Lowri shot him a glance. ‘Aye, I do live as I please. I have lived like a man, and I make no excuse for it. From when I was a bairn, I had to shift for myself. No one else was going to do it for me.’
‘Leave it, Lowri, you do not owe Seamus an explanation,’ said Cullen. Lowri showed her mettle by standing up to his cousin, but she did not know the man’s temper.
Seamus leant back in his chair. ‘I would like to hear what this hoyden has to say, cousin.’
‘And I will tell you,’ she said. Lowri wanted to shame Cullen, to let the world know what an unworthy bride he had. Had he not shamed her before this dolt of a cousin, dragging her along to these awful people? ‘He needs to know that I am as unworthy and miserable a bride as she is,’ she said, pointing at Maeve. ‘Here is the truth. My father was like you, a bully, who beat me from my first breath until his last.’
‘Not well enough, for you are an insolent little bitch.’
‘I am a bitch. When he died, I danced on my father’s grave. I hated him so much. But we were impoverished by his death, and every scrap of food I got, I had to fight for. Gossip was spread about my mother, so she was judged, as you judge your wife, cruelly, unfairly. That is why they labelled my brother a bastard. I might be one too, for all I know, not that I care, for a bairn has no sway in how it comes into this world. My mother died when I was coming into womanhood, and my brother looked out for me. He is a good man, kind and true and brave, ten times the man you will ever be.’
‘He was deficient in his duty if he let you run wild and shame yourself,’ sneered Seamus.
‘Oh, no. He sent me to a convent to mend my ways, but I ran away, time and again. I would not be told what to do, you see. Istole cattle and sheep and sold them to fill his pockets so that he could become Laird Strachan. Look at him now, much better off than you Macaulays. I rode around with rough lads, and I never let any of them near me, because I was not that much of a fool. And if anyone got in my way, I pushed them aside. If voicing my opinions to arrogant men like you is insolent, then aye, I am insolent, and proud of it.’
‘Shut your mouth, or I will shut it for you,’ hissed Seamus, standing up.
Lowri would not be silent. ‘And as for marrying a Macaulay. I was forced into it.’
‘Aye, because you were stealing from us.’
‘As you have often stolen from us. What’s the difference?’
Seamus swayed on his feet and said, ‘My uncle should have hung you from the nearest tree for your thievery.’
Cullen’s simmering temper finally boiled over. He launched himself at Seamus and took hold of his shirt in his fist. ‘Enough. Insult my wife again, and I will beat you to a pulp.’
Lowri realised that she had gone too far, and now Cullen had a towering rage on him. ‘Leave it, Cullen,’ she cried.
Seamus glanced at her, then smirked at Cullen. ‘Griffin should have stretched her neck and thrown her on the midden. I don’t know how you can bear to put your cock in her filthy Strachan body.’
With a howl of rage, Cullen hurled Seamus over the table to land with a thud at Maeve’s feet. Drunk he may be, but Seamus’ blood was up, and he didn’t seem to feel it. He leapt at Cullen, and they ended up rolling on the floor, throwing punches.
‘What are we to do?’ shouted Lowri.
‘I don’t know. They do this all the time,’ cried Maeve.
Lowri grabbed a jug of ale and tipped it over the two men. With much spluttering and coughing, they both got to their feet.
Seamus wiped ale and hair out of his eyes. ‘This is not done,’ he growled at Cullen.
‘It is. We are leaving in the morning.’
‘You can leave now. Take your whore and go bed down with her in the stables.’
‘Are you going to make me?’ snarled Cullen.
Seamus glowered at Lowri. ‘This bitch is nought but trouble. I don’t want either of you here come dawn.’
He stormed out, with Maeve trying to placate him. He threw her hands off and rushed out of the front door, leaving them all standing in shocked silence. Maeve came back and sniffed as she began to pick up broken crockery off the floor. Lowri went to help her. They both kept wary eyes on Cullen, who just stood, chest heaving and fists clenched. A short while later, hooves sounded in the yard, fading away.
‘Maeve, where has Seamus gone?’ said Cullen.
‘To one of his whores, most likely. He’ll not return until noon tomorrow, I’d wager.’
‘I’m sorry. I did not mean to rile him,’ said Lowri.
‘Aye, you did, lass. But ‘tis done now,’ said Cullen. ‘And my cousin needed a lesson in manners.’ Cullen raised Maeve to her feet. ‘Go to bed. Esther can see to this in the morning.’
