edinburgh when his child is scarcely a week old. And what do we do in the meantime? Stay here and twiddle our thumbs?”
“No. We go back to your original plan. We find Christina and steal her away. The minute the Grants hear of any legal case, they’ll whisk the girl off to where we’ll never find her.”
She straightened. This sounded more like what she had in mind. The legal angle was promising, but what she wanted most of all was her child in her care and safe from the Grants. “Really?”
Diarmid smiled at her. “Really.”
“Then let’s go.” She rose to her feet.
He studied her from where he sat on the bench. “No’ yet. That’s where the other part of the plan comes in.”
The prospect of setting out to retrieve her daughter had almost made her forget where this conversation had started. Her excitement disintegrated, and dread tasted bitter on her tongue.
“You want to talk about getting married,” she said flatly.
“Aye, I do.” His expression was implacable.
“I don’t want to marry again.” She was already shaking her head. “If you knew the nightmare I’ve been through, you’d have enough pity not to ask me.”