Page 30 of The Laird's Unwanted Wife
He was seething. He was clearly upset, yet Gerald remained silent.
“If ye’d like, ye could send me away the next day without a word of protest from anyone here.” Aileen blinked furiously; she wasnotabout to cry in front of this man who, clearly, cared so very little for her. “That councilman … he may nae have treated me as a person, but he at least understood the precarious situation I’m in. At least I ken he only sees me as a bargaining chip.”
“I told ye from thestart?—”
“I heard yer words,” Aileen snapped bitterly. “I’ve heard words like that all me life. Promises, plans, vows of protection and a life for Mollie. Ye’ll have to forgive me if words nay longer hold such sway over me.” She suddenly felt exhausted, the wind quite literally rushing out from her chest. Her hand found the edge of the table and held on for dear life, the weight of her body suddenly far too much for her to handle.
And he immediately moved to her side.
The moment Aileen felt her legs give out completely, Gerald’s arms were suddenly around her waist, easily able to keepher upright. His touch ached, stirring old memories of Laird Carswell’s ice-driven voice, of his constricting arms as he tried to rip her from Mollie’s life. The shame rose from deep within, burning her face and pulling tears from the corner of her eyes.
“Ye’re safe, Aileen.”
She blinked furiously, staring back up at the Laird—at her husband—and found his gaze far more compassionate than before. No longer did a forest burn behind his eyes, but a subtle campfire amidst the pine trees; a flicker of genuine warmth amidst a swath of unspeakable darkness. His voice was no longer aggressive, combative, but a gentle coolness that tempered the shame across her face.
“I’m sorry for lashin’ out at ye,” Gerald continued, carefully adjusting his grip so as not to make Aileen feel trapped. “Ye’ve been hurt terribly before, and I daenae wish to add to it.” There was a spark of recognition in his expression; maybe not for the specific source of her pain, her anxiety, but an understanding thatsomethinglurked beneath the surface. Something that, maybe, she would share with him one day, when she felt ready to do so.
“I cannae offer everythin’ ye need to better yerself. But I want to offer what I can.” He shifted his arms, indicating his desire to lift Aileen off her feet and carry her in his arms. Aileen offered a slow nod, and he swiftly pulled her up into a bridal-style hold. “When I tell ye I will keep ye and yer sister safe, I mean it with every fiber of me being. I want ye to ken how muchweight is putbehind that promise, even if ye daenae feel it yet.”
He began to carry her easily up the staircase, and Aileen felt herself begin to nod off in his embrace. “I … I’m sorry. For pushin’ ye like I did.”
“Ye’ve been trapped in a corner all yer life,” Gerald chuckled humorlessly. “I was mad to think I wouldnae be bitten a few times.”
His words struck a chord in Aileen’s chest; tears flowed freely down her face now, and she pressed herself against Gerald’s chest. He smelled of pine sap and sawdust, of malty ale that lingered from a celebration meant to bring her security. Hefeltlike comfort, a particularly heavy quilt that smothered Aileen’s worries and fears whenever she slid underneath it.
“Go to sleep now. We can speak more of this later.”
She nodded weakly, barely registering the physical blanket her hand tugged on, the pillow suddenly beneath her head. A flicker of candlelight barely illuminated her husband’s frame, and to the sound of her little sister’s gentle snores, Aileen found herself drifting off completely.
As Gerald quietly closed the door to Aileen’s room, he allowed himself to feel once more. Anger rushed back to the surface of his mind, smothered beneath self-control once Aileen began to collapse before him.
Her words lingered in his mind, poking and prodding like the quills of a trembling beast; it was a rare moment where her voice wasn’t riddled with stammering fear.
He slowly made his way down the hall, his own fury building in his chest. An anger that burned for the way she spoke to him, for the expectations she imposed and he soveryclearly denied from the start. From her insistence on crossing his boundaries, her willingness to trample past and grasp for his affection in a way he knew he couldn’t provide.
But he also burned for the people in her life. The kinfolk of MacGunn, who must have ignored her for something she couldn’t control. The Laird of Carswell, who so carelessly threw her to the side like a child who had seemingly grown bored with a toy. And to Marcus, whose influence had once more ruined something Gerald cared for.
“Cared for …” He sighed, suddenly feeling exhausted. Hedidcare for them—both of them, in wholly unique ways. Mollie had captured his heart in an unexpected way, shown herself to be far more resilient than any man he’d fought beside amidst a blood-soaked battlefield. And Aileen …“We were never meant to be more than strangers.”
Only now, as he said that aloud, did Gerald realize how foolish that truly sounded.
16
Agentle knocking stirred Aileen from a deep, dreamless sleep. She blinked furiously, sitting upright as her hand tried to block the sunlight streaming in from her window.
“Aileen?” Sarah’s voice called softly from outside her room. “I’m sorry to bother ye, but the Laird has asked ye to prepare yerself to greet Laird and Lady Kincaid.”
Laird and Lady …? “Oh!” Blankets were flung to the ground as Aileen hastily flew out of bed, racing toward the door as she practically threw it open. Sarah’s sheepish smile greeted her briefly, followed soon after by a startled gasp as the maid was pulled inside.
“Sarah, quick! Help me find something to wear! Oh, I cannae believe I slept for so long. Has Mollie already been dressed? Did she have breakfast? Oh, gracious, was she polite to the visiting Laird and?—?”
“Aileen, breathe!” Sarah’s hand settled against Aileen’s shoulders, forcing her to stand in place. “Gracious, friend, ye’re acting like a chicken without her head.”
“But I overslept!”
“On the Laird’s orders,” Sarah explained gently. “He requested ye be allowed to sleep as long as ye’d like. Mollie was awfully cross about it, but she did follow the request.”
Again, Aileen blinked furiously. After everything that happened last night, he was still thinking about her well-being? She watched blankly as Sarah moved to her closet, shifting through a few hanging gowns before choosing a slate-blue shade.
