Chapter Thirty
While the mencelebrated, the women worked. After all, someone had to serve (and control) the drinks. And someone had to put the children to bed. But they still found a way to celebrate in their own spaces. The kitchen was filled with laughter. The corners of the hall rang with it as well. And every woman found a way to speak with Iseabail, to tell her of what had transpired in the last few months, and of what they hoped for the future.
For the first time in her life, Iseabail felt drenched in the love from her clan. It had been there before, she realized, but her uncle and even her mother had kept her from experiencing it as she did now. Tonight, she felt soaked in the richness of it, and she could scare believe the magic of it all.
Eventually exhaustion caught up with her. Eventually, Talia pushed her toward her bed after confirming that Reuben’s men had a place to sleep as well. Reuben, of course, would find her, she was sure. And before her eyes drifted shut, she saw him enter her chamber.
He was unsteady on his feet and grinning from ear to ear. He half fell into her bed, clumsily adjusting to be beside her. She snuggled close as he wrapped his arms around her. Then together, they slept.
She woke a little past dawn, her eyes heavy and her bed empty. And when she turned, she saw him standing by her window, his gaze surveying the land beyond. He’d pulled on his breeches, but nothing else. And he had the look of a king well satisfied with his kingdom.
Or a man after a job well done. One who was already setting his sights on a new challenge.
Iseabail sat up slowly. Her hair was a mess, there were a thousand things to do, but her thoughts would not leave Reuben. What was he thinking as he turned to look at her? Was he deciding when he would leave?
“Good morning,” he said, his voice a low rumble that skated along her spine. “You look a fine sight.”
She pushed her hair out of her eyes and tried to finger-comb out the tangles. “I am not at my best at first light,” she confessed.
He caught her hand and pulled it to his lips. “I was not teasing you. You are beautiful.”
She might not have believed him except for the way he caressed her cheeks and then rubbed his thumb along her lower lip. Admiration and hunger sparked in his eyes, and she found herself warming to his heat.
“When are you leaving?” she blurted out. If he were to depart in a week, she had to know. The pain would be easier to hide if she could prepare for it.
His eyes widened and his hand stilled. “Throwing me aside so soon?”
“You told your aunt you would return to London in a month.” She bit her lip as she pulled away. “We’ve lost a week of that already. You are a Spalding now whatever you choose, and of course you may come back whenever you choose. But I would know…” She reached to the side and pulled on her plaid. She’d left it behind when she ran and now was grateful to feel it around her again.
“You would know what, Iseabail?”
She lifted her chin. She was The Spalding now, laird of the clan. She needed to act like one instead of cowering like a frightened child. So she stood and faced him, eye to eye. “If you lied when you swore yourself to me.”
“Which time? As your husband or as your clansman?”
Both. Either. She didn’t put the thought into words. The pain was already welling up inside her. It was because of him that she now stood as laird. It was thanks to him that her uncle was gone, and she no longer lived in fear. How would she bear it if he abandoned her now?
“Has no one ever stood by you?” he asked, his voice softening. When she didn’t answer, he sighed. “Do you think I give my word so lightly? We were married before the Archbishop of Canterbury!”
“I think that you are a man who must always solve problems. That you grow restless otherwise. I think that you could find a way to forget the vows we spoke. I begged you to save me, and you have—”
“You saved yourself—”
“It was your plan.”
“And you executed it flawlessly.”
They were mincing words and she hated it. Why couldn’t the man simply answer her question? When would he leave her?
He gathered her hands in his and studied her face. So many emotions flitted across his face, thoughts that she could not guess. He opened his mouth twice to speak, but then stopped himself. If he did it again, she would grow mad.
In the end, he pulled her hands up to his and pressed his mouth there. It warmed her, the way he sucked upon her knuckles. But it did not answer her question.
“Reuben—”
“I have searched all my life for a woman who is the match of me. One who is smart and brave, who will take a risk with me or check me when I am too bold. I want a partner in my schemes and a mother for my children. Iseabail, I have seen no better match for me than you. Indeed, I cannot believe there is another man for you either. We are a pair, and I would be a fool to leave you, ever.”
But he would. She felt it. He would set things to rights here, get bored, and then abandon her. Such was the way of things. Tears sprang to her eyes, and she looked away. He let her go as she grabbed her comb and applied it to the knots in her hair. He watched her in silence, then sat down upon their bed to watch her.
