His Headstrong Bride by Sassa Daniels

Author:Sassa Daniels [Daniels, Sassa]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Stormy Night Publications
Published: 2019-02-06T16:00:00+00:00

Chapter Ten

Margaret cupped her hand in the fast-flowing burn and scooped up some water to drink. Lifting her hand to her mouth, she took a few welcome sips and then splashed the rest of the fresh, cool liquid on her face. It helped to revive her a little. The sun had beaten down on them all day and they had covered a fair distance with only the briefest of stops. After riding through the precarious Brander Pass, where the men’s vigilance had been heightened in case of attack, they had finally crossed onto MacDonnell land. The presence of sea birds in the skies above told her they were near the coast, but the castle still lay almost an hour’s ride away. Iain had seen that she was flagging and so had allowed one final stop. She suspected that the gesture was his way of trying to defuse the uncomfortable tension that had lingered between them since they left the camp. The image of that poor wretch’s horrible death kept flashing through her mind. She had seen men being executed, but never right before her eyes. She wondered if she would ever shake off the memory of his skull being split open. Watching Iain as he laughed at some joke Sir Colin had made, she wondered how he could so easily shrug off the violent act he had committed.

“Any of us would have done as he did.”

Margaret looked up to find Angus standing over her. He was a gruff man, from some remote northern clan. These past few days as they’d journeyed across the country, he had scarcely uttered a word to her and, in truth, she was a little wary of him. So, it came as a surprise that he should choose to approach her to speak up for Iain.

“That swine insulted you with his words and a man like Iain cannot be distracted from doing what’s necessary to protect his honor.”

His honor! Of course, it was all about his reputation. Any slight against her was an affront to Iain’s masculinity. Margaret wanted to protest that the man had done no real harm, that death was too harsh a punishment, but she held her tongue. She knew, despite her outrage, that Angus had a point. It was the way of the world. A man like her husband could only lead if he was shown to be capable of acting decisively, with ruthless force if required. He could allow no disrespect and had to defend his property which, in the eyes of the law, included her. Knowing that did not mean that she had to like it and Margaret certainly hadn’t appreciated the way Iain spoke to her back at the camp. Still, she supposed she would have to live with it. Nodding in acknowledgement of what Angus had said, she got to her feet, just as the man in question approached.

“You should not have lowered yourself to beg for him,” Angus said as a parting shot.

Now, Margaret understood why Iain was angry with her.

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