Page 21 of Highland Prince of Darkness

Chapter Nine

May was breathing heavily as she stood in the room on her own. She hugged her arms close to her chest and tried to understand what had just happened.

The argument had been rough, it was bitter, and had left her feeling as though she had said things that she hadn’t meant toward Iain. But then she thought about the kiss and how much she had enjoyed it, there was something so familiar about it and it had made her really happy. She hadn't realized how much her body had yearned for that kind of contact after so long, and May felt as though it was all she could think about.

She didn’t know what to think about the kiss, and she was sure that Iain didn’t know what to think about it either. There was still so much anger between them, so much that had been left unsaid. May hadn’t anticipated that Iain would leave her like that, but it only confirmed to her that he hadn’t known what the kiss meant either. Afterwards, she had returned to the feast for only a little while longer before retiring to her chambers, no longer having an appetite to socialize.

* * *

May was more than happy when the morning finally arrived. She hadn’t been able to sleep much the night of the feast and she was glad to have a new day to try and piece together what the night meant for her and Iain.

“Good morning, my lady,” Sarah’s voice was the first that May heard as the natural light bled into the room.

“Good morning,” May blinked awake properly. However, she had already been awake since the sun had first risen that morning. May kept that information to herself.

“The feast was a success, I hear?” Sarah asked, as May started to sit up and stretch out.

When she had arrived back at her chambers the night before, she had been met with one of the younger serving girls who helped her out of her gown and hairstyle. May had wished that it was Sarah who had helped her, although she wouldn’t have told her about the kiss.

“Aye, the feast was... good.”

“Good?”

“Aye,” May nodded.

“Only good?”

“Aye,” May said again.

She looked down at her hands and focused on them as she felt Sarah’s gaze still on her.

“Well, it’s good to hear that it was at least enjoyable.”

May wanted to scoff and tell her that the feast couldn’t have been any less enjoyable, but she refrained from saying anything.

“I suppose I should get up now,” May muttered with a groan. She thought of the events of the day to come and winced at the thought of having to help with the planning of her own wedding. She wasn’t even sure if she wanted to see her soon-to-be husband after the way that things had been left between them.

“Breakfast will be served soon, my lady, and I’m sure that yer father and husband-to-be would like to see ye there.”

“Ah... aye,” May nodded slowly.

Breakfast was just as May had anticipated; incredibly quiet and rather hard to bear. May sat quietly and listened to her father talk with Bruce, although she had already noticed the healer that was waiting at the edge of the room with the servants. It was just yet another reminder that her father’s health was still failing and he showed no sign of getting completely better. May grimaced at the thought that was aiding in robbing her of her appetite that morning.

“May, my lass. Ye have barely touched yer breakfast,” her father spoke up.

She had managed to keep her eyes down for the entirety of the discussion. However, now that all of the attention was on her, she could no longer go undetected. Her eyes locked with Iain’s briefly, but she had to look away as she felt her stomach flutter surprisingly.

“Oh, I’m... I’m just nae hungry after last night,” May started, and realized just how bad that sounded, “I mean, there was just so much food that I thought I might explode.”

Her words were met with chuckles around the table from all but Iain, who simply looked down at his own plate and continued eating.

“Aye, it was quite a rich feast,” Bruce agreed, and lifted his glass of water.

“I hear that ye were going quite heavy on the dram last night,” her father turned back to Bruce with a chuckle. May was simply relieved that the pressure was now off of her and she could return to mulling over what the kiss would mean for her and Iain.

“Well, if he hadn’t retired so early, ye might have seen how it’s done, old man,” Bruce smirked as he jested with Alistair.

May was pleased that the two men seemed to be getting on much better than she was with Iain. She had thought that it could have easily been quite a hostile situation for them as her father did owe Bruce many debts. However, it was clear that they were both trying to make light of the situation, and that things would be fine once the marriage was confirmed.