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Wallace let out a thunderous roar and made a bawdy comment about how Kevan was going to enjoy the wedding night and would welcome Maura to the McGrory clan properly. Maura shuddered at the thought, wondering how this marriage was going to work when one of the parties clearly wasn’t interested.

There was a feast, but again it was Wallace who was driving the mood. Kevan wouldn’t even dance with her. This was supposed to be the happiest day of her life, but instead, it was simply awkward. She had imagined and hoped that things might have changed after the wedding had taken place, but as darkness fell across the land, the truth shone brightly. She was still in a foreign castle, surrounded by strangers, married to a man she did not know and who did not care for her.

Was this truly a good price to pay for peace and Ruairi’s safety? Maura sipped wine and told herself that she could live with it. Really, she had no other choice.

Eventually, it came time for the married couple to leave the feast and retire to their bedchambers for the first night of marriage. The feast would continue long into the night, but for the married couple, there were other celebrations that would take place. Uncertainty swam inside Maura’s stomach as she followed Kevan’s long strides up to their room, wondering if he would continue the marital night tradition. Moira had taken some time to explain to Maura what would happen on the wedding night. It seemed elusive and mysterious, but Maura didn’t know how she was supposed to enjoy herself when her husband was so distant.

They entered the chamber, and Kevan pointed to the bed.

“Ye can hae that. I will sleep on the floor,” he said.

“Dinnae be silly. I cannae make ye sleep on the floor.”

“Ye are nae making me dae anything. It is my choice,” he said sternly. He pulled out a blanket and threw it on the floor, while Maura tested the bed. It was much firmer than her old bed, and wider too, for it had to accommodate the expanse of Kevan’s muscular body. He pulled off his shirt, and she saw the rippling muscles. There was an instinctive twitch inside her, and her skin began to tingle, but that faded as he met her gaze with nothing but hostility.

“Dinnae worry, lass, I am nae gaeing tae steal yer virtue. Wallace can make me marry ye, but his dominion ends at the threshold of this room. Let us make it through this one night at a time,” he said. At first, Maura was relieved to not have to experience the mystery of the wedding night, but she still felt silly for sleeping in this huge bed alone. She also played with her bracelet, and Kevan noticed. “What’s that ye are fiddling with?” he asked.

She held up her arm to show him and blushed as she explained that it had been a gift from her mother, and that it was said to help protect her. Kevan softened for a moment.

“My ma used tae tell me stories about the spirits in the woods when I was a wee lad,” he said. For a moment, Maura thought that she was developing a genuine connection with him, but then he turned away from her and pulled the blanket over himself. She sank into the mattress and stared at the ceiling. While she was married, it wasn’t as though anything had changed. Within moments, the room was filled with Kevan’s loud snores, and Maura found it difficult to sleep. She was consumed by thoughts. While at first she had been relieved that Kevan did not wish to have sex with her, she started to have misgivings. In time, she wanted a family and children; at least that might make her life here more palatable. But how could that be the case if her husband didn’t want to touch her?

At some point, she assumed this marriage would turn into a real one, but Kevan seemed determined to treat it like a farce, and she wasn’t sure if it was possible to change his mind.

8

As Maura spent more time in the McGrory clan, she learned many more things. One of them was that Kevan liked to spend his time hunting, and spent as much time away from her as possible. It was clear that he thought that by exchanging vows with her, he had fulfilled his end of the bargain, and that was where his responsibility ended. He didn’t make any effort to ensure that she was comfortable, nor did he seek to allay her concerns. He treated her like a stranger, and he continued to sleep on the floor. Maura explored the castle to try and get used to her surroundings as well as make acquaintances, but it was clear that nobody was interested in getting to know her. They gave her plenty of dirty looks, and she heard mutterings as she passed. Even though she was a McGrory by name, they still saw her as a Calbraith, and held her responsible for John’s death.

One day, she was sitting outside, looking lonely and forlorn, when a young woman came up to her. She had flaming red hair and a coquettish smile. She sat down beside Maura.

“I suppose it’s long overdue that we’re introduced,” she said. “I’m Elise, Kevan’s sister.”

Maura looked surprised. “He never mentioned he had a sister,” Maura said. Then again, he hadn’t mentioned much of anything to her.

Elise smiled. She had a triangular face with a button nose and symmetrical features. “Aye, well, that’s Kevan for ye. I heard yer story and, well, I’m sorry I couldnae be here sooner. There was an outbreak of sickness in one of the nearby villages.”

“Is everyone alright?”

“Oh, aye. They’re all fine after they’ve been given some healing herbs. But how are ye? Are ye adjusting tae life here?”

Maura sighed. She knew the polite thing to do would have been to lie and tell Elise that everything was fine, but she had suffered too much to keep it to herself.

“Actually, I’m nae. It’s nae what I thought it would be. I know the circumstances are nae ideal, but I thought that Kevan would at least treat me like a wife once we were married. And everyone else around here”—she gestured generally with a sweep of the hand—“doesnae care for me. I think they would rather I wasnae here.”

“We McGrorys dae knew how tae hold a grudge. As for Kevan…well…he haes always been a complicated man. He took John’s death hard. They were more like brothers than cousins.”

“Aye, but I haed naething tae dae with John’s death!” she cried. Her exclamation was a little louder than she intended it to be. They still had not had sex either, and Maura was beginning to wonder if Kevan had the same male needs as she had been led to believe that all men had. As they slept in the same room, there was a part of her that yearned to be touched by him, just so that she knew she actually existed and wasn’t some kind of phantom that was haunting him. “Anyway, Kevan haes nae even taken the time tae get tae know me. I wouldnae hae thought we were married. He spends most of his time hunting, and when we’re taegether, he barely speaks tae me. I thought he might actually want tae take the privileges that are offered tae him as my husband, but he wilnae even touch my virtue.”

Elise looked at her with sympathy. She licked her lips and inclined her head. “I didnae realize ye were suffering sae harshly at the hands of my brother. When I heard he haed been married, I thought it would be different. Men dinnae know how we women suffer, and I can tell that ye hae a good heart, Maura. The truth is that things are nae as they seem. Haes Kevan told ye naething of his life before he was laird?”

Maura shook her head.

Elise exhaled deeply and arched her eyebrows. “Well, I suppose ye deserve tae know the truth. Kevan was never supposed tae become laird; that was all for John. But Kevan was planning tae support John when it was time for him tae take over from Uncle Wallace. But then John died, and everything was thrown intae disarray. Ye see, Kevan haes always been a rigid man when it comes tae his plans. He haes it set in his mind, and if anything gaes differently, he struggles tae adapt. The thing is that he already had a lass that he had his heart set on marrying, and I’m only telling ye this because I would want tae know if I was in yer situation. But he’s likely still seeing her.”

The words stabbed at Maura’s heart, and nausea rose inside. The world closed in on her, and she felt lucky that she was sitting down, else she would have collapsed.

“Oh,” was all she could utter.

Elise placed a hand on her shoulder. “I know life here isn’t what ye thought. I will talk tae Kevan for ye and at least get him tae be honest with ye,” Elise said. She rose and said no more, leaving Maura alone, wondering what kind of tangled mess she had gotten herself into.