Page 8 of The Mad Highlander
“Come, let’s nae keep Laird O’Brien waiting any longer.” Tristan nodded back to the way they had come, his eyes determined with anticipation again.
The carriage rattled over the uneven country roads as Iris glanced across the carriage at Laird O’Brien. He hadn’t said so much as a few words to her in the past few hours, making the atmosphere in the small confines of the carriage almost unbearable for her.
He hadn’t offered her more than simple monosyllabic grunts since they had started out. The topic of his father and brother seemed far too dangerous to broach at present, yet she still needed to know more about him.
“Tell me, Me Laird, does yer family live with ye at Castle O’Brien?” She felt her pulse quicken when he glared at her.
“Aye, they do,” he grunted at her.
Iris waited for more of a response but found herself face to face with a brick wall. The man’s stubbornness was harder to break through than an iron shield. “Do ye have a maither?”
“Everyone has a maither.” He narrowed his eyes at her and gripped his knees as the carriage rattled on.
“That’s not what I meant.” She felt the heat rising in the back of her neck. Why could he not just answer the simple question?
Cayden smirked for the first time since they had met, causing the pit of her stomach to flutter with unease.
“Aye, I ken everyone has a maither. Thank ye for remindin’ me of that.” She held her head high in defiance and glared at him.
Naebody else could be as brutish as ye.
Iris looked out of the carriage window before looking back at the Laird. “All I wanted to ken was if there were other members of yer family living at the castle. Ye cannae blame me for wanting to ken the people who will become me kin? If I had more time to prepare, I wouldnae have to ask so many questions. I deserve some answers, dinnae I?” She stood her ground despite the angry glances that he kept casting in her direction.
The murderous look he presented her with sent shivers down her spine. She couldn’t look him in the eye for too long, yet there was something in his eyes that made her want to know him better.
“Ye will meet everyone when we get there. What point is there describin’ everythin’ to ye when ye will see it all soon enough. Will ye continue to ask questions for the remainder of our journey?” He seemed intent on offering no information whatsoever, yet there was a glimmer of something in his eyes when she asked about who was residing in the castle with him.
“Well, I look forward to meetin’ everyone.” She glared at him, giving up on his curt responses.
“Good.” Cayden snapped at her, raising his voice just a little as his patience seemed to wear out.
Iris rose to his challenge, glaring back at him with her eyes narrowed. “Aye, it is good, Me Laird. I’m glad we had this conversation.” It was hard to hide the sarcasm in her voice when she had been trying so hard to be kind to him.
“Aye, and now, ye ken the type of man I am. I’m sure ye kenned who I was before ye met me. Ye didnae think we would be goin’ back to host tea parties, did ye? I have more important things to occupy me time, like running the clan an’ finding yer brother.” He shot back at her.
The Laird had agreed to help find her brother when he could have refused them.
Clutching her seat as the carriage rattled over stones in the road, she composed herself. “I didnae mean to be rude, Me Laird. Ye are doing so much for me family; I only want to ken more about the place I am going.”
Cayden looked at her in surprise. “Ye will learn all that ye need to ken once we arrive, an’ dinnae fuss, ye willnae be thrown into a dungeon.”
The silence filled the air once more as Cayden turned his attention to the passing scenery. He seemed to lapse back into thought almost as soon as he looked away from her. It infuriated her almost as much as his insistence upon making her leave her home sooner than she was ready.
What is he thinking about?
She studied his profile from the side, feeling a surge of heat in the pit of her stomach when she noticed again how muscular and handsome he was.
Her heart skittered a little when the carriage caused his knee to jostle against hers. Clearing her throat, she pasted a smile on her lips. “How far is it to yer castle, Me Laird?” She attempted to start a conversation with him once again that she hoped would lead to him opening up a little. The need to know more about the man she was marrying overpowered any fear that she felt in his presence. Even his churlish ways couldn’t discourage her from making proper conversation.
“We will spend the night at an inn an’ carry on in the morning. Castle O’Brien is two days away from yer home,” he answered curtly in a deep voice that sent shivers coursing down her spine despite her resolve not to react to the mad laird. He hardly turned his gaze away from the passing scenery.
My home. At least he acknowledges the fact that I’m leaving it behind.
Reluctant to give up, she composed herself again. “Tell me about your castle, if you dinnae mind, Me Laird?” She spoke softly, hoping to coax him into saying more than just a few words.
Cayden turned to her with a veiled expression as his eyes swept over her body. “It’s a castle much like any other. It has walls an’ rooms to sleep in.” He looked her over once more before turning back to the window.
Irritation filled her body along with the heat that rose in her cheeks beneath his gaze. “I’m glad to hear that yer castle has walls, Me Laird; it would be terribly inconvenient if it didn’t.” Her voice dripped with sarcasm.
