“I dinna care!” Jessie cried. “You turn me out for thistartyour brother brought home. Why?”
“I’m no’ obliged to explain to you, Jessie. ’Tis over and that is all you need know.”
“I’ll no’ stand for it!” the woman screeched. “You used me, Jamie!”
“No more than you did me,” he replied, his voice controlled and cold. “You’ll be paid for your trouble, if that is what worries you.”
“Curse you, Jamie MacKinnion!” Jessie hissed, her green eyes gleaming fire. “You’ll be regretting this, I swear you will. And she will, too!” Jessie turned her murderous eyes on Sheena. “You’re welcome to him, for he’ll be treating you this way as soon as a new lass catches his eye. The man is a faithless bastard!”
Jamie gripped her arms and shoved her away from him. “Gawain, if you please, take her out of here. And find someone deaf to escort her home. I wouldna wish this hagborn tongue on anyone who can hear.”
Gawain was thoroughly amused. He chuckled as he moved to take Jessie’s arm. “She just needs a little reassurance. I’m just the one to give it to her, if you can do without me for a day or two.”
“Suit yourself,” Jamie said. “As long as you know what you’re doing.”
Black Gawain laughed as he took Jessie out of the hall. She went willingly enough, her confidence restored by a new admirer. Gawain listened to her indignation with only half an ear.Cruel, selfish, ficklewere just a few of the words Sheena overheard before the hall quieted. What had happened was unbelievable. The humiliation. The scorn. All so unnecessary.
“Sheena.”
All that she was fighting to control was revealed in the look she turned on Jamie. “How dare you subject her to that? How dare you subjectmeto that?” Her voice was but a whisper, but filled with such outrage that Jamie was taken aback.
“I didna know she would make such a fuss. Are you hurt, lass?”
“’Tis a fine time to be asking!” Sheena’s voice rose. “You had no right to insist I stay here and be put through that.”
“That isna why I asked you to stay.” His temper was wearing thin, and, quickly, she lowered her gaze. She was provoking him to the very thing she feared the most—his anger.
“I think enough has been said and done this day.” She spoke very softly.
“Now what is this?” he demanded. “So much anger canna disappear that easily. If you wish to shout at me, do so. Dinna hide your spirit behind a meek surface. I’ll no’ stand for that, Sheena. Dinna pretend wi’ me.”
“Very well, Sir Jamie,” she said stiffly. “I hate what you just did, and agree with everything that woman said of you. I asked you no’ to do it, but you wouldna listen to me. Now you’ve no one, for you certainly don’t have me.”
Jamie grinned, surprising her. “We’ll see about that, lass.”
“There’ll be no handfasting!” she snapped, infuriated by his easy humor.
“We’ll see about that, too,” he assured her. “Now come, you’ve no’ eaten.”
Sheena ignored his outstretched hand, exasperated by this new mood of his. “I’ve no appetite now. If you’ll excuse me….”
Jamie sighed. “Very well. But you’ll be riding with me today. Be ready in an hour.”
“Nay!” she gasped.
“Be ready, Sheena.”
She walked away. Another order, and one she would have to obey. She could challenge him only so often, she knew. The man misused his power cruelly. Yet how much could she do about it?
Chapter 18
Tight-lipped, temper simmering, Sheena glared furiously at the wide back riding before her. She had not said one word to him when he came for her at noon, or as he escorted her to the stable and helped her mount a mare. She had not acknowledged his compliments or his attempts at conversation. His high-handedness was more than she could bear.
She was, at that point, forced even to abide his charity. The gown he had given her fit her well. She and Lydia were the same small size, and only the tightness in the bosom made it apparent that the gown was not Sheena’s. It was lovely, powder blue, with full sleeves that turned back to reveal white fur cuffs. There was a matching fur-lined cloak with a pearl clasp. Under other circumstances, the gown would have been appreciated.
She hadn’t been paying attention to where he was leading her, but suddenly she realized that they werenot riding down to the valley, where flat land would allow an agreeable ride. As they rounded a steep crag, Sheena looked back. She could no longer see the castle. They were riding neither up nor down the mountainside, but following a worn pathway. There were no crofts there, no sign of life except a few trees and berry bushes.
A shiver of fright ran down her back. Out there, no one would be able to hear her cry. There were only the two of them. She was utterly at his mercy. Why, he was even holding her horse’s reins, leading her.
