Page 54 of Married to the Icy Highlander
Neil would have told them whatever it was that they wanted to know, but he had no idea what it was. He was about to say as much, but they kept talking.
“Ye can start by tellin’ us why ye really married yer Lady!”
Neil glanced back at Ceana, who looked just as surprised by all of this as he was. If the villagers were going to take this opportunity to belittle her, he wasn’t sure he would be able to stand by and just accept their vitriol.
“We ken all about it! Ye stole yer braither’s woman, just as ye stole yer first wife! We’ll nae forget about that betrayal as well!”
“What in God’s name are ye prattlin’ on about? Have ye all lost yer minds?!” Neil shouted at them, causing the ones in the first row to stagger back slightly.
“We ken how she tricked us all. We ken what happened eight years ago, and ye didnae even have the courage to seek vengeance for her betrayal! Ye have gone soft, M’Laird, and it’s time for ye to step aside!” another one of the men interjected loudly.
“Eight years?” Ceana muttered at Neil’s side, seeming just as confused as he was.
The realization started to dawn on her, and he wanted to ask her if she somehow knew what they meant… But he was almost scared that she did and she was somehow connected to all of this mess.
“Fiona, can ye take Jeanie inside, please? Dinnae come back out again unless the Laird or I come to fetch ye,” Ceana instructed, giving Jeanie’s hand to the maid, who quickly started to drag the little girl back to the castle.
Neil felt better knowing that his daughter was well out of harm’s way, at the very least.
“Aye, hide yer bastard daughter!” one of the villagers shouted.
Neil lost it—he saw red. One moment he was standing beside Ceana, the next he was rushing into the crowd. He was a good deal larger and better trained than those who attempted to swarm him. And he was stronger, faster. The culprit was on the ground before he could utter another word.
“Ye have nay idea what ye’re talkin’ about! Dinnae ever talk about me daughter again!” Neil snarled in warning. “How dare ye question yer Laird like this? Do I need to remind ye who ye owe everything to?”
The rest of the villagers moved backward, giving him more space so that he didn’t have a reason to punch them, too. The bubble of tension was broken, and they were all eyeing him warily.
“We apologize, M’Laird. Please…” one of the men started, inching closer to the unconscious man on the ground, and another came to help drag him away.
“What has gotten into ye?” Neil growled.
“We… we didnae mean to question ye, M’Laird. But this morning, we heard the rumors, and we got swept up into them. Men moved about the village before dawn, mutterin’ about ye havin’ a bast—Some of us recognized their clan’s tartan. It’s MacAngus. So we assumed that they kenned what they were talkin’ about…”
“Arthur?” Neil’s eyes widened. He couldn’t believe what he was hearing. It couldn’t possibly be what he thought it was. Arthur had no reason to betray him or to stoke unrest like this. “Are ye sure that ye arenae mistaken?”
“Nay, M’Laird. We are certain. It’s why we thought that it was serious,” another man supplied.
“Go. Get out of me sight.” Neil dismissed them with a wave of his hand.
Slowly, they all started to disperse, carrying their friend back toward the village with their tails tucked between their legs.
Neil didn’t want to face his wife—he could feel the question already.
“What did they mean?” she asked before he could turn around fully.
He didn’t want to have this conversation. He didn’t want to think about what it might mean. He wanted it to be impossible, but it would seem that he was not the only one who knew his first wife’s secret.
“Nothing,” he said sharply. “They meant nothing.”
Ceana recoiled from him as he turned on his heel and started toward the castle. She was having difficulty keeping up with him, but he had no intention of slowing down for her.
“I thought… maybe after last night…”
Neil stopped so abruptly that she nearly collided with his back. “What did ye think, wife?” he huffed in irritation as he slowly turned around.
“I thought ye’d open up. But I can see that ye still dinnae trust me enough to tell me about yerself! I could help ye!” Ceana shouted, but he could see the tears welling up in her eyes.
“What is it that ye wish to hear, wife? I made meself clear from day one—I want a marriage of convenience, an heir, and nothingmore. The fact that we desire each other might be useful, but that’s about it,” Neil hissed.
