The Scottish Bride - Catherine Coulter [32]
Mary Rose said after a long moment, “When I was a little girl, I swam with Erickson and the porpoises. They are mammals, Uncle Lyon, just like us. Not fish. Erickson taught me how to swim. He taught me that the porpoises wouldn’t hurt me, that they loved to play and dive and plunge around.”
“Surely you are wrong,” Sir Lyon said. “They live in the water. Only fish live in the water.”
“But you have seen Erickson recently, haven’t you, Mary Rose?” Donnatella asked, her voice cool, a thread of something Tysen didn’t understand running through it. “Not that I mind, of course,” Donnatella added in a bright voice. “After all, I did turn him down, didn’t I?”
“Yes, I see him often,” Mary Rose said. “Too often.”
Enough, Tysen thought. Very well, he would speak privately to Sir Lyon. He was Mary Rose’s uncle. It was his responsibility to protect her. It didn’t matter if he wanted Erickson MacPhail for a son-in-law, but even then, Tysen didn’t want to see Donnatella taken in either. One thing was certain, he would never allow Erickson MacPhail to become Sir Lyon’s nephew-in-law. Surely the news that MacPhail was trying to accost Mary Rose would make Sir Lyon reassess his opinion that the man was an excellent fellow.
Lady Margaret rose gracefully from her lovely Louis XVI chair. “Donnatella, you and Mary Rose come with me,” she said, and swept out of the small dining room before the two remaining male persons had time to put down their forks.
When they were alone, Sir Lyon eyed the young man on his right and said, “Is there some sort of problem here, my lord? You need my assistance perhaps in some estate matter?”
8
TYSEN SAID SLOWLY, relieved that Sir Lyon hadn’t drunk any more wine, “No, sir. There is no estate problem. It is much more serious. You see, the reason Mary Rose hurt her ankle was because she was running from MacPhail and tripped into a sheep killer. I believe he at-tempts to get her alone. He will probably rape her if he isn’t stopped. You are her uncle; it is your responsibility to warn him off. It was imperative that you knew what was happening. I wish Mary Rose had told you, but since she did not, I have.”
Sir Lyon looked at him for a very long time, no expression at all on his face. He rubbed his knuckles over his cheek. He drank more wine. He said finally, “And just what would your point be, my lord?”
Tysen could only stare at the man. “My point is that you are her uncle, sir.”
“Listen, my boy,” Sir Lyon said, sitting forward, his hands clasped beneath his chin. “You do not understand the way of things. I know you are a man of God. That particular calling perhaps sharpens your sensibilities, makes you question, perhaps, the means necessary to gain a needful end. Aye, Donnatella whispered to her mother that you were a vicar, and my Margaret whispered it to me right before we came in to luncheon. I am sorry that I forgot to have you invoke God’s blessing upon our meal. The haddock was on the dry side. Perhaps a prayer from a vicar would have made it more tender. Now, my lord, you do not understand the situation here. You believe Erickson to be dishonorable. You wish, because you are a vicar, to question his motives, to deplore his actions, perhaps to flay him as a sinner.”
“As a man of God, certainly I question his motives and condemn his actions. He is unnatural. His behavior is beyond the line. As a man, I also find that I would like to flatten him if he bothers her again. I am, however, no blood relation to her. You, on the other hand, are her uncle, her only male relative. It is your duty to stop him. She is very afraid of him.”
Sir Lyon frowned into his remaining wine. “I know that he wants her, he has told me so. I don’t know why, but he does. She is, after all, nothing compared to her cousin. What’s more, she carries The Taint and it will always be there. Yes, Erickson will rape her if he