Chapter 9
“We must prepare the feast for Callum’s return before we can even think about plannin’ for the Lughnasadh,” Rhea said as she, Sienna, and Lara walked around the Great Hall, trying to plan everything for the feast—from the table arrangements to the decorations, everything that they would need and that would surely be judged by their guests.
The thought of the feast left a bitter taste in her mouth. Everything that had to do with Callum did now, ever since he had started to act so coldly toward her the previous day, seemingly for no reason at all.
She couldn’t understand it. She had been replaying the previous day in her mind again and again, trying to find some reason, some fault in what she had said and done, but she could find none. They had argued, that much was true, but then he had kissed her.
Why would he kiss her if he was so angry with her?
He is so frustrating!
Nothing about this made any sense to her, and she was quite certain that she wouldn’t be getting any answers any time soon.
“What will we need for the feast?” Lara asked. “I could send some servants to purchase everythin’ we need.”
“We will need many things,” Sienna said. “But we must consider how much of it we can afford.”
“I shall go to the market meself,” Rhea declared. She had no other choice. If the people saw their Lady among them, they would be more likely to give her a good price. “And then we shall make a list and send off the servants to purchase everythin’.”
“On yer own, me Lady?” Lara asked, concern evident in her voice. “Do ye truly think that is a good idea?”
“Why would it nae be a good idea?” Rhea countered. “It wouldnae be the first time.”
“Ye shouldnae go out alone,” Lara cautioned. “I have a bad feelin’ about this, me Lady. I feel like… I feel like somethin’ will happen.”
“Lara, ye always think somethin’ will happen,” Sienna pointed out, much to Rhea’s amusement and Lara’s chagrin. “There is nay convincin’ ye that everythin’ is fine.”
“Because I can sense it!” Lara exclaimed, throwing her hands up in frustration. “And I daenae wish for anythin’ bad to happen to ye!”
Rhea sighed softly, reaching out to place a gentle hand on her shoulder. “Thank ye, Lara,” she said. “I appreciate it, truly. But daenae fash. I’ll be fine, I promise.”
“I still insist that ye daenae go.”
“Daenae go where?” Callum’s voice boomed.
Rhea jumped, a yelp escaping her when he suddenly appeared behind her. She cursed under her breath.
Although this was his home, too, she hadn’t expected to run into him so soon. She was too used to his absence, too used to the fact that he had not been around, and now his presence in the castle—and in her life—startled her more often than she’d like to admit.
Besides, she had hoped that she wouldn’t have to deal with him for a while longer after their argument.
Was he not avoiding her? She was certainly avoiding him, but she could hardly lock herself up in her chambers while there was still so much to be done.
“I… I’d like to go to the market,” she said after drawing in a deep, steadying breath. She was not going to let him intimidate her into silence. “There is much to be purchased for the feast, and I must see the goods meself.”
“Why nae send a servant?” he asked.
“Because I must see the goods meself,” she repeated, instead of giving him another explanation.
Was it stubborn? Perhaps. But the frustrated look he gave her was worth it.
“Fine,” he relented. “Then I shall go with ye.”
It was neither a question nor a suggestion. Callum had clearly made up his mind, and he was not going to wait for her permission.
She didn’t try to argue with him, though. She had quickly discovered there was little sense in fighting with him.
“When will we go?” she asked.
“Now,” he said, much to her surprise.
“Right now?”
“Do ye have anythin’ better to do?”
“Do ye nae?”
Out of the corner of her eye, Rhea could see Sienna and Lara watching them, their eyes flitting back and forth between them. Neither girl said a single word, though. She couldn’t blame them. She didn’t even want to have this conversation.
“Nay,” Callum said drily.
“Good,” she gritted out.
If she were being honest, she didn’t know what had angered her. Their petty argument was nothing but the echo of their previous fight, the two of them eager to pick it up where they had left it. But Rhea was not going to fight with him in the middle of the Great Hall, where everyone could see.
Pride was one thing. Showing everyone around them a splintered front was another.
“Meet me at the gates,” Callum grumbled.
Without another word, he turned around and stomped off, much to her chagrin and relief.
Silence ensued. Sienna and Lara stared awkwardly around them, pretending that Rhea couldn’t see them. But Rhea was stewing in her anger too much to care that they had made a scene.
“So…” Sienna cleared her throat. “What do ye think ye’ll need to purchase?”
Rhea couldn’t bring herself to answer. None of this was Sienna’s fault, but her anger threatened to bubble over, and so she, too, decided to leave the Great Hall without so much as another word.
By the time she made her way out to the main gates, Callum had prepared two horses for them. When she approached, he was brushing his hand down the mane of the larger one, speaking to it gently. She couldn’t quite hear what he was saying, though.
“I’m ready,” she announced.
Callum grunted in acknowledgement and then made to help her up into the saddle, but she declined the offer. She was more than capable of mounting the horse on her own. She had spent her entire life riding horses, though he didn’t know that.
How could he? He had neither expressed any interest in her past nor had he been around long enough to see her ride. To his credit, he seemed rather impressed that she jumped on the horse with so much grace.
“A rider, then?” he asked.
“Among other things,” she said. “Shall we?”
Callum gave a sharp nod and jumped onto his horse, then the two of them rode out of the courtyard.
The castle was large and surrounded by sprawling land. Never once had Rhea felt as if she were trapped behind its walls. And yet, being out there, in the open, was a different feeling altogether and one she fully welcomed and embraced.
Drawing in a deep breath, she urged her horse to go faster.
Behind her, Callum shouted, “Wait!”
But she didn’t pay him any mind. It had been too long since she had last gone out riding, as all the responsibilities had fallen on her shoulders in Callum’s absence.
But now it was as if a weight had been lifted off her shoulders, and she could suddenly feel the air in her lungs once more, the wind on her skin, the sunlight on her face.
Instead of slowing down, she looked over her shoulder at Callum, smiling broadly at him.
“What’s the matter?” she called. “Ye cannae keep up with me?”
She heard no response, other than the quickening thud of his horse’s hooves.
The two of them sped down the path, racing each other, the wind whipping at her face and hair. Her cloak flew behind her, and laughter bubbled out of her unbridled and unselfconscious.
She only slowed down when they hit a bend in the road, and Callum slowed down next to her, giving their horses a chance to breathe.
“I won,” she declared.
“I let ye,” Callum grumbled.
“I very much doubt that,” she scoffed. “Ye daenae seem like the kind of man who would let anyone win.”
“I’m nae the kind of man who loses,” he retorted. “So clearly, I have let ye.”
Rhea rolled her eyes, drawing her horse level with his.
The two of them rode in silence for a while, some of the tension between them fading. But their argument lingered between them. Rhea could feel it like a tangible presence.
She hated this. She hated being drawn into a false sense of security around him, into this fragile camaraderie that she was certain would not last, even if she had been the one to turn their ride into a race in the first place.
There was something about Callum, despite all his grumbling and all his grunting, that made her feel… safe.
By the time they made it to the village, the sun was high up in the sky, though the light was obscured by thin clouds. But what little reached the village was enough to warm her face and wrists, and the still, windless day made the air feel hotter.
Summer was well on its way, and it wasn’t only the merchants who were out and about, displaying their goods. The villagers, the children—they were all out in the streets, shopping and chatting in corners. A symphony of voices that filled Rhea with warm joy.
She always liked seeing these people—her people. In the past year, she had become responsible for them, and they were as much her family as her people back home. But as they crossed into the village, their joy quickly faded into fear.
She didn’t know what prompted it at first. Every time she visited the village, the people there were more than happy to see her. But then she remembered that every time she had been there, she didn’t have Callum by her side.
And now he was scarred from the war. He was different, changed, not the man these people had once known.
Leaving their horses, they began to walk around the market in silence. The previous awkwardness between them had now returned, and Callum seemed even more withdrawn than usual, the atmosphere at the market surely affecting him.
People shrank back from him, some averting their gazes and others openly staring at him. With each passing moment, the frown on his face deepened, as did the red hue of his cheeks.
“Awfully quiet ye are today!” Rhea huffed, her voice a little too loud, a little too obvious. She glanced around her to see if she had caught the attention of any of the villagers, and indeed, she had.
Callum only grunted.
“Aye, that’s a great response,” she shot back, crossing her arms over her chest.
“What do ye want me to say?” he asked. “I am always quiet.”