Page 18 of Married to her Kilted Enemy

She was quite distracted by the time they arrived at the cottage infirmary and unloaded their supplies. Deciding she needed some time alone to think, after a quick cup of tea, Maddison took her leave and headed back to the castle with her purchases, turning over their conversation in her mind.

Once in the chambers she shared with Odhrán, she placed her packages on the table and sat down, feeling a little weary after the shopping expedition. At that moment, Jess came in, carrying a large bouquet of flowers in a vase.

“Och, there ye are, me lady. I missed ye comin’ in,” Jess said with a smile. “Where would ye like me tae put these?”

“Where did they come from?” Maddison asked, eyeing the blooms curiously.

“They come from the garden. Old Frazer, the head gardener, is very proud of his flower garden.”

“Oh, did he send them up fer me? How thoughtful. I must thank him personally.”

“Nay, me lady, the laird ordered them. He’s given instructions that ye should always have fresh flowers in yer chamber, as well as anything else ye want. ’Tis very thoughtful of him, is it nae?”

Maddison was startled by that but did her best to hide it. “Um, aye, I suppose it is. Ye can put the flowers here, on the table.”

“All right, me lady.” Jess obeyed, setting the vase down inches from Maddison’s nose.

“Mmm, they smell lovely,” she was forced to grudgingly admit, disturbed by Odhrán’s kindness despite her constant hostility towards him. Should I thank him? Nae, that would show weakness in me resolve.

“Aye, they dae,” Jess agreed, standing back to admire the display. “Now, are ye peckish at all? Can I bring ye somethin’ tae eat or drink, me lady?”

“Nay, thank ye, Jess, I just had a cup of tea with Alana. Ye go about yer business. I’ll be fine fer a while,” Maddison told her, wanting to be alone to sort out her feelings.

“Very well.” Jess crossed to the linen hamper and pulled out everything that needed washing. “I’ll be off with this to the wash house then,” she added, bundling all the washing into her arms until it almost obscured her completely.

“Let me get the door for ye,” Maddison said, hurrying to assist the maid, who bravely attempted a small curtsy before waddling off down the hallway with her burden. Maddison shut the door behind the girl and returned to her seat at the table, propping her chin in her hands, her gaze resting on the lovely blooms.

They prompted her to think back over the last week, especially the scandalous kiss she and Odhrán had shared. She had never kissed a man before, and just thinking about how she had kissed him back so passionately made her blush even now. Lacking an explanation for her extraordinary behavior, she preferred to deny it had ever happened.

They had not spoken of it since. Mind ye, she had to admit they seldom spoke at all except the most cursory phrases when necessary. Unless they were arguing, of course. She opened the packet of toffee and broke off a large piece to suck while she thought more deeply about the situation.

It was after the kiss that she had started to notice all the various little ways in which her husband’s behavior towards her had subtly changed. And the changes were deeply worrying to her, for she knew they were slowly eating away at her resistance.

The instruction about the flowers was but one example. There was also the fact that he had stopped complaining about being made to sleep on the floor and had not attempted to lay a finger on her. He seemed unwilling to engage in fighting with her, keeping his cool and being perfectly polite even when she provoked him. And she provoked him often.

She blushed to think of the way she had cornered Liam and tried to flirt with him, and when she recalled how Odhrán had picked her up as if she were a naughty child and carried her off, a frisson of excitement ran though her. Annoyed with herself, she quickly squashed it.

At dinner, although she never spoke or looked at him directly, he always made sure her glass was full and that she was offered the nicest morsels. Lately, she had noticed that more sweet puddings, jellies, and custards of the kind she liked were being served, and Odhrán insisted on serving her a portion of each. It was almost as if he knew she had a sweet tooth and found it impossible to resist them. Just eating them made her angry at herself and at him for his stealthy strategy. She suspected that, with every spoonful she ate, he celebrated a little victory. It had only made her more determined to shun him.

Glancing across at the nightstand on what was technically her side of the bed, she eyed the stack of books which had mysteriously appeared there two mornings ago.

“Where did these come from?” she had asked Jess at the time. “Did ye bring them up when I asked ye about the library the other day?”

But Jess had shaken her head. “Nay, me lady. I cannae read, so I’d nae ken what tae bring ye. ’Tis likely the laird overheard us talkin’ and brought them up fer ye.”

“Oh,” was all Maddison could say, feeling her cheeks heating up. Guilt stung her when she realized Odhrán had gone to the trouble of finding books he thought she might like despite being so deeply embroiled in his worries about the attack on the border.

Ach, why does he have tae be so damned nice!

The whole day had proved very stressful so far for Odhrán. Word had come through the night before that another border attack had occurred to the north-east, exactly the same as the last one. In the council meeting that morning when the news had broken, he was even more angry and frustrated that before.

“Crops and farm buildings are still burnin’, and folks say their animals have been stolen in numbers, with the brigands leavin’ several innocent farmers and their families badly affected. Two were killed and several wounded,” Renly told them all.

“There’s nae sign of Tadgh yet. I’ll go with Liam and Angus and see if the people in the affected village can give us any more information about the attackers,” Odhrán told the gathering, his heart plummeting to his boots. However, he was determined not to show how rattled he was, wanting to keep up a strong capable front as laird. “I’ll have a few more scouts sent out to the villages on the border. They may be able to offer some level of protection and find out anything useful tae tell us about who’s behind these attacks,” he said decisively.

After the meeting, he rode out with a small party to the village in question, to see the damage. He listened patiently to the peoples’ stories of the attack, assured those who had lost crops and livestock that he would provide for them, and commiserated with the bereaved, promising a fitting funeral for the dead and vengeance for the living.

“I’m nae farther forwards in identifyin’ who’s behind all this,” Odhrán angrily admitted to Liam and Renley as they rode home later that afternoon.