“So then Anice will understand. We did no’ do anything.”
“Ye are such a daft man, Robbie. ’Tis a wonder ye have made it this far in life. She does no’ care whether ye tupped me or no’. She only kens that ye chose me over her in front of everyone last night. Ye have disgraced her before the clan.”
He let his head thump down on the table, hoping the pain would clear his muddled thoughts and let him come up with some solution. He would have to do the begging. It would not be right for Robena to bear the brunt of Anice’s anger.
He smiled as he realized that Anice would be angry. That was good. He could deal with her fury in a way that he could not face that desperation and fear that came over her at times.Mayhap she would even yell at him?
“What are ye smiling about now? There is nothing funny in this, Robert.”
He stood up, a bit too fast, for he had trouble keeping his balance, and laughed in spite of the pain it caused.
“Aye, I hope she is angry. ’Twill be good for her to feel that again.” She frowned at him and he explained. “She haes been walking lightly around me since our marriage, waiting for me to strike out at her. This may bring out the old Anice, which is a good thing.”
He pulled her close and kissed her on the forehead. “Ye will no’ suffer for this, Robena. I promise to make it right for ye.”
Then he tugged open her door and walked out in the village. Now he had to find Anice.
Hours later,he felt like a dog chasing his tail. No one seemed to know where Anice was. Oh, many people gave him suggestions, but she was never where they thought she would be. He’d gone from keep to kitchens, to laundry, to stables, to the village, to the smithy and on and on without ever seeing any sign of her. He’d caught on to their game early. However he went along with them, accepting it as the penance for his foolhardy behavior.
He got the message—Anice would not talk to him until she was ready to and the people of Dunnedin were supporting her the only way they knew how. So, he hid in the workroom until long after dinner. Then he enlisted the help of the wet nurse he’d brought from Dunbarton. When he was certain that Anice had retired for the night, he went to their room. Knocking softly, he waited for her to open it. She surprised him by speaking through the door.
“Who is there?”
“’Tis I, Anice. Open the door.” He tried to keep his voice down and not draw any attention.
“Go find someplace else to sleep, Robert.”
He wanted to laugh out loud at her words. This was theold Anice stirring.
“Open this door now, wife,” he said more forcefully through the door. He knew she hesitated on the other side. “If ye dinna, I will break it down.”
He heard her gasp clearly and then he could tell she was moving around the room. He pounded on the door and spoke again.
“I dinna want to frighten the babe by breaking in, Anice, but I will if ye dinna open this....”
He stopped when he heard the scrape of the bar being raised inside. He lifted the latch and opened the door. He stepped back and Emma passed by him and entered the room. Robert motioned to Anice to stay as Emma lifted Craig from his cradle and carried him from the room. She looked like she wanted to argue, but kept silent while the servant was there.
“I dinna want to disturb the babe, Anice, and we have some things to discuss. Emma will care for him until we are finished.”
He turned and lowered the bar into place, preventing any interruptions. She sat down in one of the chairs and glared at him.
“Why did ye lock me out of my own room?” He stood with his arms crossed in front of the door.
“You made it clear by your actions last night in the hall that you would rather sleep elsewhere. I was simply enforcing your decision.”
“That is no’ what I want, Anice, and ye ken it.”
“Then why did you leave with... that whore?” He could feel her anger bubbling out. Her tone of voice was filled with it. Once it flowed, there was no stopping it. “How dare you humiliate me in my own hall before the clan? You married me. You promised your protection to me. Is this how you give it? By getting drunk and dragging the village whore with you as you leave?” She stood and pointed at the door. “If you plan to have her, you may as well go to her now, for you will not sleep with her and then come back here.”
Robert fought against the urge to laugh out loud. He knew she would not understand how happy this tirade made him. It would not solve their problems in the run of it; however, theystood a chance if she did not cower at his anger when it happened.
“Does that no’ feel good, Anice? To shout out yer fury at me rather than living in fear?” He waited for her reaction.
She was enraged and, by God, she had reason to be. Her tears had turned to rage once she realized that he had gone with Robena to her cottage. He had asked her to be a wife and when she could not, he simply discarded her and took up with a whore. The worst of it was that she’d believed their tale of being friends. She’d believed that Robena was different. She’d thought Robert was different than other men and their boorish behavior when it came to taking their pleasures. She’d been wrong and now she was angry at how her foolishness had been exposed before everyone there last night.
“I do not understand you, Robert. Are you pleased that you have driven me beyond control?”
“Ye are no’ beyond control, ye are simply too angry no’ to say it. ’Tis fine with me if ye do. I think we will deal better with that rather than the constant fear ye carry.” She was not fearful of him. What did he mean?
