Page 5 of Laird of Wrath

Laird Barclay’s eyes fell on Sienna again, lingering on her for a little too long. “Is that so, Lady Sienna? Do ye find me unsatisfactory, then?”

“There is much to consider,” Sienna answered in the most diplomatic tone she could muster.

Laird Barclay turned to Rhea, grinning. “A quiet one, eh? That’s good; silence and timidity make for a good wife.”

The slight smile on Rhea’s face twisted into something more unpleasant, bile rising in the back of her throat. In the past ten months, she had forgotten what it was like to be around men, especially men like him. Her entire social circle consisted of women. Sienna, the friends she had made at the castle, the maids—they were all women.

And now that she was talking to Laird Barclay, she could hardly control her expressions like she used to.

“Aye, well, there is plenty that may surprise ye in a lass.” She could practically feel Sienna seething next to her, trembling with rage, though the other woman remained silent.

Rhea had half a mind to tell her to speak up, to tell Laird Barclay precisely what was on her mind, but she couldn’t afford to lose another ally. She had to navigate this just right if she wanted to avoid marrying her off to him while also keeping him on the clan’s side.

“Daenae fash,” Laird Barclay said. “I am also quite fond of surprises.”

“Right so.” Rhea took a deep, steadying breath. She glanced around the hall for a moment, her gaze meeting that of the watchful councilmen, who all wanted this marriage to happen.

She couldn’t speak to Laird Barclay while all those men were watching. She had to get him alone.

“Shall we take this to the drawin’ room?” she suggested. “I’d rather speak in private, Laird Barclay. I daenae ken about ye, but I think a deal is between two people, nae a dozen.”

“Shame that ye were born a lass,” Laird Barclay remarked, much to her chagrin. “Ye would have made for a mighty laird.”

Rhea huffed out a humorless laugh and then turned around, fully expecting him to follow her—and he did. She led him out of the Great Hall and into the drawing room, where she dismissed the servants and guards before sitting down and gesturing for him to do the same.

The drawing room had lost some of its charm in the past few years, she had been informed by the servants. The more gold and wealth the clan lost, the more the castle fell into disrepair, and though the drawing room had been spared from the worst of it, it was plainer than she had been used to when she was still living at Castle McAllister. But apart from the Great Hall, it was the one room that still held the most wealth in the castle, and the one where she could still receive guests.

Alas, Laird Barclay was no fool. She could see the way he took in every single detail, everything that spoke of the finances of the clan.

“I will be frank with ye, me Laird,” Rhea began when he sat across from her in a plush armchair draped with luxurious green velvet. “I believe yer journey was in vain.”

“Is that so?” Laird Barclay asked, sounding truly surprised. “Why do ye say that?”

“Lady Sienna isnae interested in marriage right now,” Rhea said simply, giving no other explanation. “Though we appreciate yer interest, as well as yer offer.”

Laird Barclay stared at her for a moment, and then burst out laughing.

“Forgive me,” he gasped, waving a hand in the air. “Forgive me, me dear, but it seems to me that ye daenae ken the exact state of yer clan.”

Rage threatened to bubble over and spill out of Rhea, and she only barely managed to contain it. Her cheeks burned with anger, her hands shaking with it, and she clasped them together in her lap to conceal the fact.

But Laird Barclay was not done yet.

“The clan is at war,” he continued. “Ye have nay wealth, nay laird. Ye have nay heir. And as far as I ken, Laird McMahon hasnae sent word back to the clan for the past six months. Or is that a simple rumor, me Lady?”

Who told the bastard? Who told him that Callum hasnae sent word back?

Rhea stared at him in silence, gritting her teeth until her molars ached. What was she supposed to say to him now? The man knew he had the upper hand. Without Callum there, without even an heir, without any wealth to fall back on, there was little she could do to protect Sienna from this marriage.

Was it someone from our clan who told him this? Who else would it be? The only people who ken Callum hasnae sent word are us, his clan.

It was one of the councilmen, surely. It had to be. Or perhaps it was just the gossip among the servants and the guards, and Laird Barclay had heard it all.

Rhea didn’t know which was worse, having an informant among their ranks or having servants who were so loud-mouthed that simple gossip spread so far.

“Frankly, I’m quite surprised that Lady Sienna has declined me offer,” Laird Barclay said. “Surely she doesnae think yer clan can afford this, or perhaps she truly doesnae ken the extent of the damage. But Lady McMahon, it’s me duty to wed her. Ye understand, right? I cannae leave two young lasses alone and defenseless. What if another clan decides to attack? What will ye do without a laird, without an army? Ye have just enough men here to guard the castle from a rogue attack, but if there is a siege, how long do ye think ye’ll last? How long do ye think yer men will last? How long do ye think yer grain stores will last?”

Rhea had nothing to say to that. Laird Barclay was voicing all of her concerns, all the fears that had been brewing in her mind for the past months. It was as if he had dug deep into her mind to find her deepest fears and had brought them all to light, all to frighten her into submission.