His grandmother glanced at Olivia and said, “I’ve nae much to tell ye, lad, but ye should ask the lassie here.”
“Oh? Have ye been busy?” He was genuinely curious.
His question was rewarded with a small, shy smile and eyes sparkling with excitement.
“Well, nae exactly busy, but I have been plannin’ our first outing.”
7
Edan was taken aback. Annoyed, actually. He planned to organize the dates himself and had not for one moment thought that Olivia would have any say in them. He glanced over at this grandmother to gauge her reaction to what he regarded as high-handedness.
It further put him out to see that, far from agreeing with him, she was gazing at Olivia dotingly, in a way she had previously reserved for him. He made a mental note that the two women had grown close in his absence, which he felt could spell trouble.
He turned his eyes back to his wife. “Is that so?” he said, his voice deliberately cold to show her his displeasure.
“Aye, I talked with Greta about it, and she gave me some ideas,” Olivia told him, seemingly oblivious to the message he was trying to convey.
Frustrated, his temper got the better of him.
“Why are ye involvin’ yerself in plannin’ what we’re goin’ to do?” he demanded, glaring at her. “I’ll be the one to decide, so ye can forget all ye’ve done so far and nae concern yerself with it any longer. Is that understood?”
The smile and look of excitement on Olivia’s face abruptly vanished, and it only fueled Edan’s anger to see that the haughty look he was starting to recognize quickly took its place.
Proudly, she straightened her spine and lifted her chin, her melting brown eyes growing hard and dark as marble as they locked onto his.
“I dinnae appreciate yer tone. Please keep a civil tongue when ye address me in the future. If ye recall, it was I who suggested the dates. Therefore, it seems perfectly reasonable for me to be the one to plan them.” Her voice was icy.
Her ability to match his coldness exasperated him. Forgetting all about Greta, who was watching the whole argument unfold, he sprang to his feet and went to stand over Olivia, trying to intimidate her with his size.
It did not appear to work.
“Now, listen to me, woman,” he growled, pointing a warning finger at her. “First, I’ll address ye however I like. Second, dinnae try to lay down the law to me or try to tell me what to do. I’m yer husband, and what I say goes around here. Ye’ll do well to remember that, lass. I’ll decide what happens on these datesand when they’re goin’ to be, and I’ll make all the arrangements as well. There’s nay need for ye to stick yer nose in everything.”
Olivia rose to her feet and, though much shorter than him, squared up to him fearlessly, anger flashing in her eyes. “Ye’re a very rude and ignorant man. ’Tis regrettable that I have the misfortune to be married to ye. Why do ye nae just leave again and go away for another year or two? Ye were almost tolerable as a husband while ye were absent, but ye’re quickly provin’ to be an insufferable boor since ye came back.”
Outraged by his failure to intimidate her into submission, Edan opened his mouth to retort but was suddenly interrupted when his grandmother started to gasp for air and clutch at her chest.
“Grandmaither, what is it?!” he exclaimed, panic rushing through him as he rushed to her side.
Without thinking, he scooped the frail old lady up into his arms. Olivia rushed ahead to open the door, and he carried her down the hall and into her chambers.
“Dinnae worry, Grandmaither, I’ll summon the healer right away,” he assured her, frantic with the fear of losing her.
He hurried out of the room and was surprised to find Olivia following him. He stopped and turned to face her.
“What are ye followin’ me for? Go and look after her,” he ordered.
She stopped a few paces from him and, to his annoyance, shook her head. “There’s nay need for the healer to be summoned,” she said with infuriating calm.
“What are ye talkin’ about, ye mad woman? Ye’ve just seen with yer own eyes that she’s havin’ some sort of attack.”
“She’s nae havin’ any sort of attack,” she insisted.
“Eh? Are ye blind? Do ye nae care for her?”
“Yer grandmaither was only pretendin’ to be ill. She’s fine, really.”
He stared at her, incredulous. “Now I ken ye’re mad.”
