Page 17 of A Highland Bride Forgotten
Nay, this isnae like Aidan...he wouldnae kill innocent people.
Then again, she had thought the same of her mother. Who would have thought the woman was capable of such cruel acts?
And then there was the matter of Archer, who was so different now to the man she knew. There were still parts of the old him there; she had seen it. But she couldn’t bear this newfoundinterest in her. She couldn’t bear the way he looked at her, the way he touched her so casually, like their wedding had meant something. For an entire year, they had spent their lives apart, and River had grown accustomed to it. Now, the more he tried to approach her, the more she wanted to shrink away from him, to hide, to keep things as they were.
It was too late for them to be husband and wife in the traditional sense. Before their wedding night, River had prepared herself for it—and her mother had done her fair share to convince her that sharing her body with her husband was her duty. But now she dreaded the night that was to come.
What is he expectin’ of me? Does he think I will simply allow him to bed me now that he finds it convenient?
River had isolated herself in the eastern wing specifically because she had no desire to become Archer’s pawn in any way. He had allowed it, and he had shown no interest in her. Now, she had to find a way to make him lose his interest once more.
Maybe he will remember soon...maybe I daenae have to fash so much over this because in the end, it willnae matter. He will remember who he is and he will remember he has nae desire for me or for heirs.
River heard a sigh next to her as Arya came to sit on the couch by her side. The girl threw her head back, letting it dangle over the back of the couch, staring at the window behind them.
River’s mood was starting to affect everyone, it seemed.
“Alright!” River called, slamming her hands on the couch and standing up. “Let us go for a walk. It’s a nice day, it seems, and we daenae have to be locked up in here.”
“Outside?” Finlay asked, and River caught him half-standing from where he had perched himself on the windowsill.
“Outside!” Colby shouted, running with his hands in the air to the door. Even Arya perked up, standing up like a spring from the couch.
“Aye,” said River. “Why?”
Finlay gave a small shrug, but he didn’t speak. He only stared at River thoughtfully, as if there was something he wanted to say but kept to himself with great difficulty. River didn’t pay him much mind, though. A walk would do them all some good.
Especially me. As long as it takes me mind off Archer.
I only have to keep busy until tonight. And then, when the time comes, I’ll see what I’ll do.
The moment they stepped out of the eastern wing, Colby and Arya at the front, running around, and River and Finlay at the back, with him always walking right by her side, she regretted ever leaving her chambers. Every pair of eyes in the castle was trained on her, following her every step, her every movement. The clansmen, the guards, the maids—all of them tracked her around each hallway, each room, even outside in the courtyard.
They’re nae used to seein’ me. But must they truly stare like this?
“Are ye alright?” asked Finlay quietly, so that only River would hear him.
“Aye,” said River. The truth was that her mind was still, even now, more preoccupied by the fact that she was going to be spending the night with Archer than with anything else. Not even the stares were enough to quiet down the storm in her mind.
“We can go back inside if ye wish,” Finlay pointed out.
“The bairns?—”
“The bairns can play inside,” he said, interrupting her. “Or I can task a maid with keepin’ an eye on them out here.”
But River shook her head. She wasn’t going to leave their side. Neither Colby nor Arya took it well when she wasn’t near, often to the point of tears. Their pain was still too big, their trauma too fresh. She couldn’t leave them alone, not even for a moment.
“It’s fine,” she insisted. “They’re only curious, the people. They daenae see me out here often.”
“Whenever ye wish to leave, just say the word,” Finlay said, and then fell silent. River saw the way his gaze hardened, though,whenever someone stared at them for a little too long—and she was grateful for it.
The weather had turned and the sun shone above the castle. The roses in the gardens filled the courtyard with their fragrance, thick and heavy in the early summer heat. A breeze tangled River’s dark hair, which she had left flowing freely down her back, and rustled the lace sewn over the hem of her dress. Everyone in the courtyard seemed to be in good spirits, even the guards who had been standing by the gates for hours, keeping watch.
Everyone but two women00maids, by the look of them, who had cornered another one in a shady nook near the castle walls.
River came to a sudden halt upon noticing the scene before her. Finlay stopped by her side, for a moment surprised by the sudden stop, before he too noticed what was happening.
The two maids had their backs on River and she couldn’t quite see their expressions. She could hear the tone of their voices, though, the way they mocked and provoked the other woman, who was looking around as if trying to find an escape.
