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Orla turned from his scrutiny, biting her full bottom lip, her chest heaving. It was bright pink all over. Good God, she must have scrubbed herself raw for her wedding day, maybe as some kind of penance. And it must have been no small feat to get that mane of blonde hair tamed into lustrous curls. The lass had some vanity then, for she almost looked ladylike. Confusion took Wolfric. Did she actually want him to want her?
‘If you are not reconciled to our union, why bother dressing yourself up for my pleasure?’ he said.
‘It was not for your pleasure. It was my mother’s work. It was for the honour and pride of my family.’ Orla shut her eyes tightly and shuddered, and her distress cut Wolfric and made him cruel.
‘Well, you can leave your precious Gordon pride behind. There’ll be no place for it at Blackreach.’
The priest hurried up to them and coughed loudly for silence. He was roundly ignored by all the company. Wolfric’s patience began to wear thin. He needed to get out of this viper’s nest as soon as possible.
‘May we have some hush so that we can commence,’ said Dunbar clapping his hands together, but he too was ignored.
‘Oh, for God’s sake, shut up so I can be wed, damn you,’ bellowed Wolfric, so loudly and with so much rage that the walls almost shook. The onlookers stopped gossiping and stared at him with open mouths, like beached fish. ‘Anyone else utters another word, and I will run them through. That is a promise,’ he snarled.
‘Well, I never,’ declared Dunbar.
Wolfric straightened his jacket, squared his shoulders and nodded at the priest. ‘You there. Start talking, and quickly, before I really lose my temper.’
***
It was all over with great haste, and she was wed. Orla could scarcely believe it. She risked a glance at Wolfric. He stood stiffly by her side, all dark ferocity and twitchy impatience. When the priest declared them man and wife and said, ‘You may kiss your bride…erm… if you want to, that is,’ Orla’s legs almost buckled. Oh no, not again. She could not bear it in front of all these people.
‘Plenty of time for that later,’ spat Wolfric, which was both a relief and a humiliation.
A choked guffaw came from someone in the crowd and spread like a contagion. Wolfric turned and glared, and a hush descended.
‘Enough of these fools,’ he snarled, taking Orla’s hand and marching her out of the chapel and into the yard. Her father came running after them.
‘Wait! What are you doing?’
‘Leaving,’ said Wolfric flatly.
Orla stood in misery in her husband’s grip. Wolfric Munro did not want her. He would not even kiss her at the altar on their wedding day. Could he have made it any more obvious that he was here for the land, and not a bride? It cut her that he could spurn her in front of her whole clan. Suddenly, all the fight went out of her.
‘But what about the wedding feast?’ said Dunbar.
‘If you need to demonstrate before one and all that you were not up to devilry with that race, then that is your concern,’ said Wolfric. ‘Feast, drink, enjoy your guests and repair your reputation. Put on a show. As to me, I have my bride and my land. I got what I came for, and now I am leaving.’
‘But my daughter has to have her wedding day. Propriety demands it. You cannot take her like a thief in the night.’
‘I can take her any way I want, and you can be assured the lass will have her wedding day in every way that matters. But remember, she belongs to me, and from now on, her welfare is no concern of yours.’
‘But this is cruel.’
‘No, you are cruel, old man. You gambled your daughter away as if she were a bag of gold, all for a reckless scheme to better your prospects. If it has not turned out to your advantage, that is for you and your conscience to suffer. You cannot have much love for her. And now that I have called your bluff, you must live with it.’
Orla blanched at his side. ‘Father, what does he mean, called his bluff?’
‘Nothing, Orla.’ Her father gave her a quick peck on the cheek. ‘Goodbye and good luck to you. And with this savage for a husband, I fear you will need it.’
Chapter Ten
The ride to Blackreach was fraught with tension. Wolfric broke the silence first.
‘You are quiet, lass. I like that. But I have a question.’
‘I don’t have to answer it.’
‘Aye, but you do. The day of the race, you defended me against Robbie Dunn when he said I drove him down that gully. And you came looking for me, to see if I was alright. Why, lass?’
