‘Why the devil did you not tell me you were going to be wed?’ snarled Callum Ross. ‘I have to hear it from that smug bastard Hew Dunbar. A fine fool I looked when he told me.’
Bryce was wholly at fault and had to find some way of soothing his best friend’s ruffled feathers. ‘Forgive me. But I wed hastily, and there was no time to tell anyone.’
‘I sought your counsel when I was going to offer for Tara. Am I not a trusted friend? Could you not have given me warning?’
‘Forgive me if your pride is hurt at my not asking your permission to wed. But Callum, I saw a lass I wanted badly, so I took her.’
Callum glanced over at Maren. ‘Where did you find the lass, and how long have you known her.’
‘We have a short acquaintance, but enough to know that I want her and that she is a worthy choice to silence my father’s bleatings about marriage.’ That much was true, at least, for he hated lying to Callum, and he feared his friend could see right through him. ‘Maren is spirited and strong-willed and is the ideal bride for me.’
‘Hardly ideal, for no one knows anything about her.’ Callum narrowed his eyes. ‘I have seen you pursue many women over the years, Bryce, and you always got what you wanted without wedlock.’
Bryce tried to keep the lie from his face as he said it. ‘This time it is different. This time it is love, my friend.’
‘Love!’ exclaimed Callum. ‘Tis not love, but more like your father’s ultimatum.’
‘You insult my wife and me. Do you not think her worthy of my love? Do you not think her good enough? Look at her, damn you.’
‘I think her splendid, Bryce. She is lovely, in a fierce kind of way and seems fearless. Indeed, she rides better than either of us. Orla will love her, I am sure.’ Callum shook his head. ‘But you, not so much. I have known you since we were snotty wee lads, and I know your changeable character. You may be besotted now, but that will fade, and you will look for the next distraction.’
‘You think so little of me? Why are you so damned concerned with why I wed? What is it to you?’
‘If you wish to wed where you do not love, then so be it. But the lass deserves better than to be used to cling on to your inheritance. A year or two from now, when she realises, there will only be bitterness between you.’
‘You are wrong.’
‘The haste in this marriage, the secrecy, the not telling me, all point to one thing. You have wed for money, Bryce. You have made a foolish attachment and convinced that poor lass that you are in love with her. Did you not once tell me I wed in haste? Did you not caution me against the folly of wedding a woman I scarcely knew?’
‘Can you not be happy that I have found a fine woman to be by my side, Callum?’
‘If I thought for one minute it was real love, I would wish you joy, but I see only manipulation. Or is she in on this too? Did she wed you for coin?’
‘No. Maren does not care for coin. She wants only to be free and happy.’
‘Well, let us pray you do not disappoint her.’
Bryce hung his head. ‘Forgive me, Callum, for not confiding in you, for you have long been my best friend, and I value your friendship more than any other.’
‘And you shall always have it, and so shall Maren. But Bryce, damn it, I cannot stand to see you hurt another. So promise me you will not do that, and I will not think ill of you.’
Bryce had long admired Callum’s chivalry toward women, his protective side. Callum was always the shepherd to Bryce’s wolf. He had to make this right. Could he confide in this friend? He glanced back at Maren and decided he could not.
He would not have her shamed every time Callum was around her. He could not reveal her as his servant, bound to him in a sordid arrangement. Guilt was a stone in his heart. He was half the man his friend was, and he ever would be. And Callum was right. Maren needed protection from him because every time he glanced her way, Bryce wanted her. God, she was all woman, the kind to challenge and excite him by turns. He had never wanted nor admired any woman more, yet she was nought but a common trollop in the eyes of this lot.
***
The sun was hot on Maren’s face and had burnt off the morning mist. The others were fording the river and gathering, taking this pause to assess her. She bore their stares as best she could, meeting nobody’s eye, so she did not have to converse with anyone. But then she saw Hew Dunbar heading her way with a predatory look in his eye, and Maren decided she didn’t want to flirt with him after all.
‘It seems my new daughter-in-law is an excellent rider.’ Jasper Cullan had come alongside her, and his presence felt like a shield of sorts as Hew veered away. Maren found she was actually pleased to see him.
‘I pride myself that I can hold my own, Laird,’ she said.
‘Aye, that much is clear. I’ve never seen such a fearless rider. And do not fret at these fools and their staring. You are a novelty for them, and they never expected one such as Bryce to marry, or at least not out of their circle.’
‘One such as Bryce?’ she said, curious.
‘Oh, aye. There have been many women who have come and gone in my son’s life, but none have caught him. When we have more leisure, you must tell me how you did it, lass.’
