Terrified, she gathered her skirts and rushed to stand by her husband’s side. “Please!” she said loudly, holding her hands up to silence them.
When their voices quieted to just a murmur, she spoke again. “Most of you are unaware that I am now married.” She offered a smile to her husband and took his arm in hers. “Sin?—”
A fierce curse sounded from Fraser. His eyes flaming, he strode up the stairs to sneer at her. “Tell me it’s not true, Callie. Why would you be a whoring?—”
Sin moved so fast she didn’t even see his arm in motion. One minute Fraser was insulting her and in the next Sin had him by the throat.
Fraser tried to pry Sin’s grip loose with both his hands, but it did no good.
The look on Sin’s face was one of hell wrath and when he spoke, his tone was low, lethal. “Insult my wife again, or even look in her general direction, and I will rip your throat out. Do you understand?”
Fraser nodded.
Sin released him.
Fraser coughed and rubbed his throat. His fierce gaze bored into Sin, but he wisely held his tongue.
Sin looked out at her clansmen. “As for the rest of you, I have been sent here by King Henry to make sure no one else raids the English who live in the neighboring towns and areas.” He centered his gaze on Fraser. “I know not who the rebels are, but I will find out, and those responsible will be punished.”
Snorts and insults rang out.
“Why should we fear you?”
Again, Callie was unsure of who spoke.
Sin smiled slyly as he stepped slowly from the stairs and walked among her men. She held her breath in fear of what they might do next.
“Let me tell you a little story…” Sin eyed them each in turn. “There was once a boy who wasn’t even old enough to shave.”
He paused at Dermot. “Beaten.”
Then he looked to her cousin, Sean, “Naked.” He continued to walk amongst them as he spoke. “He was sent out into the great desert with only a small dagger for protection.”
Sin jumped back up on the stairs beside her and stood face to face with Fraser. His next words chilled her completely. “I have killed cobras with my bare hands, and I have lived through conditions so horrendous, not even hell itself scares me.”
His gaze panned through the crowd. “If any of you think for one minute that I have any soul left to prevent me from killing you, you’re sadly mistaken. If you think for one minute,” he repeated, “any of you are capable of killing me, then I say try it. But make sure you’ve had a good confession beforehand because I assure you, it will be the very last mistake you make in this lifetime.”
He focused his gaze on Dermot. “The raiding stops now.”
Sin turned to walk back inside the castle. He’d barely taken a step before one of the men threw a cabbage at him.
Unsheathing his sword as he whirled around, he cleaved it in twain. The two halves fell harmlessly to the ground.
Utter silence descended. This time, he saw shock and fear on the faces of the crowd as they finally realized the extent of his fighting skills.
Sin sheathed his sword. “Never attack me from behind.”
He swept one last menacing glare at them, then walked inside.
Callie saw the reserve in the men who gathered around to discuss what had just happened and how to deal with Sin.
Fraser curled his lip at her and said nothing as he went to join the men in the yard.
Callie ran after her husband.
She found him alone in the great hall, leaning on both arms against the lord’s table. His back was rigid and he reminded her a bit of an angry wolf. She approached him cautiously, but not in fear. She knew him to be snappish in this mood. Still, she didn’t think he would turn his anger on her.
“That was amazing. How did you know about the cabbage?”
