What if he could never live up to who Maeve hoped that he would be?
"Should I still call ye McManus?"
Cailean blinked and saw that the blacksmith, Arthur, had approached him while he was thinking. He smiled faintly at the man and said, "Ye can call me what ye like. I'm the same person I was before I gave ye that accursed pin."
Arthur nodded slowly. "Yer secret is safe with me, lad. Though why ye'd keep it a secret is beyond me."
Cailean almost laughed at that. It seemed that everyone had an opinion about this, and the more people who learned his secret, the more of the case this would be. He wondered if there was any way of going back now that things had started to open up. He wondered what it would be like, just for a moment, to come out and admit who he was; to stand up and be ready to take back what had been stolen from him so long ago. Could he be as brave as these villagers? As brave as Maeve, who had lost so much and been through even more, but still burned with the flames of passion and wanted to fight?
"It's ready," Arthur told him. "The sword for yer lass."
"She's nae me lass," Cailean told him automatically.
Arthur nodded solemnly. "Aye. Forgive me, ye're right. That lassie gave me the impression that she doesnae belong tae anyone."
The rest of what Arthur had said filtered in, and Cailean felt a shiver of anticipation at the thought of what his family's pin had paid for. The sword. Maeve's sword. It was an important symbol, but Cailean wondered if it meant even more than he'd known it would when he'd first put in the order.
"I can pick it up now?" Cailean asked.
Arthur nodded. "Come and see," he said. "It's some of me finest work — and hopefully worth the price."
Cailean didn't say anything, but the thought flickered through his mind that for Maeve, any of it would be worth it.
20
CHAPTER TWENTY
"So, ye're the new bride," Kyle Darach said with a sneer, standing in the doorway of Maeve's room and staring at her with an intensity that made her discomfort grow. "Well, he certainly picked a bonny one."
"I… I'm pleased tae meet ye, sir," Maeve stammered. She'd heard all about Kyle and his important role in the Darach clan, but she hadn't yet been introduced to him. She'd briefly glanced at him at the wedding, but he'd taken Malcolm away and completely ignored her until now.
"Pleased," Kyle said, stretching out the word to make it several syllables. He walked into her room, approaching her, and put his hand under her chin, tilting her face up to look at him directly in his beady eyes. "Are ye pleasin' yer new love?"
Maeve blushed furiously. "What?"
Kyle leaned closer, his hot breath in her ear, making her shudder. "Have ye lain with yer lord and master yet? Yer marriage tae Malcolm relies on producin' an heir, ye ken. Yet, I've heard that his room was quiet on yer weddin' night, andme wee birds tell me ye've been spendin' much time in yer own rooms."
Maeve averted her gaze, trying to ignore the horrible way his fingers felt against her skin. "I… I only wish tae be a good wife," she whispered. Fear flooded through her. Could Kyle know the truth that Malcolm had sent her away from his bed? Would she be punished for her inadequacy?
Kyle's hand moved from her chin and down the back of her neck. His other hand ran down her side, settling just above her hip. Before she could say or do anything, he pulled her close, her hips against his, and she smothered a cry of alarm before it could escape. She knew better than to scream. If she upset Kyle, it could mean her life.
"Perhaps," he said, "Someone just needs tae teach ye how tae be a wife."
Fear trembled through Maeve's body, but she was frozen in place. She couldn't move, couldn't think, couldn't breathe. Whatever he did now, she was helpless against him, and that thought filled her with almost as much disgust as it did terror.
"Will… willnae Malcolm…" she stammered, weakly trying to protest. "Me husband…"
Kyle laughed cruelly. "Ye think Malcolm would object?" he asked. "I?—"
"Father?"
Kyle immediately dropped his hands and stepped back, causing Maeve to stumble. He turned to the door where Eoin was looking in, a perturbed expression on his face.
"What's goin' on?" Eoin asked.
"Maeve asked for some help. We're finished now," Kyle said smoothly. "Should ye nae be at yer post, lad?"
"I was lookin' for ye," Eoin said, but Maeve could hear from his voice that this wasn't the entire truth. From the sympathetic look he gave her over his father's shoulder, she realized thatEoin had come here for her sake. "Come, Father. The petitioners are waitin' for ye."
