"Yer father wishes ye to marry?"
"He wishes us all to marry and quickly, save the brothers. He has too many mouths to feed and no wife. But ye dinna see my meaning."
"Meaning o' what?"
"Macoran dinna let a lass choose, but if she be very, very wise, she can do the choosing anyway. All she need do is be pleasing to the lad she wants and…"
"Addlebrained to the one she dinna want?"
"Or worse if need be. She might laugh too loud or too often, whisper so he cannae hear her, or I dinna know…there must be many ways to discourage him."
*
It was a beautiful glen that marked the last of the Macoran land and at the end was a vast holding filled with sheep, cattle and horses. A couple of Macoran guards sat their horses at the edge of the land and kept watch for strangers and visitors. The dirt road was wide enough for a cart and the large cottage was surrounded by flowers. "He sees to all this by himself?" Stefan asked.
"Macoran sends lads to help when 'tis needed, but mostly Blair cares for it himself. I would like to see Andrina living in such a fine home. Since our mother passed, she has carried a heavy load. Come, we will meet him and ye can help me decide."
They spent an hour with Blair, but it was apparent he still mourned his wife and was not ready to have another. Even so, Stefan had another new friend and he liked the man very much. Blair had a love for animals and children, the same as Stefan.
On the way back, they next visited Fergus. He was unmarried and he too kept his place well cared for growing wheat and oats mostly. But his cottage was smaller than Jirvel's and when Diarmad suggested he build a new one, Fergus was offended. The boys quickly crossed him off their list as too quick to anger.
There were other farms, but those men were married and as they rode the path, Diarmad and Stefan simply nodded and continued on. On the village side of Jirvel's land lived William and Colin whom they visited respectively. They too were pleasant and Stefan could not find fault with either of them. Both were young, hardworking, not taken to drink and friendly. How would they ever choose? It appeared matchmaking was not as easy as they supposed. One thing was stuck in Stefan's mind and it galled him - why was Jirvel's land so run down compared to the others? Did no one care to help all these years, even her neighbors?