She shook him off gracefully. 'You must convince the girl, Adrian, and, believe me, it will not be easy.' She sat back in her chair, and, reaching for her goblet sipped the wine he had earlier poured them.
'Why not? She loves me,' he declared with the enthusiasm of his youth. Picking up his own goblet, he swallowed the cool red wine thirstily until the goblet was empty.
'She loves her family, too,' the countess of Oxton replied wisely. 'She will be torn between you both. You will have to make her choose you over them, my son, or you have not a chance, despite her feelings.'
'But how, Mother?'
'We must make certain that the duke and his family continue in their coldness toward you despite your charm and good manners. The sweeter you appear, and the chillier their reception, particularly if it is in Lady India's presence, will only help but make the girl take your side. Do not at any time criticize her family, my dearest. Defend them, saying if you had a beautiful daughter, you would want to protect her, too, from what you believed was an unsuitable match. Remind her what a fine old family the Leighs are. Say things like 'We are not wealthy or powerful people like your family, but we are honorable and noble.' That, too, will make her take your part. You will appear to be a worthy and virtuous young man, held unfairly responsible for the wicked behavior of your elder brother, and your flighty mother, neither of whom you approve of, and would disown if it would not break your poor old father's heart.'
Adrian Leigh laughed, genuinely amused by his mother's cunning. 'You are absolutely diabolical,' he said. 'Again I say it is a perfect plan, Mother, and I thank you.' He leaned from his own chair and kissed her cheek.
'If she proves too reluctant, Adrian, you must make love to her in order to convince her. I do not mean you should deflower the girl, but I assume, from what you have told me, that you have only traded kisses with her so far. Caress her breasts. First through the fabric of her gown, and then, if you can, slip your hand into her bodice and gently fondle her. Be certain not to frighten her, however, else you lose your advantage with her.'
'I should like that,' he said softly. 'She has the most tempting little breasts I have ever seen.'
The countess of Oxton smiled at her son knowingly. He was a great deal more like her than he was willing to admit. His wife would not be unhappy with him as she had been with her son's father, the cold bastard.
The king was crowned in Westminster Abbey on Candlemas Day, February 2, 1626. The queen watched the procession from a window in the gatehouse of Whitehall Palace. The king wore a white satin suit, but, overall, the coronation was an austere event as the royal treasury was almost bare. Only the generosity of several wealthy families, prevailed upon by the duke of Buckingham, made it possible for there to be a celebratory feast afterward. The duke and duchess of Glenkirk had kept a sharp eye on India, whose behavior was demure in the great abbey. Afterward, when they entered the banquet hall at Whitehall, however, India managed to give her parents the slip, and find her way to Adrian Leigh, who greeted her warmly.
Helpless to stop her without causing a scene, James Leslie nonetheless saw where she went. Back at Greenwood House that evening, he paced the family hall angrily. 'She hae deliberately disobeyed us, Jasmine, and I for one hae had enough of her willfulness. We will leave for Scotland at the beginning of the week.'
'What good will that do?' his wife asked. 'India will correspond with young Leigh, and we will be returning to England come summer.'
'There will be nae more letters! By summer India will be either betrothed or, better yet, married,' James Leslie replied firmly. 'Since India will nae choose a suitable match for herself, we will choose one for her.'
'Ohh, Jemmie!' his wife murmured. 'I don't like to do that to India. I want her to love the man she marries.'
'Your father chose Prince Jamal, your first husband, for you. You dinna know him until you married him, and yet you were happy,' the duke reminded his wife. 'Your grandparents chose Rowan Lindley, India's father, as your second husband, and you grew to love him, didn't you? So much so that you almost died when he was killed. King James chose me as your third husband, and we have nae been unhappy, hae we? I know you love me, darling Jasmine, and I certainly love you. India is behaving in a childish manner. She hae deliberately fixated herself upon an unsuitable man, and refuses to look elsewhere, because she thinks if she continues in her stubbornness she will, as she hae many times before, get her own way. But this time it is nae about a gown or a puppy. This is India's life, and I will nae hae her miserable for the rest of it because she chose the wrong man. I owe that to her father.'
'Have you any ideas for an appropriate match?' Jasmine asked.
'Well, I would hae you ask your aunt Willow about eligible young Englishmen, and I know both Angus Drummond and Ian MacCrae hae unmarried sons. They would be more than favorable to a match wi our daughter. Both the Drummonds and the MacCraes are solid families. Nae great titles, but educated, and nae fanatical where religion is concerned. Still, your aunt may know of some suitable young noblemen, and India, being English by birth, might prefer to live in England near her two brothers, Henry and Charlie, and your family.'
'I suppose it is the only way,' Jasmine said reluctantly. Her husband might be taking a firm approach, but he certainly wasn't being unreasonable, she thought. India, of course, would rage and howl, but they had no other choice. Her mother-in-law had been right when she had suggested that India was ripe for bedding. Before the girl caused a scandal with the wrong man, they were going to have to marry her off to someone more eligible.
'By summer we'll hae a wedding,' the duke decided firmly. 'Then you and I will hae to consider what to do about Fortune, for she will be sixteen in July, and should also be wed.'
'I had thought to take her to Ireland,' Jasmine said. 'I had always intended giving her MacGuire's Ford and its lands. I think she should therefore have an Irish, or Anglo-Irish husband, Jemmie.'
'Excellent!' he agreed.
Jasmine nodded. 'It is all for the best,' she agreed. 'It is past time we established the girls, but I hate to lose them. The time has gone so quickly. Just yesterday they were little lasses, running barefoot through the vineyards at Belle Fleurs. Do you remember the first summer we brought them to Glenkirk and they swam naked in the loch? I remember how they splashed and giggled, refusing to come out of the water even when their lips were blue with the icy, icy cold.' Her eyes grew moist. 'Where did my little girls go, Jemmie? Where did they go?'
He put a comforting arm about her. He had no answer to such a question.
In a dark corner of the family hall India had listened to her parents so cruelly deciding her fate. Now she sidled carefully from her hiding place and slipped into the hallway of the house, bumping into her sister, Fortune, as she exited.
'You've been eavesdropping!' Fortune accused her.
