Chapter 5 #2
When they noticed him, they were visibly shocked. Several of them turned around and left, clearly too frightened to face him. One of them was Findlay Pearson, one of Edan’s most valued advisors.
Edan had always considered Findlay a friend as well as a wise counsel, so his betrayal had an extra sting to it.
Zander glanced at the men and then back to Edan with a puzzled expression. “Them? Why? What have they done?”
Edan briefly explained the council’s plan to declare him dead and get Olivia to wed Nurkirk, so he could take over the clan and add the title of Laird Aberfeld to his existing one.
When he finished talking, Zander stared at him open-mouthed, his eyes full of anger, which Edan knew was on his behalf.
“Why, those connivin’ bastards!” his friend exclaimed.
“Ye’ve only been away for a year, fightin’ to defend one of our allies, and this is what they cook up.
What a treacherous bunch of dogs.” He started to get up, his hand on the hilt of his dirk.
“I have a good mind to go over there right now and—”
Edan grabbed his arm and pushed him back down. “Sit down, ye fool. This isnae the place. Wait until the council meetin’. Then, ye can do whatever ye like. I have a few choice words to say to them meself. They’ll nae be gettin’ away with it lightly.”
Zander sank back into his chair, but not without casting dark glances at the few councilmen who were brave enough to stay.
As they continued eating their meal, with Zander seemingly brooding over what he had just heard, Edan pushed aside thoughts of the upcoming meeting and instead allowed his thoughts to drift back to Olivia.
He could still feel her pliant, warm body beneath him when he had unknowingly climbed into her bed the other night and been forced to get on top of her to stop her struggling.
He shifted in his seat as he recalled her heated gaze when she had looked down at him the previous evening when she was sitting on his lap. He found the fact that she did not appear to be terrified by his beastly appearance as compelling and arousing as her body.
And what a body. I remembered she was beautiful, but me memory didnae do her justice at all.
For a few moments, he let his mind dwell on the enticing, round curves of her breasts and her plump, pear-shaped behind, of which he had caught tantalizing glimpses through her filmy nightdress.
He thought of her thick, bouncy blonde hair, which surrounded her face like a nimbus of light, wondering how it would feel to run his fingers through it.
He understood that she had been scared, it being her first time and all, but they had to consummate their marriage.
But last night, it had taken every bit of his restraint not to simply seize her, throw her to the floor, and ravish her.
That was what he had wanted to do. But he had restrained himself for her sake.
He recalled how he had felt when he thought he had things under control and went in for the kiss but she had stopped him. His heart had sunk.
Here it is, he had thought fatalistically. She was hidin’ the fact that she’s repelled by me scars. She finds me too beastly and cannae bear to kiss me.
It had hurt as well as angered him. But still, he had kept his temper and asked her what was wrong. Her shy response had taken him completely by surprise and crushed his assumptions.
“I’d like to be wooed a little. Courted. If we could have five dates, five times when we spend time together, go out and do somethin’, then we wouldnae be strangers anymore. It would make me feel better. And after that, I promise I’ll give meself to ye.”
He had breathed a sigh of relief. It was not about his scars, after all!
Now, he smiled to himself, thinking about her. She was infuriating, yes. And she had complicated things unnecessarily, in his view. But her eyes had told him she was in earnest, that she needed time to get to know him.
And after bein’ away for a year, I figure I owe her that much. But how the hell do ye court yer wife?
Zander’s voice broke into his thoughts. Edan saw he had finished his porridge and was now leaning forward with his elbows on the table, his expression filled with worry.
“Edan, I can see ye have somethin’ on yer mind. Is it the council? Because if it is, I can deal with them for ye if ye want to spend more time with yer wife.”
“Are ye jokin’?” Edan replied, mustering a smile for his friend. “I appreciate the offer, man, but I’m lookin’ forward to givin’ those traitorous bastards a piece of me mind. Besides, if I let ye loose on them, they’ll nae leave the council chamber alive, and, unfortunately, I still need them.”
“But I can see how weary ye are,” Zander said, looking at him dubiously. “And it doesnae look to me like the sort of tiredness of a man who’s just had his weddin’ night.”
Edan grinned. “And what does that look like, exactly? Do ye ken how nosy ye are? A man’s weddin’ night is his own concern. Ye should mind yer own business.”
“Ye are me business. I’m worried about ye, ’tis all.”
Edan pushed his plate aside and sat back in his chair, looking back at Zander’s concerned expression. “As it happens, I didnae get much sleep last night if that’s what ye’re gettin’ at,” he finally admitted.
“Ach, I kenned it! But why did ye nae sleep? Was it because of yer—” Zander began, but Edan cut him off by suddenly getting to his feet.
“’Tis almost time for the meetin’,” he said. “Come on, let’s go.”
Zander got up, and they left the hall together, heading to the council chamber. As they passed the table where the brave councilors who had stayed were finishing their meals, they turned their heads in unison, bestowing black glares of deep disapproval upon them.