Chapter Seven
The poor weather of the last few days gave way to a warm, sunny sky as if somehow knowing how important the day was.
Ronan was returning home. The border scouts had sent word he’d be arriving within the hour.
Brenna jumped into action to prepare the kitchens for a hearty feast, one worthy of the return of their new chief. Gabe and Malcolm stayed with her while Will and Hugh ordered the rest of the guard into formation in the bailey to greet the man who would take over as laird.
She was more than happy to give up the duty.
She’d never heard such a bunch of griping and complaining as during her few weeks as acting laird.
She hoped she’d honored the old laird by making the decisions he would have made had he been there.
The clans people had obeyed her rulings, and peace was maintained.
The larders were stocked, and the venison was on the spit, ready for the feast. Kegs of ale and a cask of the keep’s finest whisky sat at the ready, prepared for her husband’s return.
Now, a gaggle of maids were helping her into her best dress and taming her wild hair into submission.
She wanted to look her best when her husband arrived, though why, she couldn’t explain, even to herself.
She toyed with silly fantasies of his captivation with her upon his arrival.
She was still no great beauty, but she’d grown into a woman while he was away, and she hoped he’d take notice.
She’d been lonely the past years. His showing her what happened between a man and a woman had been a disservice, for she’d known what she was missing.
She ached for his touch and warmth. She struggled with wishing she’d never known what it was like to share a bed with Ronan Grant and wanting to do so again every night he’d been gone.
Would it be different tonight? She’d heard the warnings of the women in the kitchens when they’d told her not to expect he’d been faithful while he was in France.
They told her men craved such things more than women, and Brenna was sure she’d die from wanting him, so she couldn’t imagine what he’d dealt with.
They would be together now. He wouldn’t need to spend his nights with strange women.
She wanted him to spend them with her. If only she could let go of her anger, they might have a happy life.
She had just stepped into the bailey when the gate guard called out that there were riders. The following minutes ticked by excruciatingly slowly.
“Calm yourself, lass,” Gabe teased. “You look like you plan to grab him down from his horse and steal him to your room for the next week.”
“I’d guess a month,” Malcolm said with a devilish grin.
“I hate you both,” she quipped, earning a chuckle from the men behind her.
“If I had a coin for every time ye’ve said as much…” Gabe said as the gate began moving.
She was in danger of twisting her fingers clean off, and then, as he came into sight, her breath and blood seemed to leave her body.
“Bloody hell,” Malcolm cursed. “What is he doing here? He’s been banished.”
Ewan’s icy gray eyes found her easily, and he tipped his bare head and offered a sneer.
“Ronan is the laird now. He may overturn my ruling. It’s his right.”
“And do you think for one minute he did so because that demon told him the truth of why he’d been banished?”
“If Ronan believes him, we’ll not change his mind.
We must hold our tongues so as not to seem defensive.
It’s up to Ronan to decide what he wishes to believe.
If he chooses Ewan, no one will convince him otherwise, and you’d be punished for raising your sword against the laird’s uncle.
Stand down for now. We’ll bide our time to speak to Ronan when he’s ready to hear us. ”
“You have the patience of a saint, lass.” Malcolm shook his head, and she chuckled at the irony of that statement.
“We vowed to keep ye safe and will do so no matter what Ewan or the new laird has to say of it,” Gabe stated.
She wanted to cry. She was grateful to these young men who’d only recently joined the guard. They’d initially thought it a disgrace to be tasked with such a job as protecting the laird’s granddaughter by marriage, but a more dangerous job she hadn’t known.
The men dismounted, and Brenna noted the way her husband favored his left leg.
Had he been injured? She wanted to go to him to see how she might tend to his injury, but with Ewan so close, she remained where she was on the steps to the keep.
She was high enough there on her perch to watch as her husband searched the faces in the bailey, passing over her.
Finally, he called out to one of the soldiers.
“Where is my wife?”
The guards behind her hissed in a breath, and she feared her heart might drop right out of the gaping hole in her chest.
Her husband had been told years ago to forget her, and it seemed he’d taken that instruction to heart, but as he stood there looking at her, he clearly didn’t know who she was.
“He has forgotten me,” she whispered as what was left of her heart shattered.
***
Ronan’s gaze drifted over the happy crowd once more, pausing on the beautiful woman waiting on the steps of the keep.
He’d known Brenna was rather plain with curly brown hair that acted more as tentacles, capturing his fingers as he’d toyed with tendrils after they’d made love.
But this woman, whose hair was confined in an elaborate twist, was too fetching to be his wife.
Then he recalled what Ewan had said, that she’d become a seductress in his absence.
“She is but there, my laird,” Will, his old friend, said while pointing to the woman he’d noticed. He didn’t want to make a scene in front of everyone who had come to greet him, but he wouldn’t tolerate his uncle being tossed from the clan a minute longer.
He let his gaze set on her, allowing no recognition to show on his face.
She was beautiful. His scattered memories hadn’t done her justice.
Her low-cut gown did more than hint at the soft curves lurking under her bodice.
Her hair had shots of fire he didn’t remember; her bottom lip was trapped anxiously by her teeth.
She was as bonny as any lass he’d ever seen.
He felt as if he was under a spell as he took a stiff step toward her.
Pain flared in his leg, reminding him of his uncle’s dire warning not to fall into her trap.
He had nearly done just that. She came to stand in front of him, offering a low curtsy and a nervous look.
She was right to be worried. The smile he’d attempted to remember all these years did not appear on her lips.
“Welcome home, husband,” she said. The tilt of her head spoke of defiance. She wasn’t happy to see him. Or perhaps it was Ewan who had her uneasy.
“You welcome me home, yet ye banished my uncle?”
She stood her ground though he towered over her. Her green-gold eyes flashed. “I had no choice.”
“This is the home of the Grants. You are not a Grant by blood. Ye have no right to order anyone from our lands. Do you understand?”
The only sign she was shaken was a quick swallow and a slight nod. “That is true. Now that you’ve returned.” He didn’t miss the slight rise of her chin as she twisted her words of defiance to sound agreeable. Ewan was right. Brenna was a crafty one.
The crowd that had been cheering a few moments before fell silent except for a few murmurs Ronan couldn’t make out.
“Did ye do this?” Ronan reached for Ewan, pointing to the cut on his face.
“Aye,” she said, her gaze not moving from his.
“Did ye put him out of the castle without a weapon, with no way to feed himself?”
“Aye.” Her chin notched up.
She stood there, claiming every accusation as truth. She didn’t even attempt to hide it, which only infuriated him more.
“Did ye keep him from attending the funeral of his father?”
Another swallow, but she didn’t falter. He expected her to break into tears, maybe even lie to save herself. His wife’s strength intrigued him as she continued to stand before him and said with that same defiance he’d noticed earlier, “Aye.”
“Ronan, if I can say something,” Will said as he stepped up behind her with two young warriors at her flanks. Will hadn’t changed, but his usual smile was now replaced by worry.
Brenna put her hand up and shook her head to silence him. “Don’t, Will.”
To Ronan’s surprise, he obeyed her. Had all his men fallen into her web? It was better that Will remained quiet. Ronan couldn’t stand to hear his betrayal.
“There’s no defense for putting a member of my family out of the castle without so much as a way to hunt.
” Despite his words, he paused, hoping she might offer a plausible excuse.
His journey home had been spent thinking of her, wanting her.
Now that he was here, he was ashamed to say he still wanted her, even though it appeared she was a conniving witch.
When she said nothing, he moved on to his other needs.
“I’m hungry. I assume the hall has refreshment for its new laird? ”
“Aye. I’ve planned a feast for your arrival,” Brenna said quietly. “This way.”
He grit his teeth and followed her inside, careful not to show his pain. He managed to display only the slightest limp. Since she walked in front of him, she wouldn’t have noticed. The sway of her hips enticed him, but his anger forced him to look away before he fell victim to her wiles.
He was reminded of the way his stepfather chased after Deirdre to the detriment of his duties to his people. He would not fall into the same trap.
At the head table, she stood by the chair next to the laird’s and waited.
“You are dismissed to eat elsewhere.”
If he’d expected her to argue, he would have been wrong. He noticed a tremor in her bottom lip as she nodded and stepped down from the dais. She didn’t deserve to sit at the family table when she’d treated his family so hideously.
The two young warriors followed after her, but the sour looks Will and Hugh gave him surprised him. They had all been friends once, but it seemed they, too, had fallen victim to his wife’s charms.
“Your grandsire put her in charge of the clan over his own son. Mayhap you should consider why he did so,” Will said while glaring at Ewan.
Ewan shook his head. “I told Ronan how she’d manipulated the old man to do her bidding.”
“And did you tell Ronan why she gave you that mark across your face?” Hugh asked.
“Careful, friend. Your loyalties seem to be skewed,” Ewan said.
“I’ll not foul my meal by eating next to a snake,” Will said with a glare in Ewan’s direction.
“You may sit wherever you choose.” Ronan wasn’t expecting so many of his men to take him up on the suggestion. This was not a small matter. All of his men were loyal to his wife. Soon, he was sitting at the high table alone with Ewan, and his entire guard sat with Brenna.
Ewan had said she was out for power, and it seemed his men had given it to her. Will and Hugh were Grants; they would never bow to a woman who was only a Grant in name—unless there were something else afoot.
“Why did she cut you?” Ronan asked his uncle, who was digging into his meal like a starving dog. Ewan had once been Ronan’s best friend. They had been like brothers. He trusted the man as he would believe his mind.
Even after the debacle that caused Ronan to marry Brenna, Ewan had told the truth of what happened despite the consequences.
He and the other man had been drunk and gaming.
The other man had pulled a knife on Ewan when he’d not liked the way his luck had turned.
Ewan had defended himself, even admitting that he’d taken the matter too far by killing the other man.
Ewan sniffed before setting down his eating knife. “I see they’ve planted a seed of doubt, just as she wished them to.”
“You haven’t answered my question.”
“Very well. It happened the night my father died. He was very sick, and Brenna told him the time had come for him to name his successor until you returned. She suggested herself, and she did this when I disputed her claim. I only wished to preserve the seat for you, and this is what I got.”
Ewan was already on his second mug of ale as he turned back to his meal.
If it weren’t for the fact Ronan had known Ewan all his life and had never heard him lie in all that time, he might question the man.
But Ewan had once saved Ronan’s life while Brenna was unknown to him.
Except for that night they’d shared, he didn’t know her.
He’d seen how her sister manipulated everyone to get what she desired. At the time, he’d thought Brenna was the victim. But perhaps she was merely a pupil waiting for an opportunity to unleash her skills on her new clan.
Still, Ronan couldn’t shake the feeling something was wrong. If his wife was the power-hungry tyrant Ewan made her out to be, why would his grandfather and his men follow her unthinkingly? One thing was sure—he’d find out the truth soon enough.