Page 70 of A Highland Bride Taken
He had trespassed into his home, hurt and threatened his family, and men had been executed for less.
“Keep yer wife in her place, Campbell,” Darragh snarled. “Ye should discipline her for her disrespect.”
Blood roared in Campbell’s ears at those words, but he did not want to lose his temper in front of his wife and the boys.
He did not want them to see the side of him that he only showed to enemies. He already felt the headiness of bloodlust coursing through him, and it would not take much for him to snap and wring the man’s neck.
“I thought me warning was well understood, Darragh,” he said calmly, despite his rage. “Ye werenae to come near me clan again.”
“I had good reason to,” Darragh stated stubbornly. “Yer wife is a disgrace to the title ye have given her, but nay matter. Ye can still?—”
“Take the boys to their chambers, wife,” Campbell interrupted, turning to Mabel, who looked up at him in surprise. “I will take care of this.”
“Husband, I?—”
“Dinnae worry,” he pressed. “He willnae hurt ye or the boys ever again.”
She looked into his eyes, as though searching for reassurance, but after a moment, she nodded and squeezed his arm softly, before turning to the boys. He felt some of his ire dissipate as he watched her retreat with the boys and regretted that he had not returned much earlier to spare them the displeasure of his grandfather’s company.
He had ridden off to the hunt the night before in the hope of refilling the larder, as it had depleted during the cèilidh, and had thought they would be safe. But now, he knew better.
He should have known that Darragh would not let up and that his visit would not be a one-time occurrence. But now, he would ensure it never happened again.
“Ye would disrespect me for this ill-mannered vixen, Campbell?” Darragh spat. “Ye have refused to do yer duty despite me manyreminders. When will ye produce heirs? Ye do ken it cements yer position as the Laird, do ye? If anything were to befall ye, who would ye leave to care for yer clan? Ye cannae consider Aidan’s boys. They are of low birth and ill-bred. They arenae fit to be yer heirs.”
Campbell heard his wife’s sharp intake of breath and turned to her.
“Leave now, wife,” he urged. “See to the bairns. I will join ye shortly.”
“Even yer faither, weak as he was, produced heirs. Ye should follow in his footsteps and produce heirs of yer own. Ye must?—”
The words died in the man’s throat as Campbell grabbed him by the collar. Now that Mabel and the boys were gone, he did not need to hold back his rage.
“How dare ye treat me this way?” Darragh spluttered, struggling to free himself, but Campbell’s grip was too strong. “All for a woman of nay consequence. I ken she is MacLennan’s daughter. Ye aligned yerself with another weak clan just like yer maither did, marrying yer faither. Have ye nae learned from her mistakes?”
“Ye willnae speak of me faither ever again if ye wish to leave the castle unharmed,” Campbell threatened. “I dinnae jest when I make this warning, Darragh. I crave the sight of yer blood for yer insult to me wife. Choose yer next words wisely, or I will see it done.”
Darragh had pushed him to the point where he was seeing red, but mentioning his father had been the final straw. Campbell might not have liked how weak his father had been, but it was the man before him who had torn their family apart and stolen his father’s humanity.
His father had been a grief-stricken shell of himself and took out his anger on him. Campbell had suffered because of his grandfather’s selfishness, and he would be damned before he let the man who had done nothing but destroy the lives of those around him dig his claws into his nephews.
“Ye cannae think mere threats will stop me from telling ye the truth ye need to hear, Campbell,” Darragh went on stubbornly.
Campbell tightened his grip on the man’s collar till a red hue spread across his cheeks, yet the man’s jaw was set.
His grandfather was a stubborn bastard till the end.
Oh, how easy it would be to end his miserable existence. With just a snap of his wrists, Campbell could end the man who had caused so much pain.
“I only wish to remind ye to do yer duty and produce heirs,” Darragh said. “Ye should?—”
“I will do nothing,” Campbell cut in. “I have me heirs already and need nay more children.”
“Ye mean to say that ye will use those unworthy bairns. Ye cannae…”
Suddenly, realization dawned on Campbell.
He did not know how he hadn’t seen it before. His grandfather was the one who sent the assailant to the boys’ chambers. He wanted the boys away from him so he would be forced to produce heirs.
