Page 39 of Laird of Wrath

“I’m thinkin’ about me sister,” Rhea admitted. “I… I cannae seem to find the words to write to her.”

“Why?” Lara asked. “Are ye nae close?”

“We are. We are very close,” Rhea said. Then, with a sigh, she added, “We were.”

“And ye’re nae now?”

“I daenae ken,” she said. “I’ve written to her, but we’ve been so busy that… I’ve neglected her too much, I fear. What if she doesnae want to come? What if she blames me for nae writin’ to her?”

For a moment, Lara remained silent, frowning as if in deep thought. Then, she said, “There was a winter when I didnae see me family at all. I was here the whole time, and they were back home, and I… I couldnae visit. There were snow and ice and frost—it was impossible to travel. It was even impossible to send a letter, and… and I couldnae even do that if I didnae have someone to write it for me. Usually, they did. I could get someone to help me, and they could get someone to read it to them. The healer, usually. She used to help with such things before her eyes failed her.”

Rhea listened carefully to Lara’s story, already thinking that her own worries were ridiculous compared to hers. Still, as she spoke, Lara smiled.

“But then spring came, and we could travel again. Mrs. Parsons, the housekeeper, was kind enough to give me a few days off to visit them. I was so scared… so scared that they would be angry with me or that me younger sister wouldnae even recognize me. She was only a babe when I left. But when I arrived in the village, everyone came to see me. Everyone. And me family was only happy to see that I was alive and well. They didnae care that I hadnae written to them for so long or that I hadnae visited. They only cared that I was there, with them.”

Rhea let out a soft sigh, nodding along with Lara’s story as she reached for her hand. She gave her a gentle squeeze, trying to comfort her, but she supposed Lara didn’t need the comfort. It was Rhea herself who needed it.

“And yer younger sister?” she asked.

“Ach, she didnae recognize me at all!” Lara said, laughing at the memory. “She was only a bairn. Even now, she’s nae but seven years of age. But she came to ken who I am very quickly, and now we’re best friends.”

It gave Rhea some hope to hear that. Her own sister wasn’t that young, and of course she remembered her. How could she not? But even if their situations were different, Lara’s words were the most comforting thing Rhea had heard in a long time.

She put the pen to the paper and began to write… only for a knock to sound at the door.

“Come in,” she called.

The door opened to reveal none other than Callum, whose sudden appearance changed Rhea’s expression from one of joy to one resembling a rather annoyed bird, her delicate nose turning into a beak as she scrunched up her face in irritation.

She couldn’t help it. Perhaps it wasn’t the best look on her, seeing that Callum paused by the door, startled, but she was too angry to care.

“Come with me,” he said, in lieu of a greeting.

She couldn’t believe the audacity of him.

“Excuse me?” she scoffed.

“I said, come with me,” he repeated.

“Aye, I heard ye the first time,” she said, putting down her pen and standing with a huff. “And who are ye to think ye can order me around?”

Callum seemed genuinely confused for a moment as he stared at her. “I’m yer husband.”

“Precisely,” she drawled. “And I’m yer wife, nae yer soldier. So ye will treat me as such.”

He stared at her for a long moment, and she did the same to him—a battle of wills. She wasn’t going to shy away from this challenge. From any challenge, in fact. If he wanted her to listen, to go anywhere with him, he would have to ask nicely.

“Fine,” he said through gritted teeth. Behind her, Lara let out the softest squeak, as if that single word was enough to frighten her. “Will ye please come with me? I’d like to go on a ride with ye.”

“Where?” Rhea asked.

“Ye’ll see,” he said.

She was quick to shake her head. “I told ye, ye cannae simply treat me like this. I wish to ken where we’re goin’.”

She could see that it took all of his willpower to remain calm and not start a shouting match. The sight of him like this gave her some pleasure, along with the fact that he was trying to control himself. She didn’t know what had changed, but something must have, since he didn’t start a fight right away.

“I’d rather keep it a surprise,” Callum insisted, his gaze flitting back to Lara. If she didn’t know him any better, Rhea would have thought that there was the smallest hint of a blush on his cheeks. “Is that all right with ye? Or will ye force me to tell ye?”