“No one.”
He cocked his head to the side. “You converse with yourself?” His gaze flicked down across her breasts and back up again.
She nodded and tried to readjust her gown, but the result only appeared to encourage his attention.
“An odd thing. Are you mad in the head, then?”
The comment was uncalled for. Any undue stress in her life at that moment was his doing, and he was lucky she was not trying to tear the door down with her bare hands. Annabella clasped her hands together and lifted her chin.
“I am no madder in the head than you are. It appears to me that you do not know the first thing about how a lady should be treated.”
“Is that so?”
As he asked his question, two men appeared with a wooden tub, followed by three women with steaming buckets of water. The men placed the tub in the middle of the room and left. The maids placed linen sheets inside, and then dumped the water in.
“By the time enough water is heated to fill this, it will likely be just lukewarm, so I suggest you take advantage of the heat while you can,” he said, crossing his arms.
Annabella did not know what to say. She had not expected any offer of comfort, especially anything as luxurious as a bath. She waited a moment or two for him to leave, with her hands on the ties of her gown.
“Well?” she asked.
“Well, what?”
“You are leaving, are you not?”
“No.”
She gasped. “If you think I will undress and bathe in front of you, then you are sorely mistaken.”
When he did not move or reply to her comment, she repeated herself and stepped closer to him. “If you have any gentlemanly notions at all, you will heed my appeal and leave this chamber at once.”
Annabella worked hard to stand her ground when he stepped closer and held her gaze. He taunted her, but she would not have it. He might be bigger and have all the power in this situation, but by God, she would not be bullied by him or anyone else. And she would also not stoop to his level of poor behaviour.
“How do I know you will not fling yourself from the window in your haste to escape?” he said, motioning to the open window behind her. “How can I be assured of your compliance?”
“What difference does my having a bath make to that concern? I was in here before and you did not feel the need to intimidate me, or have someone watch over me.”
MacDonald’s eyebrows raised then, and he looked taken aback. He dropped his arms to his side and stepped back.
“I apologize, Lady Annabella. It is not my intention to intimidate you or cause you any undue stress. I do understand that you are caught in an unfortunate situation.”
“If you really feel that way, then let me return to my family.”
He shook his head. “I cannot do that. The situation with the king escalates by the day, and I will not rest until my father is released. You hold the key to expediting his freedom and, as much as you may not like it, you are stuck with me for the time being. As soon as Graham returns, we will draft our proposal to the king and await his response.”
“And what about my cousin?”
“What about her?”
Were all men this daft? “The last time I saw her, she was about to give birth in a carriage on the side of the road, with no one to help her. That’s whatabout her. I’d heard of the Highlander’s barbaric ways, but surely you would not see harm come to your queen.”
“Barbaric?” He swept his arm around the room. “I believe this is much more comfortable than a straw pallet on a cold stone floor, my lady.” The sarcasm in his voice was so thick she could have cut it with a dagger.
“That it is, and I thank you for it. But my cousin may not have survived the birth under those circumstances. You men have no idea what we women suffer to bring you into the world, and if I am wrong, and you do understand the gravity of childbirth, you would be the worst demon imaginable to have left her there in that circumstance.”
Stepping forward, he leaned down until his face was inches from hers. His eyes glittered with anger and she wanted to avert her gaze from the fury in his, but could not tear her own gaze away.
“I am very confident that Graham would have done all he could to assist your cousin. We are not cruel barbarians, as you have been led to believe. But up here, our women do not need to be pampered all the time, as they clearly do in the south. Our women are strong and able to fend for themselves.”
