Chapter 34
The merrymaking continued throughout the day.
Sheena was actually enjoying herself, especially so while Jamie was away.
He left the hall without so much as a glance her way, and then returned a few hours later.
He wore the same brooding face. Unapproachable was what he was, unapproachable when she needed to talk to him.
She forced herself to forget about him and turn her attention to the company.
She found she liked Jamie’s sisters very much, as she had liked Aunt Lydia from the first. What was it about these MacKinnion women that was so agreeable?
Lydia was so warm and sympathetic. Daphne was more reserved, but charming and understanding.
Thais, no older than Sheena, was vivacious, full of life and good cheer.
Sheena found herself quite envious of Thais.
And of the family. She wasn’t used to a loving family.
She had had Niall and her father but never the love of her sisters.
The difference between these sisters and her own was appalling, making her wistful with longing.
No wonder Jamie was tender with her at times.
He had had so much practice with his two sisters.
“So my Dobbin has finally arrived.”
When Daphne spoke, Sheena turned to the entrance and saw a big, brutish man with red hair and beard and eyebrows that were much too thick and bushy. Almost his whole face was covered with hair.
Sheena couldn’t hide her surprise. “That’s your husband?” She knew she was staring.
Daphne grinned good-naturedly, used to people’s reaction to Dobbin Martin.
“Och, now, we canna all have handsome devils for husbands. And mine’s no’ so bad.
At least his temper doesna run amok, and his only real fault is his indulgence of his cousins—especially that one.
She must have been waiting outside for Dobbin, knowing she would find welcome here only with Dobbin as her escort. ”
Sheena saw the woman standing a little behind him. Jessie Martin. She frowned. Having hoped she would never see that viper again, she was unpleasantly surprised.
And if that was not enough. Black Gawain appeared in the entrance. His face was more darkly set even than Jamie’s, if that was possible. His anger stirred Sheena’s own temper. Was he here to cause trouble? His eyes lit on her with a smoldering intensity that signaled the worst.
Sheena left the women by the fire and hurried to Jamie’s side without considering that she might be rebuffed. She pulled him away from his conversation, away from the tables and any eavesdroppers. When she turned to face him, Jamie didn’t look at all pleased.
Undaunted, Sheena let her anger spill forth. “Are you aware Black Gawain is here?”
“Is he?”
Jamie’s casual response brought sparks to Sheena’s eyes, and she demanded, “Are these guests here for our wedding or no’?”
“They are.”
“Then have I no say in who is invited to partake of the celebrating?”
“Dinna be a hypocrite, Sheena,” Jamie replied coldly. “You’ve made it clear you’ve no reason to celebrate, so what does it matter if there is another here who feels the same way?”
“I dinna want him here, that is what matters! I canna stand the sight of him, Jamie. If no’ for him…”
She hesitated, and he demanded, “What?”
But she wouldn’t admit that things might have been different between them if not for Gawain.
She would have spent the night with Jamie, still in a haze of happiness, instead of crying her heart out alone.
But she wouldn’t tell him any of that, so she said instead, “If no’ for Black Gawain, my cousin wouldna have been wounded.
Do you think Iain survived the long trek home? He is probably dead even now!”
“And only fitting if so, considering I’ve two kinsmen of my own sorely wounded,” Jamie retorted cruelly before he could stop himself.
Sheena gasped. This was not the man she had come to know. Worse, it was the man she had been raised to fear. What was happening to him?
“What will you do, Jamie?” she asked, as mildly as she could.
But he had spent the whole day in a black mood and was not appeased by her sudden meekness. The fact was, he had made no decision about what to do, but he would keep that from her.
“Whatever I do, lass, you’ll still be my wife. If you’re no’ clear about what that means, let me enlighten you. I’ll no’ stay away from our room again as I did last night. We will share that room—and more. Do you ken?”
Her chin came up stubbornly. If Jamie thought he could dominate her simply because he was her husband, he was about to learn differently.
“I ken.” Her answer was controlled. “And now you ken. You think you have rights over me, but I’ll no’ honor them. I was made wife to you, but ’twas no’ what I wanted, and in my mind those ties are severed as of now. So dinna expect me to ever call you husband, Jamie, for our marriage is a mockery.”
Her words dissolved Jamie’s anger, striking him with terrible pain until his heart felt wrenched from his chest. He had lost her. He knew it was probably too late to change that. Panicked, he knew it was his own fault.
“Sheena…”
She turned away, unable to listen anymore. What she had said had stunned her. She hadn’t meant to be so…final. Her throat constricted. She hadn’t meant what she’d said. But having said the words, she couldn’t take them back.
She looked at him, at the soft blond waves of his hair curling on his neck, the strong, handsome face. Pain reflected in his hazel eyes. Did her eyes mirror his? But hers were even more revealing, filling with tears she couldn’t stop.
“I’m sorry, Jamie. I fear we’re both too stubborn.” She couldn’t say more, and she couldn’t stop crying, so she turned and walked swiftly from the hall.