Page 68 of The Cruel Highlander's Bride
Magnus sighed as the village came into view.
The ride here was long, but with Ciara at his side, teasing him and, dare he say, flirting with him, it had passed all too quickly.
Now, instead of bantering with his wife, they needed to confront their people. They hadn’t let anyone know they were coming, lest they gave their enemy additional time to prepare, but it wouldn’t be long before the whole village knew.
Already, on the outskirts of the village, the people they passed were giving them wary looks. Magnus didn’t need to continue watching to know they were running off and telling whoever they could that the Laird was here.
By the time they got to the center of the village, a small crowd had assembled.
“That was fast,” Ciara muttered.
“Aye, a bunch of gossips,” he replied quietly.
Thankfully, he saw a couple of friendly faces in the crowd. The village women they’d helped stood with their families and were smiling at them.
Ciara moved to dismount her horse, but Magnus shook his head at her. He did not want her on the ground in front of everyone until he knew better how this would go, especially as the crowd around them only grew thicker, closer, and angrier.
The more people that flocked to the square, the more likely it was for this whole thing to get out of hand. The Laird shot his man-at-arms a brief glance to make sure he was prepared for anything.
Ewan replied with a firm nod.
At least Magnus could count on the man to help keep Ciara safe.
“What is she doin’ here?” someone called out.
Angry agreements rang out through the crowd.
Magnus opened his mouth to retort and let the villagers know exactly what he would do to anyone who threatened his wife, but he was quickly quieted by one of the women who had come to the castle—probably for the best.
“They are here to help,” the woman bellowed, her tone leaving very little room for argument. Then she added, “As yer Laird and Lady.”
It was clear that the woman was well-respected in the village because people listened to her. Her words were part reminder and part threat. Magnus and Ciara were not here to punish anyone, but if anyone dared to hurt his wife… well, that would be a different story altogether.
“Aye, she is right.” Ciara’s strong voice rang out, and just like that, the whispers and chatter died down. She once again caught the attention of everyone around them. “We are here to listen, learn, and hopefully help. Ye can consider this the first of many informal audiences.”
She met Magnus’s gaze at that last part, presumably to ensure this was acceptable to him, and he gave a very subtle nod.
“If anyone has some chairs they could bring out, we will begin to hear petitions,” he added.
The crowd hadn’t lost its suspicious edge completely, but the open hostility seemed to have faded a bit. People either believed that they were here to help or more likely didn’t want to risk openly defying them.
The idea of Ciara being accessible to everyone still made Magnus grit his teeth and had him on edge, but they needed to give the villagers a chance. They couldn’t expect blind trust if they didn’t show some level of faith in return.
He sighed as he dismounted his horse and reluctantly headed over to help her down. Her smaller hand in his and her little smile soothed him a bit. He had a feeling he would need as much calm as he could get for these petitions.
As they sat in the chairs someone had brought out, one of the older women they’d first spoken to approached them.
She nodded her head respectfully and said, “Thank ye for comin’. Once everyone has had a chance to talk to ye, they will come around.”
“I suppose now is as good a time as any to give ye an update as well. I’ve heard back from some neighboring clans, and the responses were positive. I’ll have someone come out and help organize those plannin’ to move. But there should be an influx of hands comin’ soon,” Magnus promised.
Ciara whipped her head around to face him. In the excitement of their wedding and everything since, he hadn’t had a chance to tell her about this yet.
“Ye should have led with that!” the older woman exclaimed. “Once they hear that, all will be well.”
She patted him on the arm a little, like one would a small child, and then walked off.
Magnus caught Ciara’s eye and shook his head with a smile.
