Little did she know, her very presence kept a smile in his heart and that was the biggest feat of all.
Sin saddled horses for them and once they were mounted, Callie led him to the village of Tier Nalayne where the bulk of the MacNeely clan lived and worked. It was a pleasant day and the village was rife with activity.
Children ran and played games, rushing up and down the roads, between the cottages and shops. Women and men paused along the way to gossip and talk while they went about their daily chores.
Callie had them dismount and leave their horses at the stable so they could walk about on foot.
It didn’t take long before they became the center of hostile attention. Women grabbed their children and scurried away at their approach.
Callie took a deep breath and counted for patience at the way her people greeted her husband. It was a good thing he’d left his armor behind. She could only imagine how much worse they would behave had he come wearing his mail and sword.
The butcher’s wife stepped out her shop, saw them approaching, then ran inside, slammed the door shut and hung a sign on the door saying they were out of meat for the day. Callie glared at the sign, then looked to see Sin’s reaction.
There wasn’t one. He merely took her clan’s disdain of him in stride as if he expected nothing better. And that made her maddest of all.
She’d known these men and women the whole of her life. How could they be so blind?
“Morna?” she called, seeing her stepmother talking to her best friend Peg outside of the cobbler’s shop. Callie took Sin’s hand and led him over to her. “How fare you this day?”
Her stepmother beamed a happy smile at them while Peg inspected the contents of the basket she was holding. “We’re fine, aren’t we, Peg?”
Peg looked up and raked a sneer over Sin. “I needs be getting back to me chores.”
Sin said nothing, nor did his face betray even the slightest offense.
“How are you, milord?” Morna gave him a pleasant smile.
Callie saw relief flash in Sin’s eyes for such a brief time that she wondered if she imagined it. “I am quite well, milady, and you?”
“Oh posh, no milady here. I’m just simple Morna, especially to the man who helped me Jamie. You know, you’re all he talks about.”
“And I’m certainly far from noble myself. Call me Sin. As for Jamie, he’s a good boy. You’ve done a fine job with him.”
Morna’s gaze went over Sin’s shoulder, then she looked to Callie. “Let’s see if we can bash a few stubborn skulls and make the others see what we do.”
Before she could ask Morna what she meant, Morna grabbed Angus as the old man walked past. His long gray hair was tangled and his beard so full that no one knew what he really looked like. Still, he was one of the most respected men in the clan and if you could get Angus to like you, the rest would follow suit.
“Angus, me love,” Morna said cheerfully, “have you met Callie’s new husband?”
The old man curled his lip as he took in Sin’s English clothes. “I’ve no desire to be meeting a?—”
Morna cut his words off by clearing her throat. “Don’t you think you should judge a man by his deeds and not by his birth?”
“I know the deeds of his kind.”
Morna sighed as Angus hobbled off. “Don’t take it to heart,” she said to Sin, “They’re good people, really.”
“Believe me, I don’t even hear it. I fear Callie is the only one to be hurt by such comments.”
He might say that, but Callie didn’t believe it. How could it not hurt him?
Callie glanced to see a group of eight men, led by Fraser, headed toward them. Oh, this wasn’t good. By their swaggers, she could tell they meant harm.
Fraser glared at her. His sneer twisted his reddish-blond beard. “Why did you bring him here?”
“I wanted to show him the village.”
“Why?”
