Page 54 of A Scot to Wed

“Aye.” Evan ran his fingers through his hair. “Ye dinnae need it any longer. Ye are married to me now and dinnae need to claim this land.” When she continued to stare at him, he added, “’Twas verra little chance of that paper proving yer ownership, anyway.”

“Ye burned it?”

“I had a pile of papers I no longer needed and burned the lot of them. Yer paper was one of them.”

Katie sat on the bed and stared into space. “You burned it.” She shook her head. “That paper was passed down for generations. That was the verra reason I came to Fife.” She jumped up and began to pace. After a few strides back and forth, she stopped and stared at her husband, whom she was about to throttle. “Ye had no right to burn that.”

Evan drew himself up. “I am yer laird.”

“No! Ye are an arse,” she shouted at him. “Ye are overbearing, arrogant, high-handed, and pigheaded.” Taking a deep breath, she said, “Ye are correct. Ye are my laird. But ye are also my husband, who should have some respect for me. Even if ye dinnae love me, ye could at least consider my feelings.”

Apparently, given his reaction to her words, love was not something he had expected to ever happen. He sucked in a deep breath and stepped back as if someone had thrown a fist to his gut. “I care for yer feelings.”

“Nay! Ye care for nothing but duty and responsibility. Ye toss out orders like I am yer servant. Ye give me no credit for having a mind of my own.” She walked toward him and waved her finger in his face. Despite the difference in their size, he edged back. “Ye forget that I took care of my own clan for years. Raised my brother, tended to the sick, delivered babies, moved my entire clan across the country for a better life.” She stopped, swiping at the tears sliding down her cheeks. She collapsed on the bed. “Ye’ve taken everything from me. Even my brother.”

The silence that followed her outburst was broken only by Katie’s heavy breathing and muffled sobs. Evan remained where he stood, and she did not look in his direction. She was tired, so verra, verra tired. Instead of the joy in having someone to share her burdens, it appeared her marriage was to be no more than her bowing to all of Evan’s wishes and having no say in anything.

After all, he was herlaird.

Feeling years older, she stood and walked to the door.

“Where are ye going?” Evan’s words were soft, almost a whisper.

“I dinnae ken. Somewhere. Anywhere but here.” She passed through the door and closed it, the latching falling into place the only sound in the corridor. She felt empty, as if her life’s essence had been sucked from her.

She’d held on to that paper for years, always hoping she could claim the land and have something to pass on to her brother. Since the Sterling land and home was falling apart, she’d held tight to the idea that she could give him a good life with the clan here, and he would reap the rewards. Something much better than what her da had left his only son.

Nothing.

She entered one of the bedchambers that was now empty since one of the Stirling families had moved to a cottage. The bed had no linens, but she didn’t care. She was too weary to look for a maid to bring her what she needed. The room was cold, also, with no fire burning.

She lay on her back, staring at the ceiling. What was she to do now? She was married to a man who would always think of her, and treat her, like a child. She kenned that a lot of marriages were that way, but when she thought of a husband—which was rare, since she hadn’t had many suitors—it had been someone who would honor her opinion, consider her ideas, treat her like a partner. She’d thought Evan would consider her such. After all, he’d said he admired her determination and bravery.

She turned on her side and placed her folded hands under her cheek. In two days time, they would leave Fife and travel to Evan’s lands in Argyll. She would be introduced to his clan members as his wife. But not as anyone who mattered. The worse part of the entire mess was she’d realized only this morning that she had fallen in love with the big oaf, despite his treatment of her like a bairn.

Now when she thought about her husband and her future, her heart hurt.

The door opened and Evan barreled through it. “Is Gavin here with ye?”

She jerked up at the intrusion. “Nay. I haven’t seen him since supper.” She rose from the bed and hurried toward him. The expression on his face scared her more than his words. “Is he missing?”

“Aye. It appears so.” He rubbed his eyes with his fists. “Alasdair sent word that shortly after we left, the lad told him he needed to use the privy. He never returned.”

Katie took a deep breath. “Of course yer brother checked the privy to see if he was still there.”

“Aye. He has several people searching the castle and grounds. He sent someone just now to our bedchamber to see if Gavin was with us.”

Katie gripped her middle, a wave of terror washing over her. “Richard has him. I ken he does.”

Evan wrapped his arms around her and drew her to his warm chest. The thud of his strong heart eased her fear a bit. Despite all the horrible things she had lashed out at him about, he was protective, strong, and caring. He might not ever love her or treat her as she would like, but he would never allow her or her brother to be harmed.

“We must help with the search.” She pulled away from him.

They hurried down to the Great Hall, where Alasdair was tossing orders out to a few men. He turned when Evan approached him. “I dinnae ken whether the lad was taken before he reached the privy or not. But there were too many people about between here and the privy.”

“What have ye learned?” Evan asked, keeping his warm hand pressed against Katie’s lower back. If it wasn’t for his contact, she would have been screaming and running in circles, pulling her hair out. He was truly her anchor.

Alasdair shook his head. “Unfortunately, nothing, except he is not where he said he was going to be. We sent someone to yer room as soon as we determined he was missing.”