Chapter 11
Three days.
It had been three days since Boyd had banished Bella to the east wing, and he should have been pleased.She'd done exactly as he'd demanded.She’d stayed out of his way, kept to herself, caused no trouble.
So why did it feel like someone had carved out a piece of his chest?
Boyd stood in his chamber, staring out the window at the grey morning, and tried to understand the restlessness that had plagued him since he last saw Bella.
Worse still, he missed sleeping beside her at nights.He had become so used to waking up with her in his arms he was tempted to do something stupid like sneak into her bed at night in the east wing.
To prevent him from doing that, he'd thrown himself into his duties with singular focus.Met with his steward about the harvest.Reviewed the guard rotations.Inspected the armory.Trained with his men until his muscles screamed and sweat poured down his back.
Anything to keep his mind occupied.
Anything to stop thinking about how good Bella had felt in his arms that night at the inn and the nights on the road.
My Bella.
He'd said that in his sleep.Called her his.And when he'd woken with her draped across him, warm and soft and perfectly fitted to his body, it had felt so achingly right.
No.
Boyd shook his head viciously, trying to banish the memory.She wasn't his.Not really.This marriage was about justice.About making her understand what she'd done to him.
But clearly that hadn't gone so well in their last meeting.He then thought about how aroused he became when she talked back and challenged him in return.Perhaps he was a boorish creature who needed to be boiled in a tub of hot oil and then stabbed in hisbawsack.He couldn't help but chuckle at the memory of her insults.
Then he sobered once more, realizing he had no idea how to proceed with his wife.He thought he wanted her out of his sight.Then why did he feel so lonely without her?
The restlessness wouldn't leave him.It gnawed at him like a physical ache.
Finally, Boyd could stand it no longer.
He needed to see Bella.Just to make sure she hadn't decided to run off and escape.
It was practical.Reasonable.The kind of thing any laird would do with a new wife.
Boyd strode from his chamber with grim determination, ignoring the way his heart had begun to race at the thought of seeing her again.
***
THE EAST WING WAS FARTHERthan Boyd remembered.
He walked through familiar corridors of the main Keep, then through the covered passageway that connected to the older section of the castle.The farther he went, the colder the air became.The damper.
Boyd frowned, his steps slowing.
When was the last time anyone had occupied these chambers?Years, certainly.Possibly decades.The east wing had been largely abandoned in favor of the more comfortable quarters in the main Keep.
The corridor he entered was dark despite the morning hour.The few windows were narrow arrow slits that let in precious little light.The stone walls seemed to radiate cold, and Boyd could see his breath misting in the frigid air.
This couldn't be right.
Surely Mrs.Anders hadn't put Bella here.
