“Yes, you are.” Her tone strengthened. Gone was the uncertain tremor of only a moment ago. “You were the one who flew into a rage and had Fearghal and Aileas dragged out of the room when they started hurling insults at your family because of me. I understand you have to demand respect, and a healthy dose of pride is fine, but it should not be the catalyst for a marriage.” She strode a few paces across the room. Suddenly, she halted as though an unseen force held her in place. She didn’t turn as she spoke, just stared down at the floor. “You better worry about what your clan thinks about the wayyoubehave. Not what they think about me. There is such a thing as too much pride, you know.”
“I dinna care what they think!” A frustrated growl tore free of his throat as he stormed after her. “Dinna run from me, woman. And I will have ye know that I am their chieftain. I behave any way I wish.”
“Then why did you suddenly decide we needed to marry?” She turned and faced him, her arms crossed over her chest. “If you’ll think back to just a few minutes ago, you’ll recall that you did not ask me to marry you—which is what you’re supposed to do, by the way—youtoldme we were going to get married because that would solve all the problems of how your clan views me.” She jabbed a finger at him as though throwing a dagger. “You explicitly stated that once we were married, all the MacKennas would treat me with respect. Do you really think that’s the kind of marriage proposal a woman wants to hear?”
“I thought ye wished to be a part of my life... a part of my clan.” He risked taking a few steps closer, ignoring the finer points of her speech. Damnation, but the woman had too good of a memory.
She released a strained groan and stared up at the ceiling. “Thanks a lot for this mess, Granny.”
Irritation pricked him. He wasn’t sure what Trulie meant, but he was certain that if he figured it out, it would most definitely stir his ire. “So ye refuse to wed me?” He stormed closer. “Ye refuse to see reason?”
“Getting married isn’t supposed to have anything to do with reason!” Her scowl darkened then she spun and headed toward a narrow hallway leading out of the main room.
“We are not done here, woman!” He strode after her. “I am chieftain. Ye will not leave this hall until I grant ye leave to do so.”
She halted just beneath the arch, her back stiff and her shoulders squared.
Good. About time the woman realized what was best. He threw out his chest and folded his arms over it. It might take a wee bit of time to rid Trulie of her stubbornness and her strange ways of the future. He affirmed that thought with a sharp nod. But she would find he was a very patient man. His heart softened and a grin tickled the corner of his mouth. She could use her stubbornness in the raising of their many fine sons.
Trulie slowly turned and faced him.
His smile slipped at the murderous look in her eyes. By the hounds of hell, she looked as though she could kill him.
“This is now finished, Chieftain MacKenna. Completely!” She slowly lifted her hand and pointed at his crotch. “And don’t you dare talk to me like that again or I will have Karma relieve you of your balls.”
Gray instinctively clasped both hands atop his sporran as she turned and stomped from the room. What the hell had he done wrong? All he did was tell her to marry him.
CHAPTER14
The more Trulie thought about it, the madder she got.We will be married. Then the clan will respect ye.
“Yeah, well itwillbe a cold day in hell beforeIfollow a marriage edict just to win a popularity contest.” She snorted and picked up the pace. The sooner they packed up and jumped back to Kentucky, the better.
Trotting along beside her, Karma acknowledged her statement with a single wag of his thick tail. He loped ahead of her as the long, narrow hallway made a sharp turn to the right.
Thank goodness Karma led the way. The flickering torches ensconced every so many feet did little to beat back the shadows of early evening. She yanked the boxy wool jacket tighter around her and shivered. The keep hadn’t seemed nearly this damp and chilly before. All the more reason for them to pull up stakes and head back to a nice, humid summer in Kentucky.
Karma sat patiently waiting beside the broad oak door leading to their suite of rooms. A twinge of regret stabbed at Trulie. Gray had set them up in the nicest level of the keep. Even the serving girls had said so.
“It doesn’t matter,” she informed the dog.
She grabbed the iron ring bolted to the door and shoved. Karma wiggled through the doorway in front of her, touched noses with sleepy-eyed Kismet, then curled up on the rug of pelts spread in front of the hearth.
Granny and Coira sat opposite each other on a pair of cushioned benches angled in front of the low burning fire. Neither of them looked up as Trulie plowed into the room.
Trulie waited. She wasn’t stupid. She knew full well Coira and Granny had nearly broken their necks racing back to the rooms ahead of her. The pair must’ve been standing just outside the main hall eavesdropping on the stellar marriage proposal because Coira had been extremely pale when Trulie had stomped through the kitchens and barked out the barest details of her troubling vision. She was too pissed off to go into any great detail. In her current frame of mind, the thirteenth century could go straight to hell.
Now the white bib of Coira’s apron rose and fell with a rapid rhythm. Granny swallowed hard and kept pressing a hand to her chest. Both women were clearly out of breath.
As minutes passed, Coira’s cheeks became a brighter scarlet. Trulie crossed her arms and tilted her head, studying Coira more closely. “If you keep trying to hold your breath, you are going to pass out.”
The girl’s body visibly deflated as Coira shook her head. She pulled the rough linen stretched across the wooden frame closer to her face and scowled down at the small patch of colors knotted across the cloth. “I dinna ken what ye are talking about. I’m just sitting here trying to keep this stag from looking like a Highland coo.”
Granny patted a bent hand atop her jiggling knee. She stared into the hearth and didn’t say a word.
“Gather your things. First thing in the morning, we are out of here.” There. She had thrown down the gauntlet. Trulie glared at Granny. Let the games begin.
Granny’s lips twitched into a displeased line as she leaned back against the high back of the bench. She didn’t pull her gaze from the weak flames flickering among the dying coals and still didn’t speak.
