“Ah, well, see,” he paused, “Have you happened to see a piece of jewelry around the house at all? A piece that you did not recognize?”
Reginald shuffled his feet, his hands clasped behind his back.
“Jewelry, Lord?” Vivien asked, feigning confusion, her eyes wide.
“Yes, yes. Quite a distinctive piece. You would know it if you saw it.”
“No, I can’t say I have seen anything like that, I’m afraid.”
Vivien held her breath, hoping against hope that Reginald would leave it at that. She did not feel confident enough in her ability to lie to him if he pushed it further. He could only be looking for the MacBride necklace and knowing that alone led her thoughts straight to Kieran.
Any thought of Kieran turned Vivien’s entire body into a raging inferno of desire and need. There was no way of hiding that from Reginald if he kept her there for much longer. She could feel her cheeks growing hot with the brief thought of Kieran already.
“You would not lie to me, would you?” he asked; the look he gave her told her that he did not quite believe her.
Vivien was about to reply, only to be interrupted by a knock on the door.
“Enter,” Reginald called out.
The commander of the portion of his army that he had brought with him entered the room, bowing stiffly to Reginald, barely bothering to do the same to Vivien.
“I must speak with you, my Lord. It is about the matters we were discussing just the other day,” he said, focusing his eyes on Reginald. Vivien did not miss the brief second where his eyes darted to her and immediately back to her husband.
“Ah, yes. Of course. We were discussing important political matters.” Reginald nodded emphatically. “Vivien, that is all. If you do find that item, please return it to me immediately. You may leave, now.”
Vivien curtsied to her husband, forcing a small smile as she bid him and the commander a good night.
She left the room, closing the door behind her, careful not to let the latch catch itself. She pressed her back against the wall behind her, as close to the door as she could get.
She could be imagining things; she could just be overly paranoid, but something told Vivien that it would be worth her while to listen to what Reginald was discussing with his commander. Vivien did not know much about politics, but she knew enough to know that an army commander was not a person who would be deeply involved in such matters. The immediate shift in Reginald’s attitude had her on her guard. There was something afoot, and she needed to know what it was.
Even as close to the door as she was, Vivien found it difficult to hear the exact words exchanged between Reginald and his commander.
She moved closer to the door, careful to make as little noise as possible, her ear almost pressed against it.
“You’re prepared for the attack?” she heard Reginald say.
“Yes, milord. We’ll be ready to attack the MacBride stronghold and destroy their granary as we discussed.”
“…how long…” Vivien struggled to hear Reginald’s words; he must have been pacing, she assumed.
“About five days from now, milord. We are waiting for the mercenaries we hired to arrive in full before we attack the Highlander’s food stock.”
“Good, good,” Reginald came back into hearing distance.
Vivien bit her tongue to prevent herself from crying out in dismay. Had Reginald not caused Kieran’s clan enough damage already? His men had been slaughtered, most certainly at Reginald’s command; she could no longer refute that fact. The clan’s entire wheat crop had been destroyed – again at Reginald’s command. What more could he possibly want to do to them?
How could his hatred run so deep?
How could Reginald be this cruel?
This was the man Vivien had married. His cruelty was not only reserved for her but for anyone or anything he hated. She shuddered at what it must be like to be in his head, how dark and dismal his life must really be. She pitied him at that moment. Reginald was a lost cause; there was nothing that could help him be a better person.
But Vivien was not the same as her husband. She could do something. And she would.
Vivien ran to her rooms and called for Helen, the only person in the castle that she really could trust.
Helen arrived swiftly, her light copper hair in tangles around her shoulders.
