The Mistaken Groom by Patricia Bates

Author:Patricia Bates
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: PBPublications

Chapter Eleven

Callum stood, legs braced, hands linked behind his back. Below him in the lower field, the clash of weapons filled the air. Men shouted. His warriors in training would ensure success on the battlefield.

And yet his mind was not on the sparring men. Nay, his discipline had deserted him and his thoughts were turned to less important matters. Had he been too rough with Elizabeth? While the pain was necessary it did not need to be horrible.

Not that he made a habit of taking virgins to his bed. Nay, Elizabeth was his first and already his fingers itch to touch her. He rolled his shoulders, the fabric of his lien dragging across the shallow scratches her nails had left. The warmth of her legs wrapped around his waist played through his memories and he shifted. Embers flared within his blood and his groin tingled. Callum shook his head and cursed under his breath.

Damn woman.

She had utterly destroyed his focus.

“Ye seem pleased.” Callum jolted and glared at the man standing next to him.

“Have ye nothing better to do then sneak up on a man?” Callum ground out. “I can see ye have tasks to complete.”

Eaun chuckled and crossed his arms. “Ye are a man pleased with his wife. Not all men are so blessed. I take no offense to yer words.”

“Elizabeth is not to be discussed like some well used whore. She is my–”

“Sheath yer sword, Callum. I make no insult to her. Only point out ye seem to be well served. There will be those who oppose yer marriage. It is hard to let blood feuds fade when they have been in place for generations.”

Eaun’s words left a bitter taste within Callum’s mouth. A week before the McGreghere’s and Graham’s would have killed each other on sight. Graham had not thought out his actions well. “I am aware. The fault does not lie with Elizabeth in the matter. She is an innocent victim of her father and brother’s greed and thirst for power.”

“As is the rest of her clan. There is not one of the men who would even raise a weapon at the Grahams. They pity them.”

“The Graham men only need training. A task they will not be given until the old man is gone. I would keep the truth from Elizabeth if at all possible. She may know who she is married to, but it is unlikely she would know the depth of the situation.”

“She is smart, and able bodied. She would have to be to put up with a belligerent tyrant such as yerself. I donna trust her kin. Did ye not say the Stewarts had some claim to her by will of her brother?”

“Aye,” Callum clenched his fists. She would never suffer their attention. Not as long as there was air within his lungs and a beating heart in his chest. “They were most eager to lay claim.”

“Then there is much to be discovered. The English will not halt their war because of discord within the clans.

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