Chapter Fourteen #2
My sisters began to retreat to the kitchen, pulling me with them.
But I had had enough of running, and hiding.
“Go,” I said to them, surprised by the authority in my voice.
“I’ll stay.” Something had changed in me, and the small detail had distanced me somewhat from my sisters.
I was married now, and they were still hoping.
I was spoken for in a way that they had never been, by a man who was not only laird-in-waiting but also as masculine as it was possible for a man to be.
My status had given me their respect, I realized.
And it was true that I’d hardly seen them of late.
I’d make a point to remedy that, I decided.
But it wouldn’t be now. Reluctantly they backed away, standing near the open doors of the kitchen for a moment before disappearing within.
Aleck walked over, standing close to me.
He reached to tuck a wayward strand of my hair behind my ear.
The gesture was unsettling. Too familiar.
Possessive. I didn’t like what it implied, nor the confidence it took to execute it.
“So,” he drawled, “the women have taken control of the manor, it seems. Isn’t it quaint? ”
“Aye,” agreed Hugh, a thug with long dirty-blond hair that was matted into long strands.
His demeanor and size were similarly daunting to Aleck’s, but it was Aleck who held my attention.
Something in him had changed. His confidence was laced with an aspect I could not name.
Malice, perhaps. Achievement. His movements appeared unusually jaunty, as though he was excited about something, smitten with anticipation.
Whatever it was he was celebrating, I couldn’t help thinking it would affect us—me, in particular—badly.
I wanted to distance myself from him as quickly as possible, even more than I usually did.
He reached for the bread I still held in my hand, taking it and helping himself to a bite.
And his comment irked me. I didn’t want to cower from him any longer.
I could feel Kade’s support from afar and my own empowerment.
Once, only days ago, I might have stood there and taken any insult he might have tossed.
But we were entitled to care for our home.
Kade had convinced me of that with his disbelief over the fact that we hadn’t done so in the past. Ours was a clan that had been ruled by unhealthy rules for many years.
Now I could see that it was normal to work and to prosper because of it.
To ignore this truth any longer seemed downright wasteful.
And I wasn’t so willing to accept the dictates of selfish, mad or dishonorable men any longer.
“We haven’t taken control of it, Aleck,” I said. “We’ve taken an interest in its upkeep. And we’re all the better for it. What is it you want?”
He leaned close to my ear, murmuring lecherously, “You know what it is I want, lass. Surely you’re not that oblivious. When are you going to make good on our...discussion?”
“What discussion?” I asked him, irritated.
I tried to lean back from his nearness, but he only moved in closer, looping his arm around my waist. It comforted me to know that a small but extremely sharp knife was strapped to my thigh, hidden and undetectable.
And I knew how to use it. I was armed for the first time in my life and I felt wildly comforted by my small weapon.
In that moment, I felt not only grateful to my husband but closer to him than I had before, as though my knife provided a link to him, and a shared motivation.
“The one about your straying husband,” he said, pulling me against him. “And your freedom to seek satisfaction elsewhere.”
“I would hardly refer to it as a ‘discussion,’” I seethed, struggling against his grip.
“Besides, you’re wrong. My husband hasn’t strayed.
He assured me of that. And I believe him.
” Aleck’s boldness angered me, coupled as it was with unrelenting force and this daft misinterpretation of the situation: he seemed to honestly believe that I was interested in a tryst. With him.
In the wake of my recent enlightenment, I was irritated enough to lash out at him, unthinkingly.
“As for your insinuations, Aleck, forget it! Put it out of your mind altogether. You’re the last person I would ever seek out, even if I had already—”
I realized my mistake as soon as I uttered it. I attempted to backtrack. But Aleck’s eyes narrowed with understanding. “Had already what?”
“Had already felt inclined to seek satisfaction elsewhere,” I said quickly. “Which I would never do, by the way. My husband provides more than enough satisfaction.” I hoped my indignation and the honest truth to that statement would put Aleck’s suspicions to rest.
But the strategic ambition and sudden understanding in his eyes sent bolts of icy fear through my veins.
“He won’t force himself on you, will he?
He’s too honorable for such treachery, isn’t it so?
” Aleck was practically gloating with his dawning realization.
He spoke quietly, with a note of gleeful disbelief, as though unintentionally voicing his thoughts aloud.
“Those Mackenzies pride themselves on it. Honor.” This last word he said with some distaste, clearly not consumed by its premise, as my husband was.
Aleck looked at me, studying my face, finding there the regret of my mistake.
The turn of his calculating intent played clearly across his face.
“Your marriage has not yet been sealed,” he said quietly.
His hand slid farther, settling on the swell of my hip.
But I jerked away from him and was able to escape him. I ran to the kitchens, taking refuge among my sisters and the kitchen staff. Aleck wouldn’t dare abduct me, or whatever it was he might do, so publicly. At least I hoped it.
And my hopes were confirmed, at least for now. Aleck did not follow me.
This was a very bad development indeed: that Aleck even suspected that my marriage to Kade was not yet truly sealed was not only disturbing, it was dangerous.
I knew Aleck coveted the lairdship of our clan with every fiber of his being, and had from the time we were children, when he’d sought my affections even then.
I’d suspected his betrayal and so had Kade.
I’d wondered if Aleck had had a plan all along.
And I’d wondered at the lengths he’d go to.
I needed more information from someone inside the ranks of our clan’s army.
Someone who’d known the inner workings of the clan before Kade’s arrival, and before the threats of Campbell’s attacks.
Someone who might sense a shift, or who might hear rumors from both sides of the divide.
I had an idea of who that someone might be.
I found Bonnie, seated at one of the tables, folding the linens for the evening’s place settings.
Even Bonnie and Maisie, of late, had taken an interest in the more mundane workings of the manor, when they’d seen how enthusiastic Clementine and I had become.
Maisie, it seemed, had a flair for flower arranging.
And Bonnie was clever with a needle and thread.
“Bonnie,” I said. “Can you lead me to Jamie? I need to speak to him.”
Several of my sisters overheard me, and moved closer.
And Bonnie looked at me, taking her time to study the difference in me since we’d last had a real, sisterly conversation.
I’d been preoccupied and had so far managed to avoid discussions on the more intimate details of marriage, which my sisters asked about at every opportunity.
And here was another opportunity, which Bonnie, it appeared, intended to take full advantage of.
Her mouth eased into a knowing smile. “Stella, I daresay marriage suits you to the extreme. What they say about Kade Mackenzie must indeed be true, and then some.” She lowered her voice.
“Is it true? Is he as beastly as we’ve heard? You’ve hardly told us anything.”
I knew I wouldn’t get away with skirting her questions entirely.
It was bad enough that Aleck suspected the secret of my marriage’s yet-to-be-consummated status.
I didn’t want my sisters to suspect the same, especially since it was a detail I planned on addressing sooner rather than later.
To hell with my husband’s oaths and his honor.
There were bigger problems to consider than an outdated vow that I’d never even asked him to make in the first place; I intended to convince him of this at my very next opportunity.
I needed to make my reply convincing. “Aye,” I replied, attempting to match the worldliness of Bonnie’s tone, “he’s exactly as beastly as a wife would want him to be. ”
Bonnie’s eyebrows shot up. Hoping she was placated enough to allow us to change the course of the conversation, I said, “We’ll talk more of that later. But first, I have something urgent I must ask Jamie. Do you know where he might be?”
“Aye,” Bonnie said. “He had an idea for a new sword design, and he’s taken it to Caleb to see if he could fashion one.”
Maisie had come up next to me. She smoothed a wrinkle in the fabric of my dress, in a gesture of hopeful entreaty. “Could that have anything to do with the urgency of your question, dear sister?”
I had not forgiven her either for her betrayal or for her hurtful outburst. “Nay, dear sister. I asked to speak to Jamie, not Caleb. At present, my hope is to avoid Caleb. My husband has forbidden me to speak to him.”
“Of course he has,” said Maisie. “He knows of your desire.”