Page 32 of Love Beyond Words
Stunned, I stepped back against the cold wall behind me. I knew Calder was wary of our presence here, but until now, he’d at least been cordial. Something in his eyes was different now, and I didn’t like his gaze at all.
Before I could say a word, Maddock stepped between me and Calder.
“Shut yer mouth, ye rude bastard. We doona even know what the source of the smell down here is. ’Tis a natural occurrence, I’m certain. Doona place this on her. Time away from polite society has ruined yer manners.”
Calder stepped very close to Maddock, and his tone was filled with venom as he spoke. “Look around, Maddock. Open every storage barrel. Ye will find the same as I did. I spent all morning searching. Nothing is rotting. ’Tis Machara’s anger rising from her tomb. Ye know as well as I that it willna be long before she begins to act out. Timothy’s death was enough to strengthen her. A lassie’s presence will give her even more power. I doona care if the rest of ye are so lust-crazed that ye are willing to damn us all just so ye can stare at a woman for a few days. She’s not worth it, Maddock. I might understand if she were pretty, but ye all know she is not. She’s got more padding on her than half our pigs. Ye are all ignorant fools, and I willna placate a one of ye.”
If he’d said such insulting words directly to me it would’ve been bad enough, but the fact that he was saying it about me—right in front of me—somehow made it worse.
I’d never been small or particularly slender. I was tall for a woman, and my stature would never be described as delicate. I was undoubtedly thicker—curvier—than what modern-day media would have people believe was “beautiful,” but in truth, I was no larger than the average woman. For much of my life, it had been my greatest source of insecurity, especially since Kate’s perfect figure had been the envy of every girl we knew growing up.
For me, those thirty extra pounds were something that ate at my confidence and led me to believe that I deserved less of everything than I did. Less money, fewer friends, less love, fewer experiences. It took me most of my twenties to get to a place where I could see that every self-depreciating belief I held about myself was a lie.
Perhaps someday I would lose the weight. Perhaps not. Either way, my size fourteen jeans were still the least interesting thing about me.
At least, I thought I’d evolved enough for such words not to hurt me. Calder’s words made me think differently. With his few thoughtless sentences, it felt like high school all over again—like standing in the locker room hearing the jeers and whispers of anorexic-looking brats. I had half a mind to tap him on the shoulder and then shove his balls halfway up his ass with my knee for being such an asshole, but while I was still reeling from his words, Maddock grabbed Calder by the throat and threw him up against the wall with so much force that I wouldn’t have been surprised if his head was now cracked and bleeding in the back.
Unfortunately, it wasn’t.
“I doona know what has gotten into ye, but fear has made ye someone I’m ashamed to know. Get out of my face before I break yer neck. If I see ye anywhere near Laurel or Marcus for the rest of the time they are here with us, I shall see ye sent away from this castle for good.”
I could see by the look in Calder’s eyes as Maddock stepped away that he knew his threat wasn’t an empty one. Leaving Calder trembling against the wall, Maddock took my hand and quickly ushered me back upstairs.
The moment we were in the light-filled grand corridor of the castle, Maddock looked at me. Whether it was intuition or my quickly-reddening face, he knew I was about to cry.
“Come here, lass.”
Even once we’re grown, we all carry wounds that when poked cause us pain.
In a few hours, I would be fine, but for now, I couldn’t deny how hurt I felt.
I allowed Maddock to pull me into his arms as I wept.
Chapter 18
“What do ye mean Calder is gone? Do ye mean to the village? When will he be back? He knows ’twill require all of ye to heal me.”
Maddock’s jaw was clenched, his eyes narrow. Raudrich was half-surprised that steam wasn’t coming out of his ears. Maddock was one of the most calm and centered men among them. Raudrich had never seen him so angry.
“No, I doona mean to the village. His horse and satchel and every personal item he had are no longer in the castle. I followed him to see if he would truly go through with it, and he has. He loaded himself and his horse on a boat and left the isle completely. He has abandoned his post here and us along with it.”
Raudrich couldn’t believe what he was hearing. They couldn’t afford to lose another man.
“And why dinna ye stop him?”
Maddock’s tone was entirely without remorse. “If that arse of a man wants to leave us, then good riddance to him. I thought I knew him. ’Twas clear to me earlier today that I dinna know him at all. He is not the sort of man we need here with us. If ye’d heard what I heard, ye would’ve not only let him leave, ye would’ve taken him down to the shore and thrown him in a boat yerself.”
“What did ye hear?”
Just as Maddock opened his mouth to answer him, Harry, Ludo, Quinn, and Paton entered his bedchamber. Nicol was still sleeping, as he did every day until dinner.
“Maddock, we hoped ye were already in here. Where is Calder? We’ve much to discuss while Quinn’s stew cooks away in the kitchen.”
Raudrich barely listened as Maddock told the rest of them what he’d just told him. His mind was now too busy wondering what this would mean. Was it even possible for one of The Eight to leave, to break their bond of their own accord? It had never been something they’d had to worry about before now. If there was a way for Calder to remove his magic from its bind to the isle, what would happen when The Eight became Six?
He was deep in thought when Quinn reached out and grabbed his arm.
“Are ye here, Raudrich? Did ye hear a word we said?”
