Page 67 of Laird of Wrath

Rhea glanced at her own husband to find him laughing with Hudson. It was rare to see him like this, and the sight brought a smile to her lips. Her biggest fear had been that Callum wouldn’t enjoy anything at the feast, that it would be nothing but a burden to him, something that he would want to wrap up as fast as possible so he could retreat to his chambers and be alone. But the Callum before her now was different, loosened by drink.

“I am enjoyin’ this,” Mabel assured her. “I didnae use to like feasts, it’s true. There are so many people, so much… so much noise all the time. Ye cannae hide from it anywhere. I bet that if I go out to the balcony, the noise will follow me all the way there. And some of the guests too, nay doubt. It’s impossible to be alone in a feast like this.”

“But ye daenae mind?” Rhea asked.

“Nae now,” Mabel replied with a soft, humorless laugh. She shook her head as if trying to dispel a thought, her gaze turning to the crowd. “It has been so long since I last saw so many people. It’s… it’s a lot, but it’s also nice.”

“If ye need some time to yerself?—”

“I’m fine, Rhea,” Mabel insisted, reaching for her hand and lacing their fingers together. “Enjoy the feast. Ye deserve it. Ye’ve put so much work into planning it!”

“Ach, it’s nae that much,” Rhea said, though it was obviously a lie. “Soon, ye’ll see. There’s nae that much to do.”

“Soon?” Mabel asked with a small frown. “Why?”

“Well, ye’ll get married in a few years, will ye nae?” Rhea pointed out. “And once ye’re a wedded lass, there will be much to take care of in yer household. One of those things will be the feasts.”

Mabel hesitated for a moment. “Wed?” she echoed, sounding uncertain. “I daenae ken if I can wed.”

That gave Rhea pause. She turned to face her sister fully, her eyes narrowing in suspicion. “Why?”

Mabel shrugged a shoulder. “If I am to wed, I must wed someone who can take over the clan,” she said. “And… I daenae ken, Rhea. Can ye imagine what kind of men will try to win me hand? They will all want to be lairds more than they’ll want to be me husbands. They’ll only want power and wealth.”

Rhea glanced once more at Callum, who was still deep in conversation with Hudson. Now more men had gathered around them, standing behind their chairs as Hudson told a story,waving his hands wildly in the air. He had all the men engrossed in the story, hanging on his every word.

Rhea couldn’t help but admire that skill in him, the way he could so easily enchant an audience. She wasn’t so certain that skill would work on a female audience, though.

What Mabel was saying was not far from the truth. Many of the men who would come to ask for her hand in marriage would be precisely that—men hungry for power, who would want to take over the clan more than anything else. Many wouldn’t love her. Many wouldn’t even treat her properly, even if she would practically gift them the clan and all the power that came with it.

It was a shame that as women, they couldn’t hold that same power.

Callum had been the same too, once. He had chosen to marry her just because of her father’s wealth. That was all he had wanted at first—a way to secure the future of his people, to make sure they wouldn’t starve come winter. But through it all, they had come to understand each other, and she would be lying if she claimed she didn’t think he was at least fond of her.

He had given her the time she had asked for. He hadn’t tried to pressure her. And when she had asked him to court her, he had done just that, revealing a side of himself that she hadn’t even known existed. Even if theirs was a marriage of convenience, something had slowly bloomed between them, something she didn’t yet dare name.

Perhaps it would be the same for Mabel.

She hoped she wasn’t being too naive. She had been lucky, but many women weren’t.

“When the time comes, I will be by yer side,” Rhea assured her sister. “And ye will pick whoever ye deem most worthy of ye. I will support ye, nay matter what.”

Mabel gave her a small smile, but there was sadness behind it. “Like ye did?”

The question caught Rhea by surprise. She stammered for a few moments, glancing at Callum out of the corner of her eye.

“I may nae have had a choice, but that doesnae mean it will be the same for ye,” she said. “Ye ken why this had to happen the way it did.”

“Aye. Of course I ken. But that doesnae make it right.”

“Ach, Mabel, it all turned out fine.”

“It did?” Mabel asked.

It didn’t sound like she was trying to mock Rhea. Rather, she sounded truly curious, as if she didn’t believe it—wouldn’tbelieve it—until Rhea herself confirmed it.

“Of course,” Rhea affirmed. “Look at me. I’m perfectly happy now, am I nae?”

Mabel seemed to consider that for a moment, her eyes narrowing on Rhea, trying to find the lie beneath her words.