Page 12 of Laird of Wrath

“I’ll meet ye in yer chambers later,” he said.

With that, he pulled back from her and left.

Rhea stood in the middle of the empty hall, her hand brushing over her tingling lips.

Lord, what does he think he’s doin’?

She rushed off to her chambers, where she could be truly alone for a while, and no one disturbed her for the rest of the day. Only Lara came to check on her late in the evening, holding a handful of rowan berries, much to Rhea’s surprise.

“Lara, I daenae think ye can eat these,” she said.

But Lara only gave her a soft smile as she shoved the berries in a crease in her pillowcase, right where she slept.

“They’re nae for eatin’, me Lady,” she explained. “They’re to ward off misfortune and anythin’ that may stop ye from conceivin’.”

Rhea couldn’t help but laugh, her shoulders shaking with mirth, but Lara straightened and pinned her with her sternest look.

“It isnae funny,” she protested, as she always did when someone laughed at her superstitions. “There are people who would benefit from ye never havin’ a bairn. Surely, ye ken that.”

“Aye, I ken that,” Rhea said, adopting a serious expression. “Ye’re right, Lara. Thank ye.”

There was no point arguing with her maid about this, not when she believed it helped. The only thing that mattered to Rhea was that Lara truly did want to help. That was more than enough.

As Lara helped her change into a nightgown, Rhea’s heart rate quickened at the thought of what was to follow. She couldn’t getthe thought out of her mind, no matter how much she tried. The fear of the unknown made her shoulders tense and her stomach tie itself into knots.

And of course, Lara noticed.

“What is on yer mind, me Lady?” she asked.

Rhea drew in a sharp breath. “This is the first time I will share me bed with me husband,” she said. “And yet I hardly ken the man. With the way he left… Lara, how am I supposed to give meself to a stranger?”

Lara made her sit at the vanity with a soft smile, her hands resting on Rhea’s shoulders. “It would be wonderful if he courted ye, but ye can find out more about each other in time, me Lady. Ye have so much time ahead of ye to do just that.”

That was far from reassuring, but Rhea didn’t express the sentiment. She knew they could not delay, not with Laird Barclay breathing down their necks, their wealth depleted, and their forces weakened. She had to fulfil her duty, and she had to do it now.

“He’s a good man,” Laird added, echoing the same words she had spoken to her on her wedding night.

They rang as true as they had all those months ago, which was to say not true at all.

“Aye,” Rhea uttered, though neither of them truly believed it.

Lara brushed her hair carefully, running the bristles through her locks again and again until a knock sounded at the door. When Callum walked in, she almost dropped the brush in her haste to leave, bobbing an awkward curtsy before she disappeared without a single word.

And once again, Rhea was left alone with him.

She stood, not knowing what else to do. Callum gave her a long, appreciative gaze. She could feel it deep in her core, like a flame that was beginning to fan out to the rest of her body ever so slowly, a strange, simmering pleasure at being looked at like this. But at the same time, she was fearful of what it meant, of where it would lead.

Callum didn’t speak, which she supposed was not unusual. He made his way to the sitting room and sat by the hearth, just as he had on their wedding night. The firelight illuminated his profile, painting the scars on his face golden.

When Rhea approached to stand across from him, he didn’t take his eyes off the flames.

“Ye’ve been away for so long, ye must be very tired,” she said, in an attempt to make conversation—and in an attempt to delay the inevitable. “Perhaps… perhaps ye should rest some more.”

He slowly turned his gaze to her and said, “Sit.”

She hesitated for a moment. She didn’t like to be commanded like a dog, but she let it slide, making her way to the other chair. Before she could sit down, though, Callum clicked his tongue.

“Not there,” he said when she turned to look at him over her shoulder. “Here.” He patted his knee.