Page 78 of Laird of Wrath

“I never look at the Laird,” Lara repeated. “If I can help it.”

“Why?”

“Because she’s frightened of him,” Rhea replied on her behalf. At Lara’s indignant huff, she asked, “What? It’s the truth.”

“Perhaps, but ye daenae have to advertise it to everyone!” Lara protested.

“He’s an… imposin’ man,” Rhea said. “But I have seen nothin' but coldness in his eyes when he looks at me.”

Mabel looked at her as if she knew it was a lie—and it was. Rhea had seen many things in Callum’s eyes other than coldness, but love was not one of them.

“Trust me,” Mabel insisted. “We’re too close, and ye fash too much. Ye cannae see what I see, but I ken what it is. I ken that he loves ye, Rhea, and ye would be a fool to let him go without tellin’ him how ye feel. I daenae ken the man well, but he doesnae seem like someone who would reveal his feelings first. Ye have to be the one to tell him how ye feel.”

Rhea was quick to shake her head. “I cannae do that.”

“Why nae?”

“Because!” Rhea waved her arms wildly in the air. “What if ye’re wrong? What if he… what if he doesnae feel… the same?”

The last two words were spoken in a whisper, barely audible even to herself. But Mabel seemed to hear them regardless.

“I cannae be wrong,” she stated with such confidence that it was almost enough to convince Rhea. “And if I am, what of it? This is yer last day with him. On the morrow, he leaves again. Do ye want to spend the time he’s gone kennin’ that ye didnae tell him how ye feel? Who kens when he’ll be back? He may be gone aweek, or he may be gone a year. He may be gone a lot longer than that. What ye need to do is tell him the truth while ye still can.”

Silence fell over them.

Rhea stared at the bright blue sky, at the few fluffy clouds that passed overhead. And then, ever so slowly, she turned her gaze to Lara, who was clapping, each slam of her hands faster than the last.

“That was… that was so movin’,” Lara sniffed, one hand coming up to wipe away a stray tear. “Lady Mabel, ye’re right.” She then turned to Rhea. “Me Lady, ye must do as yer sister says. Ye must tell the Laird how ye feel before he leaves.”

“I daenae think?—”

“Daenae think!” Lara urged, interrupting her. “Just… just do!”

Rhea looked to her sister for help, but Mabel only shrugged, as if to say,I told you so.

She sat there, considering everything Mabel had said, and the more she thought about it, the more she realized that her sister was right. If she didn’t tell Callum the truth before he left, then she would forever regret it.

Perhaps she would never even see him again. Perhaps when he returned, things would be different between them anyway. If shedidn’t tell him how she felt about him now, there was a chance she never would.

And she deserved to have an answer from him. She deserved to have something—anything but his avoidance.

She nodded, mostly to herself. “All right,” she breathed. “I ken what I must do.”

On either side of her, the two women cheered, and she couldn’t help but laugh.

26

Callum would have liked nothing more than to lock himself up in his study while the preparations forLughnasadhwere underway, but that was simply not possible. He had work to do, which was to make sure that everyone in the castle would be safe, that there would be no attack, no weak place in the walls from where the enemy could strike.

An attack that night could be devastating. Most of his people would be there to celebrate, and they would all be vulnerable to Laird Barclay’s armies if he decided to attack. Thus Callum had to ensure that every part of the curtain walls and the keep was fortified, and that every soldier was ready that night.

There was no time for slacking. This was the time for them to be careful, to keep an eye out for anything out of the ordinary, and for him to inspect every part of the keep.

It was during his rounds, as he walked past the hallway to the eastern wing, that he bumped into Rhea—quite literally. He hadrounded the corner at the same time as her, and he stopped short when he caught a glimpse of her, but she was not as fast. She ran right into him, colliding with his chest. He reached out to steady her, placing his hands on her shoulders.

For a moment, neither of them moved. Callum would be lying if he said he didn’t know the cause of the sudden awkwardness between them, of the tense silence that fell over them as they stood there, looking at each other.

He had been avoiding her. As much as it pained him to admit it, he had been keeping his distance ever since that night they had spent together not so long ago.