Page 66 of A Virgin for the Vicious Highlander
CHAPTER 28
“He isnae here? Ye’re certain?”Cecilia asked Lennox, struggling to keep the dismay out of her voice.
The man-at-arms smiled apologetically and shook his head. “He left before dawn. Didnae say when he’d be back.”
“I see…” Cecilia forced a smile. “Well, nay matter. I have things to attend to anyway.”
Lennox tilted his head. “Such as?”
“I thought I might venture into the nearest village and use the opportunity to meet the clansfolk,” she replied, the idea coming to her as she spoke. “It doesnae seem right for Lady Moore to remain behind the castle walls.”
Lennox seemed pleased by her response. “I think the villagers would like that.” He paused. “Of course, ye cannae go alone. I could escort ye if ye can wait for an hour or two?”
“An hour or two?” Cecilia deflated, certain that if she had time to dwell on her husband’s sudden absence, she would lose all desire to go anywhere. “Nay, I dinnae think so. Ye could… meet me there instead, perhaps? I ken the way. In truth, I think the convent donkeys are still waitin’ for us at the inn. What if ye meet me at the inn at, say, midday?”
Lennox furrowed his brow in consternation, so expressive that Cecilia could practically hear the cogs turning in his mind. No doubt he would be in trouble with Murdoch if he let the new Lady Moore wander off by herself. But Murdoch was not there and was not likely to return before midday.
“I am nae some nobleman’s daughter, Lennox,” she said firmly. “I’m nae a wiltin’ flower that cannae do things on her own. And if ye really must insist on me takin’ someone with me, I’ll ask me aunt or Tara. Aileen, even.”
That seemed to placate Lennox, for his expression softened. “Very well, but see to it that yedohave someone with ye.”
“Of course,” she assured him, before heading off in search of a companion for her journey to the village.
However, it seemed that her streak of bad luck was not over. She searched the castle from top to bottom and found no sign of Mairie or Aileen anywhere. None of the servants could tell her where the older women had gone, and no one had seen Tara either.
Apparently, the castle had emptied of everyone Cecilia cared about, but no absence stung quite as much as Murdoch’s.
Ye’re the idiot who thought he might change.
She should have expected him to withdraw and avoid her again. A pattern of behavior did not stop merely because she wished it to, and just because he had taken her virginity did not mean that he was suddenly going to be an affectionate, attached, attentive husband.
She understood now that she was the architect of her own disappointment. Still, she hated that such a wondrous, life-altering experience felt somewhat dimmed and diminished by his abrupt absence.
He carried me to me chambers. He tucked the coverlets around me. He was so… gentle, and I cannae understand why he cannae always be that way.
She cursed under her breath, wondering what on earth she was supposed to do with herself now that everyone had seen fit to abandon her.
“It’s me fault,” she muttered.
She had awoken at sunset, feeling like she had slept for days, and sheshouldhave gone to find him then, to discuss the meaning of what had happened. Instead, she had stayed in her chambers, luxuriating in a bath, some dinner, and the memories of whathad occurred in his tower. Then, she had played with the puppy and enjoyed some wine with Tara, convinced that everything had changed, before going back to sleep.
That foolish confidence was now coming back to bite her in the arse.
Well, I’m nae stayin’ here until the servants take pity on me.
She could already picture them gossiping, no longer whispering about the fact that the Laird did not want her but that he had her and decided that once was enough. A duty fulfilled at the behest of a worried council, nothing more.
Retrieving her warmest cloak, warmed already by the fire of her disappointment, she headed out of the castle through the servants’ gate—an entrance that Tara had told her about, where no guards would question what she was doing or where she was going by herself.
I willnae be a wife who waits.
The walk to the nearest village was remarkably pleasant, blowing away the cobwebs of Cecilia’s annoyance. The sun was a hazy orb in a clear blue sky, the air crisp and refreshing, while old snow crunched pleasantly underfoot, still glittering all the way to the horizon.
Robins and blackbirds accompanied her, trilling their merry song as they hunted for a late breakfast. Rabbits darted across the snow, pausing every now and then to listen for danger, their ears twitching back and forth, while brightly colored pheasants streaked through the woodland and speckled grouse with red eyes warbled cheerily as they pecked through the undergrowth.
By the time Cecilia approached the outskirts of the nearest village, she was smiling and humming a tune to herself, feeling wholly unburdened.
“Good day to ye, Miss,” a young man called.
