Chapter 22
CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
Just as Edward had predicted, the villagers rushed toward Anna to get their own chance at speaking with her. Hugh had been expecting her to be overwhelmed as she had been on their journey to the castle, but this time she seemed to be more prepared. The smile on her face was genuine, never wavering.
I've nae met someone so beautiful.
The thought hit Hugh without any warning. It was becoming increasingly common for his mind to conjure statements such as that. He knew there wasn't anything he could do to stop it. Each interjection was correct.
"Me Lady!" a villager called, walking toward Anna with her young daughter in tow. "We're so excited to meet ye."
"I have somethin' for ye," the little girl, who couldn't have been older than ten, said. "I hope ye like it."
From behind her back, the girl produced a tiny, hand-sewn bunny. She offered it to Anna, her sweet face bright and hopeful. Anna knelt before the girl, then, with gentle hands, reached forward to accept the gift.
"Oh, this is beautiful," Anna said, her fingers tracing over the stitching. "Did you make this yourself?"
"Aye," the girl said, grinning widely enough to show off a missing front tooth and a dimpled left cheek. "Me maither taught me to sew, and I spent every day since learnin' we had a Lady makin' that for ye."
Anna looked genuinely touched, her bright eyes darting between the stuffed rabbit and the little girl.
Softly, she said, "I'm quite sorry I didn't bring you something as thoughtful.
" Without looking away, Anna untied the ribbons from her hair and pressed them into the girl's palms. "But these are from back in England. They're my finest ribbons."
"I can really have them?" the girl asked, her fingers rubbing over the fabric. "Ye willnae miss them?"
"Maybe I will," Anna said thoughtfully. "But I'll replace them with something from the village. Something that I'll cherish just as much as I cherish those. Besides, I think those ribbons will look better in your hair than they do in mine."
The little girl giggled, her eyes going glassy with emotion. In an almost reverent tone, she said, "I will take good care of them, me Lady. They're me most prized possession."
"And I'll take care of this darling rabbit," Anna promised, stroking the doll's head softly. "I already cherish it so."
Anna glanced over her shoulder at Hugh, looking at his hand expectantly. She gave him the rabbit, taking her time to ensure it wouldn't fall. Then, she turned back to the little girl.
"Here," she murmured, gesturing to the ribbons. "I'll put your hair up for you."
As soon as the girl passed them back to Anna, she spun around.
Anna's hands moved deftly through the auburn locks, ridding her hair of the few tangles that had been put there by the wind.
Then, she braided two pieces away from the girl's face, securing them at the back of her head.
Anna took her time as she tied the bow, ensuring it was perfectly symmetrical.
"I was right," Anna said as she rose to her feet. "That color was made for you."
"Thank ye, me Lady," the girl said, reaching up to touch the braids. "Thank ye so much."
Hugh watched the way Anna nearly shied away from the gratitude. She pushed it away, though, taking a deep breath and reaching for the girl's shoulder. This attempt at confidence was perfect, something that he knew would only make her surer of herself in interactions to come.
"There's no need to thank me," Anna said firmly, squeezing the girl's shoulder. "I'm more than happy to do it. And you gave me such a wonderful gift that putting the ribbon in your hair was the least I could give in return."
If the villagers didn't adore Anna before, they did now. The girl's mother was reaching forward to clasp Anna's hands, thanking her profusely. The girl was running to show off the new ribbon to her friends. All of the onlookers seemed even more eager to get their chance to speak with Anna.
"She's quite wonderful, me Laird," Edward, the village head, said when he stopped at Hugh's elbow. "The people cannae seem to get enough of her."
"Ach, I ken," Hugh replied as he stepped forward, not wanting to let Anna get too far away from him. "Between ye and me, I didnae expect her to be so good with the villagers. I ken that she's thoughtful and kind, but it seems that she's even more charmin' than I believed she was."
"Ye're lucky to have her," Edward said, smiling at the way Anna spoke to a child in another mother's arms. "But we didnae ken ye were engaged. How did the two of ye meet?"
"We wrote letters to one another," Hugh said, leaving out the fact that Anna only sent him one letter and that it wasn't really meant for him. "When I met her in person, I kent that I had to marry her. We didnae have a large ceremony, though I imagine there will be a ceilidh in a few months' time."
"I assure ye that we're lookin' forward to it," Edward said. "As ye can see, they'll all be fightin' for invitations."
"I wouldnae dream of leavin' out anyone that wants to come," Hugh assured him. "And Anna willnae allow us to have a celebration that isnae open to everyone."
"Aye, she does have a kind heart, doesnae she?" Edward followed as Hugh continued his guarding of Anna. "Congratulations on yer marriage, me Laird."
Hugh nodded in response, crossing his arms over his chest. He tucked the stuffed rabbit in the crook of his elbow, keeping it from being swept away in the chaos. Anna continued socializing, drawing laughter and praise from everyone she met.
She was absolutely radiant when she carried herself like this.
It seemed as if she was filling a role she was always meant to step into.
And, when she looked back and smiled at him, Hugh was no longer bothered by the fact that they wouldn't get to the seamstress today.
There was no reason to rush this interaction.
"Ach, after we eat," Edward said, interrupting Hugh's thoughts, "I have some reports about bandits in the area that I need to tell ye."
"If need be, I'll dispatch some of me men to do patrols of the area," Hugh said. "But we will talk about that later."
For now, Hugh needed to keep an eye on Anna. There were so many people here that something could happen in a split second. He couldn't let his attention stray from her for even a moment.
Anna was thoroughly stuffed and nearly out of words as the sun began to dip lower in the sky. They'd have to leave soon, yet she didn't see Hugh nor Marcus. Thankfully, though, she was finally able to break from the throng of villagers that were far more enamored with her than she anticipated.
It seemed as though the smile on her face was permanent now. Despite how exhausted she was from all the talking, she was happier than she'd ever been. Her father had been right; if she was given the chance, people liked her for herself.
As she slowly made her way to where the horses were tethered, she spotted Marcus approaching. His movements were jerky, and his face was twisted as though he had bitten into a particularly sour fruit. It was the opposite of how she had expected to see him.
She picked up her pace, adjusting her path so she could reach him.
Something about his posture, the way he was holding himself, made her worried that he'd go back to the castle without waiting for Hugh.
Whatever was bothering him, she knew that he needed to clear his head before taking off on his horse.
"Marcus," she called out when he didn't look up at her. "Marcus, wait!"
For a moment, she thought he was going to ignore her. But, after a beat, he stopped abruptly and turned toward her. His eyes were red-rimmed, and he seemed a bit ill.
"Marcus…" she said softly, taking in the rumpled look of his clothes and the tension he carried in his shoulders. "What… what happened?"
He laughed, bitter and angry, before glancing back toward the village. Without a word, he gestured. She followed his line of sight, but she was unable to reason out what he was trying to say.
"I thought you were going to see the woman you love," Anna murmured, taking a careful step closer to him. "What was her name again?"
"Helena," he spat, looking down at Anna with a contempt she knew wasn't meant for her. "And I did go to see her."
"Was she not happy to see you?" she asked, speaking low and slow to keep from setting him off.
Though she was fairly certain that no amount of softening could prevent his reaction. His jaw flexed as he ground his teeth together. When she glanced down at his hands, they were tightened into fists at his sides.
"Nay, I suppose ye can say she wasnae happy to see me," Marcus finally said, forcing his body to relax. There was still a grimace upon his face, though, a tightness around his eyes that he couldn't will away.
She lifted her hand, her fingers twitching as she debated whether or not to reach out to him. It seemed as if it might be as dangerous as touching a freshly-sharpened blade, but it hurt her to see him so distraught. So, bracing herself for rejection, she settled her hand on his shoulder.
"I'm so sorry," Anna said, squeezing slightly. "You don't have to speak about it if you don't want to, but I can tell that it was upsetting. This trip wasn't meant to turn out like this."
"Ach, I needed to ken," he said with vitriol. "If I hadn't seen that, I would still believe that Helena was me true love."
Anna rubbed at his shoulder kindly, her own heart breaking at the genuine distress radiating from her brother-in-law.
While she still didn't know what had happened, she knew the sting of betrayal, of someone not being who she thought they were.
She remembered the friends who had spoken about her behind her back.
As she rubbed his shoulder softly, Marcus's body began to shake. When she leaned forward, she expected to see tears on his face. Instead, he was staring at the ground, his eyes narrowed at a rock. Anna opened her mouth to speak again, but he beat her to it.
"Ye ken what I saw?" he asked, his voice barely above a whisper. "Ye ken what I saw when I walked into her house?"
"Wh… what did you see?" she murmured, a pit forming in her stomach.
I don't know if I want to know… Wouldn't whatever he saw be my fault since I'm the one who encouraged him to come to the village?
"She's been seein' other men," Marcus said darkly, beginning to speak again, only to cut himself off.
"That's—"
"At the same time," he continued, the confession coming out of him in a rush. "I walked into her home only to see her with three other men. I… I daenae ken how I was so blind. When I demanded to ken how long this had been goin' on, she told me she'd ken them longer than she kent me."
"Oh, Marcus," Anna said, her heart dropping from her chest. "I… I don't know what to say. I'm so sorry."
"Nay, ye shouldnae be sorry," he said, putting his hand over hers and squeezing once before dropping it and shrugging her off. "I needed to ken what was goin' on."
"But that was such an awful way to find out," Anna said, wrapping her arms around herself. She glanced away, surprised to see Hugh walking toward them with purpose.
"Ye shouldnae have run off, Anna," Hugh said when he was within earshot. "I was worried when I couldnae find ye."
"I'm truly sorry, Hugh," she said, looking over at Marcus. "I was just a bit overwhelmed with everything."
The Laird was no longer looking at her, though. His focus was on his brother instead. With a grunt, he asked, "What happened to ye?"
"Hugh, I don't think that's—" Anna began, trying to save the situation.
"If ye must ken," Marcus said, leveling Hugh with a look that only communicated despair, "ye and Maither and Arianna were right. Helena is nae good for me. She's a liar, and I was too blind to see it."
"Ye saw somethin' awful, didnae ye?" Hugh sighed, his shoulders slumping as if he didn't want to be correct.
"Aye," Marcus affirmed before glancing at Anna. "But I willnae repeat it a second time in front of yer wife. She's a lady; it was wrong of me to say what I saw."
"You don't have to apologize," she assured him with a friendly smile. "Besides, the most beautiful skies always appear after a storm. Do what you must to weather this storm."
That drew a genuine, if small, smile from Marcus. "I really should apologize for how I reacted to ye when ye arrived. That wasnae fair to ye."
"You were going through your own hardships," she said kindly. "I understand."
"Daenae excuse him," Hugh said, though he didn't sound severe. "Ye may have been hurtin', but that was nay reason to hurt me wife."
"I ken," Marcus said as he approached his horse.
"And I'm ashamed of that behavior. Anna, I'm proud to call ye me sister.
Thank ye for makin' the opportunity for me to learn this.
If I hadnae, I daenae ken how much longer I would have been torn apart over her.
" Marcus got onto his horse. "Now, I daenae have to worry about it. "
Anna began to speak, but Hugh stopped her with a hand on her shoulder. The message was clear: this was how Marcus chose to process the betrayal. For now, there was no point in attempting to change his mind or priorities. He would need time to figure it out on his own.
"We'll take our leave now," Hugh said, leading Anna to their horse.
She was ready when he picked her up and settled her on the saddle this time.
Because she anticipated the action, she could admire the pure strength Hugh possessed.
Despite not being small and dainty like other women, he moved her as though she were.
It made something in her core flutter, and that sensation only intensified when he climbed on behind her.
This is going to be a long ride back to the castle.