Page 69 of A Highland Bride Taken
“They are under me care now, and nay matter how incompetent ye think me, I will take care of them,” she asserted. “Ye have nay right in the matter, and yer opinions dinnae matter either way.”
“Ye are indeed incompetent,” Laird McCormick sneered. “Ye should hire a governess who will raise them as befit their station. While I dinnae approve of ye, yer job is to run me grandson’s clan well, as his maither ran the clan before ye, and to give him heirs. The governess will do a much better job of raising children of noble birth. They shouldnae be trained to only learn their numbers, but read and write as well. They must learn good conduct and manners and protocol. They must learn nae to?—”
“That is enough!” Mabel yelled.
She had never lost her temper before, but the man had driven her to a point where her blood wasboiling. She craved violence, but she tamped down the feeling, choosing to use only her words instead.
If he was this way, it was no wonder her husband had so much darkness swirling about him. She could not imagine growing up in this man’s dark shadow and bearing the constant weight of his condescension.
Being in his presence pricked at every insecure part of herself, but while she would ordinarily have retreated into her shell andhidden away, she could not let his darkness rub off on the little boys under her care.
“Ye will leave our home now and never return,” she bit out.
Laird McCormick took a menacing step forward, looking as though he would strike her. But there was no fear in her, only anger. Even if she was not strong enough physically to throw him out of the castle, she would ensure that she at least tried.
“How dare ye? Ye whore of little consequence,” he spat.
Still, she lifted her eyes to his, pinning him with the full force of her hatred for his judgmental ways and his treatment of Ollie.
“Just because ye married me grandson, doesnae mean ye can talk back to me.”
His nostrils flared, and he seemed to be barely holding himself back. But she wanted him over the edge and gone from her home, and if she had to stoke his anger further, then so be it.
“I dare because I am Lady of Clan Muir and in nay way subject to yer tyranny,” she hissed, looking him in the eyes. “Ye will leave at once and only return if and when me husband summons ye—and I believe if he does so, ‘twill be to kill ye for laying a hand on Ollie. If ye are ready to apologize, I might be able to stay his hand, but if ye willnae, I suggest ye never cross into Muir lands again. Ye are most fortunate he isnae here to put ye in yer place.”
Mabel hated how she had to hide behind her husband’s power to drive her threat, and wished she had enough strength to throw the man on his arse and punish him for the despicable way he had treated the boys. But for now, her threat would suffice.
“Ye ill-mannered, little whore. Ye need to be taught a lesson in…”
His hand had been poised to strike her, but she caught it mid-air, holding his gaze.
He would dare strike her?
“What do ye think ye are doing to me wife?!” she heard a roar that could have only come from her husband.
Relief flooded her at once, but her eyes never left the man in front of her.
She wanted to see if he would continue to act so pompously before her husband.
“Campbell,” Laird McCormick uttered, turning away from her and wiping his hand on a kerchief, as though her touch had soiled him. “Ye and I must talk.”
27
“Ye and I have naught to speak about, Darragh,” Campbell spat, moving to his wife’s side. “I warned ye never to step foot in me lands or castle ever again. Do ye have nay care for yer life?”
Blood lust simmered in his blood as he tried but failed to push out the images of the bastard raising his hand to his wife.
It was as though a barrel of hate had finally burst inside him. He turned to the boys, eyeing the red print on Ollie’s cheeks.
Had his grandfather hit Ollie?
“We have much to discuss,” Darragh insisted, glaring at Mabel, who looked as murderous as Campbell felt. “And I willnae leave until I am through.”
“Are ye certain?” Mabel asked, stepping forward.
Campbell had to put a hand on her arm to stop her from stepping into harm’s way. While he would love nothing but to have a proper excuse to be rid of the man, he would rather not have it at her expense.
Still, he had never seen her so angry, and while it stirred his desire for her, it set off his anger as well. Darragh had crossed a line that he would never be able to return from, even if he begged for forgiveness.
