She dropped her head onto her knees and prayed for wisdom, for comfort, for anything that would calm the fears that were so familiar they had become a part of her blood.
“Iseabail? Is that you? Are you hurt?”
There was panic in his voice that shot her with guilt. She should have left a note.
“I’m fine,” she said. “I needed to get outside for a bit.”
“In the middle of the night?” He quickly crossed to her side, but hesitated before touching her. “You cannot run off like that. Not until things are settled with your uncle.”
Part of her wanted to scream at him that she was not his to command, but of course she was. She was his wife now and had sworn to obey him. So she ducked her head and answered as demurely as she could manage.
“Of course, m—sir. I shall return immediately.” She pulled her feet from the stream and began to stand.
He cursed under his breath, the words so graphic that she was momentarily shocked. And in her moment of stillness, he grabbed her elbow and pulled her all the way upright.
“What have I done to make you so afraid of me?” he snapped.
Her brows rose. How could she answer such an aggressive question?
He seemed to recognize the comedy in his question. He released her arm and stepped back, but his frustration didn’t ease. He dropped his hands on his hips and stared at her. “I should like to play a game with you.”
She frowned, not trusting his seeming change of topic. “A game?”
“I will ask you some questions and have you answer everything with total honesty. If you are angry, you should say so. If you want to curse, please blister the air. If you want to—”
“Have a simple conversation, then perhaps we could start with that?” Only a man would think that he could get better answers from a game than a discussion.
He frowned, his lips pursing as he no doubt reworked her words in his head. “You want to converse?”
“That is the usual way of things, is it not?”
“But I have been trying to get you to do just that, and you have trembled and flinched in my presence as if I am a terrible monster. And I am not!”
It would seem she’d married a man who valued plain speaking. He certainly did in public, but now she knew he wanted that in private as well. Very well. She began by imitating his pose. She stood with her feet apart and her hands on her hips. “Shall we say that what is sauce for the goose is sauce for the gander as well?”
He canted his head as he looked at her stance. “What are you saying?”
“That if you want plain speaking, then so do I. You asked me what you have done to turn me timid. You have taken control of everything without a word of explanation and a great deal of angry looks. What am I to think?”
“Exactly what I told you! My thoughts are all akimbo and I am having difficulty sorting through everything. I did not expect to get married this morning. Nor was it my plan to harry off to Scotland to confront your nefarious uncle!”
“You are in a foul mood because of that?”
“Of course!”
“I did not expect to get attacked this morning or to get married this afternoon. Neither did I think I would ever return to Scotland, much less today.”
He took a breath. One clearly meant to calm himself, but it seemed to make him more frustrated. “Well, of course you’re upset! And it’s no wonder you ran out our window. From what I gather, you ran across Scotland, too. You’re a runner, and I should have realized that!”
She stared at him. He appeared angry. In fact, his hand waved before her face as if he were batting away thoughts. But she couldn’t reconcile his kind words with his furious movements. So she waited, doing her best to appear calm while he either settled down or became more agitated. Given that she felt no real threat from him, she was beginning to enjoy watching him sort through his thoughts. Especially when he glowered at the tree over her shoulder.
“You are a lady,” he said, “and I am a coarse ruffian. I have no idea how to make you comfortable.” He shrugged. “I thought the wine would be enough.”
She shrugged. “I have always been able to handle my drink.”
He nodded. “That is a useful talent, but it does not help me at all.”
No, it would not. She waited for him to come to the obvious conclusion. Indeed, she had stated it out loud to him. She needed to have a conversation with him, but he just stood there with his arms on his hips. Was he truly this dense?
