Page 16 of His Forgotten Highland Bride

Chapter Seven

The poor weather of the last few days gave way to a warm, sunny sky as if somehow knowing how important the day was.

Ronan was returning home. The border scouts had sent word he’d be arriving within the hour.

Brenna jumped into action to prepare the kitchens for a hearty feast, one worthy of the return of their new chief. Gabe and Malcolm stayed with her while Will and Hugh ordered the rest of the guard into formation in the bailey to greet the man who would take over as laird.

She was more than happy to give up the duty. She’d never heard such a bunch of griping and complaining as during her few weeks as acting laird. She hoped she’d honored the old laird by making the decisions he would have made had he been there. The clans people had obeyed her rulings, and peace was maintained.

The larders were stocked, and the venison was on the spit, ready for the feast. Kegs of ale and a cask of the keep’s finest whisky sat at the ready, prepared for her husband’s return. Now, a gaggle of maids were helping her into her best dress and taming her wild hair into submission. She wanted to look her best when her husband arrived, though why, she couldn’t explain, even to herself.

She toyed with silly fantasies of his captivation with her upon his arrival. She was still no great beauty, but she’d grown into a woman while he was away, and she hoped he’d take notice. She’d been lonely the past years. His showing her what happened between a man and a woman had been a disservice, for she’d known what she was missing. She ached for his touch and warmth. She struggled with wishing she’d never known what it was like to share a bed with Ronan Grant and wanting to do so again every night he’d been gone.

Would it be different tonight? She’d heard the warnings of the women in the kitchens when they’d told her not to expect he’d been faithful while he was in France. They told her men craved such things more than women, and Brenna was sure she’d die from wanting him, so she couldn’t imagine what he’d dealt with. They would be together now. He wouldn’t need to spend his nights with strange women. She wanted him to spend them with her. If only she could let go of her anger, they might have a happy life.

She had just stepped into the bailey when the gate guard called out that there were riders. The following minutes ticked by excruciatingly slowly.

“Calm yourself, lass,” Gabe teased. “You look like you plan to grab him down from his horse and steal him to your room for the next week.”

“I’d guess a month,” Malcolm said with a devilish grin.

“I hate you both,” she quipped, earning a chuckle from the men behind her.

“If I had a coin for every time ye’ve said as much…” Gabe said as the gate began moving.

She was in danger of twisting her fingers clean off, and then, as he came into sight, her breath and blood seemed to leave her body.

“Bloody hell,” Malcolm cursed. “What is he doing here? He’s been banished.”

Ewan’s icy gray eyes found her easily, and he tipped his bare head and offered a sneer.

“Ronan is the laird now. He may overturn my ruling. It’s his right.”

“And do you think for one minute he did so because that demon told him the truth of why he’d been banished?”

“If Ronan believes him, we’ll not change his mind. We must hold our tongues so as not to seem defensive. It’s up to Ronan to decide what he wishes to believe. If he chooses Ewan, no one will convince him otherwise, and you’d be punished for raising your sword against the laird’s uncle. Stand down for now. We’ll bide our time to speak to Ronan when he’s ready to hear us.”

“You have the patience of a saint, lass.” Malcolm shook his head, and she chuckled at the irony of that statement.

“We vowed to keep ye safe and will do so no matter what Ewan or the new laird has to say of it,” Gabe stated.

She wanted to cry. She was grateful to these young men who’d only recently joined the guard. They’d initially thought it a disgrace to be tasked with such a job as protecting the laird’s granddaughter by marriage, but a more dangerous job she hadn’t known.

The men dismounted, and Brenna noted the way her husband favored his left leg. Had he been injured? She wanted to go to him to see how she might tend to his injury, but with Ewan so close, she remained where she was on the steps to the keep. She was high enough there on her perch to watch as her husband searched the faces in the bailey, passing over her. Finally, he called out to one of the soldiers.

“Where is my wife?”

The guards behind her hissed in a breath, and she feared her heart might drop right out of the gaping hole in her chest.

Her husband had been told years ago to forget her, and it seemed he’d taken that instruction to heart, but as he stood there looking at her, he clearly didn’t know who she was.

“He has forgotten me,” she whispered as what was left of her heart shattered.

***

Ronan’s gaze drifted over the happy crowd once more, pausing on the beautiful woman waiting on the steps of the keep. He’d known Brenna was rather plain with curly brown hair that acted more as tentacles, capturing his fingers as he’d toyed with tendrils after they’d made love. But this woman, whose hair was confined in an elaborate twist, was too fetching to be his wife. Then he recalled what Ewan had said, that she’d become a seductress in his absence.

“She is but there, my laird,” Will, his old friend, said while pointing to the woman he’d noticed. He didn’t want to make a scene in front of everyone who had come to greet him, but he wouldn’t tolerate his uncle being tossed from the clan a minute longer.