Ceinn-beithe, though untouched by vines and witchery and fog, was caught in an uncustomary flurry of activity.
And Mhairi MacLaren stood in the eye of the storm. ’Twas not a familiar place for her, and she saw both advantage and disadvantage within it.
To be sure, she was excited by her father’s choice to offer her hand as well as Esmeraude’s. ’Twas thrilling to be the center of so much male attention and flattering to have them seeking her favor so ardently. It made her feel like a woman to have the responsibility of choice, and she was very aware that her choice would determine all the rest of her life.
She had not thought much of marriage until recent years, and then she had assumed that her parents would encourage a match with whichever local man of good repute managed to catch her
