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‘Then you should not have brought me.’
‘No perhaps I should not.’
A reckless anger boiled over in Ailsa. She had given herself completely to this man as she knew she should not. She had made love to him and let him get a hold in her heart and for what, to be displayed like a trophy for all to see? The awful truth dawned. Like the lands, castle, livestock, lochs and rivers, she was nothing more than the spoils of war, part of Duncan’s prize for his victory over the MacLeods. She was owned as she’d always dreaded and she meant nothing to him. Her temper took hold and she ploughed on.
‘Duncan, those women over there, they obviously hate me. Who are they to you?’
‘Nothing.’
‘I don’t believe that.’
Duncan had no desire to speak of his past associations with her and felt she had no right to ask him. Several of the women of whom she spoke had entertained him in the past but they had been a momentary distraction. They meant nothing to him and never would, a chapter of his life he wished to forget. His deepening mood made him cruel. ‘Do you think I lived as a monk before I wed you? They are nothing to do with us. Do not ask questions when you won’t like the answer,’ he hissed at her.
‘I have a right to ask you, Duncan, as your wife,’ she replied bitterly.
‘As you play that role rather reluctantly my love, I think not and your show of jealousy doesn’t suit you, nor is it convincing.’
Duncan was in turmoil. Here in this castle, where he had been dragged up through a miserable childhood, unhappy memories pressed in on him. The darkness which had been held at bay at Cailleach had returned, for it hurt him to see Ailsa so downcast. She had not wanted to come and he should not have brought her. They were becoming closer to each other and he was starting to gain her trust but here at Dunslair, she was at the heart of the Campbells, her defeat thrown in her face. His insistence on bringing her along had merely served to rip open their truce to reveal all the differences between them.
His pride at showing her off had gone. Instead, shame twisted his heart into a knot. He had forced Ailsa to marry him, taken her home and paraded her in front of the women of Dunslair to despise and insult. How could she ever want to be with him? He had been deluding himself, distracted by her beautiful body and the joy of making it his when in reality, she still hated everything he stood for and it was plain to see. Not expecting such disappointment when he had been so happy just days before, he was now set on a spiral of misery which he could not break out of.
Duncan could hardly bring himself to look at Ailsa but saw that many of the men in the hall could not take their eyes off her. They envied him such a lovely bride. And he should have rejoiced in all he had achieved, land, wealth, an advantageous marriage to a beautiful woman, all earned through courage and perseverance. He should have thrown it all in the faces of the people he had been brought up with who had once thought him less than nothing, a poor relation, reliant on the laird’s charity. Now having risen higher than any of them, there was no feeling of triumph for he wanted Ailsa to be impressed with Dunslair and the man he was here but she was not.
Duncan spotted Hugh coming towards them. ‘I have business with my uncle. You will be well looked after and Ailsa, it will do you good to make some new acquaintances.’ He beckoned to a middle-aged woman who was talking to her companion nearby.
‘Mistress Mairi, may I beg a favour of you? Could you watch over my wife while I am gone? Ailsa is a stranger to our ways and would benefit from some guidance and an introduction to some kinder company.’
‘Of course,’ the woman replied enthusiastically. ‘If you must abandon your lovely bride for your uncle, which is shamefully ungallant, then it will be my pleasure to entertain her on your behalf. Off you go now and leave us be,’ she said already clutching onto Ailsa’s arm with a vice-like grip.
Chapter Fourteen
Duncan stared bleakly into the fire as his uncle interrogated him.
‘Is she with pup yet?’ said Hugh bluntly.
‘No, shouldn’t you be welcoming your guests?’
‘They can wait. If Ailsa doesn’t prove fertile take another.’
‘I don’t want another,’ he snarled angrily kicking at a log which sent sparks hissing upwards into the chimney.’
‘Oh it’s like that is it?’ said his uncle dismissively. This seemed to kill all conversation as Duncan took a slug of whisky to calm his irritation. He was in a dark mood and his uncle wasn’t helping.
‘I trust you are persistent in your marriage duties. I know the girl wasn’t willing and you were squeamish about….’
‘Enough, uncle! I agreed to your damned marriage and how I consummate it is my affair. You need have no worries about my ability to produce an heir and your schemes will bear fruit no matter who you hurt in the process.’
‘Take no offence, nephew,’ said Hugh. ‘I watched you in the hall. You two seemed at odds tonight and I simply meant to point out that if you find your marriage bed cold then you know there are many who would happily warm it for you.’
‘Let us discuss the more pressing matter at hand and the reason I am here,’ snapped Duncan, sick of his uncle probing into his love life and his disrespect for Ailsa.
‘You know the answer to that. I wished to unite my allies and this is a chance to display our power and bind the subordinate clans to our cause. Some have yet to come within the fold so they must be made to see the advantages of pledging their fealty to me. ‘
‘So you bid me leave Cailleach in a dangerous time so that you can throw a banquet to toady up to some new friends.’
‘I assume you weren’t foolish enough to leave the castle undefended.’
‘Of course not, my best men are there with Rory overseeing them. Cailleach itself has good defences but the surrounding villages, well, they are vulnerable to attack.
