Page 19 of His Forgotten Highland Bride

Chapter Eight

Brenna glanced up at the high table to see Ronan glaring in her direction. At his displeasure, she worried about the men who’d graciously sat with her.

“Ye should not have come to sit with me. Your loyalty should be with your laird.”

“My duty is to protect ye,” Malcolm said. “I gave the late laird my word and plan to honor it.”

“Aye. As did I,” Gabe added.

“And you don’t know how much I appreciate that. But Will and Hugh made no such promise, and neither did the rest of the men. You should have stayed with Ronan.”

“Even if he is talking nonsense and listening to that rat?” Hugh said. “I’d rather eat with the pigs. They don’t smell as bad as that rotter.”

“Aye. I don’t know why we don’t all march over there and toss the man out again. Ronan wouldn’t be able to stop us,” Ephraim, one of the older men, said, getting a few ayes with his plan to rebel against their leader.

She needed to stop this before it went too far.

“Please, wait. We must be cautious. I don’t know what Ewan plans. He will show his scales soon enough. Until he does, I would feel better knowing you were close enough to protect Ronan. We all know Ewan was willing to kill me to become laird of the Grants, and at the moment, Ronan is what stands in his way. I can’t help but feel Ronan is in danger.”

Will shook his head. “Nay. The two of them are like brothers. Ewan may be a snake with ye, but I don’t think he has the strength to do ill to his blood.”

“And if you’re wrong?” Brenna asked. “We’d all pay for such a mistake. Ronan, worst of all. I don’t wish to see him harmed.” Despite her anger with the man, she couldn’t let the clan fall to Ewan.

“Even after he disrespected you in front of the clan?” Malcolm retorted on her behalf.

She wouldn’t lie. That had stung a great deal. But she didn’t expect better from the likes of Ronan Grant. She’d been a foolish girl when he’d left, with dreams of earning his affection. Those dreams faded into the mist the next morning when he’d left her without so much as a word.

The years had fed the fire of her anger until she feared she might catch flame in his presence. It had taken all her strength to remain calm when he’d called her out in front of everyone.

“Surely, you can agree that disrespecting one’s wife isn’t a crime punishable by death. Please, I ask ye to watch over the laird. Hold your tongue against Ewan for now. Ronan will see the truth soon enough.”

At least, she hoped he would. She knew only how easily Ewan twisted the truth until it favored him, leaving her with no defense.

“I’ll not lie for him,” Hugh said stubbornly, with Will and the other men nodding.

“Nay. I’m not asking you to lie. I’m asking you to wait to tell Ronan the truth about his uncle until he is ready to hear it.” She reached across the table and placed her hand over Hugh’s. “I told him the truth today, and it only proved Ewan correct.”

“Because he twists the truth.”

“And Ronan is no fool. He will untwist things soon enough. Until then, I want you to stay close to the laird and offer protection until you are asked to provide counsel.”

“I’m not sure how smart Ronan is,” Gabe said. The truth was both Gabe and Malcolm were young and would not have known Ronan. It wouldn’t be easy to persuade them until Ronan gave them a reason to earn their respect. As to her husband’s intelligence, she couldn’t be certain herself.

“Don’t worry about me. His words don’t matter.” Brenna no longer cared what Ronan thought of her. He’d forfeited the right to her consideration five years ago and had done nothing to earn it back. She thought things might have been different when he returned but seeing him in the bailey today only solidified her anger toward him for what he’d done when he’d left her without a word. Still, her anger wasn’t enough to let Ewan win.

“The hell it doesn’t matter,” Will said. “You’re planning to sit there and not tell Ronan the truth while Ewan fills his head with more bitter stories? We’ll stand by you, my lady. Ephraim is right. Ronan will have to listen to all of us.”

She shook her head. “Not today. Be patient.” The last words were more for herself than William. She might be thrown out of the castle if she confronted her husband right then. She almost wanted to leave on her own, but that would leave Ronan with Ewan, and she wasn’t quite sure if that was safe. So far, Ewan had only made threats against her. But was he dangerous to Ronan, as well? She needed to stay close enough to keep an eye on him, which meant not getting banished.

“As Hugh said, I’ll not hide the truth to cover for that wee snake,” Will huffed.

Brenna shook her head. “No. We will not lie. If Ronan asks us a question, we will answer truthfully. But we will remain silent for now until Ronan is in a place to hear us.”

“We should have hanged Ewan when we had the chance,” Gabe muttered.

Brenna couldn’t argue. She regretted her decision to delay justice even though she felt she’d done the right thing.

“It’s too late for that now. We’ll have to wait him out.”