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‘I will not be spoken to as if I am a bairn.’
‘You are a bairn, a naïve fool, and unfortunately, you are mine to protect.’
‘I need no protection, and I am not yours in any way. And if you do not want me, why keep me here? Now that you have your land, send me back to Blackreach so that I can live with my family, and you can be rid of me.’
‘Not so simple, lass.’ Wolfric hung his head, defeated by her indifference. ‘You cannot go home, lass. Your father does not want you.’
‘That is not true. You forced his hand and insisted on collecting your winnings. You could have taken just the land and been done with it.’
‘Ah, but there is the rub. I had no use for a bride, so I offered to settle it by just taking the land. But Dunbar’s pride would not allow that. Oh, no, he would not have a Gordon lass spurned, so he insisted that if I wanted the land, I had to take you as well.’
Orla flinched. Wolfric’s words seemed to hit her like a punch to the gut, and she swallowed hard. She was trying not to cry.
‘So, I am not wanted, either by you or my family.’
‘I did not say that.’
‘Aye, you did,’ she said, rushing past him, but he caught hold of her.
‘This does not have to be a misery, lass. Can we not come to some compromise, the two of us?’
‘What? I will learn to tolerate you, and you will learn to want me.’
‘I already do want you. Do I not demonstrate that nightly?’
‘You need not suffer lying with me on my account.’
Her sudden vulnerability, the hurt on her face, spurred him to comfort her. He took her in his arms. ‘Lass, please. You are wanted.’
She flinched at his touch. ‘I don’t mean want me in that way, just spending your lust.’
It was just another rejection, so his pride spoke for him. ‘What other way is there?’ Wolfric released her and stepped back, with his father’s words ringing in his head. ‘You are a rough brute, and no point in pretending otherwise.’
A discreet cough announced the arrival of a servant. ‘Lord, a visitor for Lady Munro,’ he said.
‘Get out,’ snapped Wolfric.
‘Who is it?’ said Orla.
Bryce Cullan marched in, all blonde hair and ease, and beamed at them both. ‘Good evening.’ He looked from one to the other and said, ‘Oh, have I come at a bad time.’
‘Aye,’ snarled Wolfric, trying hard not to throttle the arrogant wretch.
‘No,’ said Orla, rushing to Cullan’s side in search of an ally. ‘We are delighted to welcome you to Blackreach.’
‘No, we are not,’ said Wolfric.
Bryce held Wolfric’s gaze. ‘Well, that is a pity, for I come with an invitation to a ball at my father’s manor a week from now.’
Orla’s face lit up. ‘Oh, that is marvellous. We so lack civilised company here at Blackreach,’ she added, with a glower at him. ‘It will be lovely to go into society again.’
‘And I thought you disdained such frivolity, Orla,’ said Wolfric.
She squared her shoulders and stared him down. ‘As Lady of Blackreach, I should be delighted to attend, cousin.’
‘No, she will not,’ said Wolfric. ‘And Cullan, why did you not get a servant to deliver this message? Why come in person and in such filthy weather?’
Cullan’s handsome face hardened. Wolfric knew full well that the charm and ease were an illusion and that underneath, the man was as cunning and fierce as a wolf. Many a time, they had clashed over a woman, or gambling, or just out of bloody-mindedness, as young men do.
